The Queen’s closest confidantes and oldest friends have revealed the realities of living through the Second World War in a Tatler issue celebrating Her Majesty’s rousing message invoking the spirit of the Blitz.
A silhouette of the 94-year-old monarch appears striking on the publication’s British issue, which goes on sale 30 April, and follows the Queen’s recent historic speech to the British public, thanking them for following government guidelines and staying home.
Speaking earlier this month, she invoked the spirit of the Blitz in her television message to the nation hope, saying: ‘We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.’
And now some of her oldest and closest friends have spoken to Tatler about how they coped throughout the Second World War, with one revealing she became a nurse, and others recalling bombings in London.
The Queen and her mother’s closest confidantes have reflected on World War 2 for the June issue of Tatler magazine. Pictured: The Queen and the Queen Mother at Ascot in 1982
Lady Myra Butter (pictured) who was aged 14 when World War 2 broke out, said she was paid for her time as a probationer nurse at a local civilian hospital
Matthew Bell, who is the society publication’s commissioning editor, spoke to five of the Queen and Queen Mother’s confidantes for the issue.
Each shared extraordinary stories of their lives during the Second World War, revealing how, in times of upheaval, their was an attitude of keep calm and carry on.
Lady Prudence Penn, née Stewart-Wilson, 94, was a lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Born in 1926, the same year as the Queen, Prudence married equerry, Sir Eric Penn.
Remembering the war, she said: ‘Living in London was strange. We were young and there was fun to be had, but I remember being ushered out of restaurants down into air-raid shelters – the anxiety of hearing the sound of a doodlebug, an unmanned rocket bomb, suddenly silenced, and waiting for the explosion as it hit the ground.
‘My office was in Ryder Street, St James’s. On one Sunday morning when we were working, one of these moments occurred.
Dame Frances Campbell-Preston, 101, (pictured) admits she still feels a surge of relief when a train leaves King’s Cross, after avoiding bombs on a journey to the station during the war
‘I had gone with a friend to eat a sandwich in St James’s Park and met a young soldier in a Jeep crossing the bridge who told us to go no further.
‘That bomb had landed on the Guards’ Chapel at 11.10 on a Sunday morning, killing 121 people.’
Meanwhile Lady Myra Butter, 95, is a descendant of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and the poet Pushkin and remains a close friend of the Queen.
The Queen, 94, evokes the ‘strength and fortitude’ of the nation in a striking photo unveiled on the cover of Tatler magazine’s June issue (pictured)
She was aged just 14 when the war broke out, revealing: ‘We were all St John’s cadets in my family: my sister joined, and my mother was county president – she ran everything.
‘Then I went into the local civilian hospital as a probationer nurse for two years, and that was a good experience.
‘I even got paid. We did things that we would never have been allowed to do after the war – tonsils, appendixes, that kind of thing,’ she explained.
Dame Frances Campbell-Preston, 101, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother for 37 years.
She admits to still feeling a surge of relief when the night train from King’s Cross leaves the station, after her terrifying experience of trying to avoid bombs during the war.
She said: ‘We took a taxi from Hyde Park Corner just as bombs were dropping in the park and one came over the top of our taxi and exploded right in front of us. The taxi turned on a sixpence to take an evading route.
The Queen invoked the spirit of the Second World War during her historic speech earlier this month
‘My father urged the driver to drive straight down Piccadilly to give us the chance to see more bombs. But the driver must have read my thoughts and I was relieved when he took no notice.
‘I thought of the words of a young soldier friend, who had told me that when first in action he had found himself praying: “Please, God, don’t let that bomb hit me. After all, it makes no difference to you, but it makes the hell of a difference to me.” The taxi driver got us safely to King’s Cross.
‘I sat in the train looking at the acres of glass in the station roof and hearing the bombers overhead. To this day, I feel a surge of relief when the night train from King’s Cross leaves the station.’
The Queen has appeared on the cover of Tatler magazine in the past, however this timely appearance has touched the hearts of many.
The Queen’s appearance on Tatler magazine follows her recent historic speech about the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: King George VI and the Queen’s Mother, with the Queen visiting an RAF Bomber Command airfield to meet the airmen in July 1944
Revealing their inspiration for the cover, Tatler explained: ‘In these darkened times, the Queen stands as a reminder of the strength and fortitude of the British character – and of a devotion to duty learnt during the war year
Praising the move on Instagram, one person wrote: ‘The dignified pose speaks volumes. An inspired and inspiring cover. Perfect for these times. Bravo Tater team.’
Another said: ‘Great cover! What an inspirational woman to us all. Cheers.’
A third added: ‘Great cover, very well deserved.’
A stream of people have taken to Instagram, praising Tatler magazine for choosing the Queen for their cover during these uncertain times
Read the full feature in the June issue of Tatler available via digital download and on newsstands Thursday 30th April