Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon: Dangerous or Devoted? Quiz

Answer: William Cavendish-Bentinck

Elizabeth was one of ten children born to Claude Bowes-Lyon and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck, whose great-great-grandfather was William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland. He has a long list of government offices to his credit; he took his father's place in Parliament in 1762, served Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who was prime minister from 1765-66, as Lord Chamberlain of the Household, and was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1782 during Rockingham's second term. During his first term as the Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783) the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution was signed.

By the time of his second term, 1807-09, his title was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Cecilia also had another relative with a famous name. Richard Wellesley, a member of Parliament and brother to the Duke of Wellington, was her great grandfather.

Answer: Energetic and fun

As a young child, it appears that Elizabeth's favorite partner in crime was her youngest brother, David. Stories are told of the exploits of the two at Glamis Castle, which had been the home of the Lyon family since the 1300s. Living there as a child, she and David enjoyed pouring boiling oil, which was water, from the castle turret onto the castle guests, and sometimes kidnapping grounds workers there and holding them until some sort of price would be paid.

There is also a story that, after a frantic search when they were noticed missing, the two were found in one of the castle's outbuildings sharing a cigarette! It was with her sense of humor and fun that Elizabeth was known to have faced many of her life's hardships, and gained her the love of many.

It has been written that through her personality alone she did much to boost the status of the monarchy in England; many called her "The richest jewel in the Royal Family's crown".

Answer: Hospital for wounded soldiers

Elizabeth was tutored by her mother and private governesses; she had also attended two terms at Misses Birtwistle's Academy. When she was thirteen years old, she passed the Oxford Local Examination with distinction. When World War I began in 1914, Elizabeth was just fourteen years old. Glamis Castle was turned into a convalescent home for wounded soldiers, and Elizabeth was very much a part of the daily life there, reading to soldiers and writing letters to their families.

She would also run errands for them and apparently enjoyed playing cards.

Her autograph book was signed by a resident there who said, "she was to be "Hung, drawn, & quartered...Hung in diamonds, drawn in a coach and four, and quartered in the best house in the land." When WWI ended, Elizabeth, whose parents had become Lord and Lady Strathmore when she was four years old, began a social life which allowed Elizabeth to meet a variety of interesting and even royal people.

Answer: False

In choosing a husband, Elizabeth showed an especially strong conviction of who she wanted to be and how she wanted others to view her. She apparently had many suitors, including some who ran around in royal circles, like Prince Paul of Serbia and James Stuart, Prince Albert's equerry. Even though she had known Prince Albert, who was called "Bertie", since childhood, she refused his first proposal in 1921. Consequently, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis Castle to meet Elizabeth; she left with the feeling that Elizabeth was the right wife for her son, but refused to interfere any further.

Her father had regularly reminded Elizabeth that it would be best to avoid any "royal entanglements", and she was afraid that marrying a prince would cause her to somehow lose her identity and control over who she could and could not be.

She refused another proposal in 1922, but agreed to marry Prince Albert in 1923. They were married three months later.

Answer: She wanted to honor the memory of her brother, Fergus.

During WWI, four of Elizabeth's brothers served in the army. For a while it was believed that two of them had been killed in the fighting until it was discovered that her brother Michael, who had been reported missing in action in 1917, was in a prisoner of war camp.

Her brother, Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, however, who had been an officer in the Black Watch, or Royal Highlanders Regiment, was killed in 1915. On her way to be married at Westminster Abbey, she made a stop at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, where she left her bouquet in memory of her brother. Pictures of the wedding of Elizabeth to Prince Albert show that she did not have a bouquet.

After that it became a tradition for royal brides to leave their wedding bouquets or have them sent to the site afterwards.

Answer: Stammering

As a boy Prince Albert was described as being "easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears". He suffered from chronic stomach problems and knock knees. Even though he was left-handed, he was taught to write with his right hand. When he was eight years old, he started stammering. Apparently many "treatments" were tried - someone even suggested that smoking would help - but the problem persisted. One can only imagine how painful public speaking was for Albert; after an especially difficult speech in 1925 he sought treatment from Lionel Logue, a speech and language therapist that he had met.

After diagnosing the cause of the stammering, which was in part due to nervousness, Logue prescribed a regimen of vocal exercises each day. Elizabeth reportedly was there to help with the therapy and practice with her husband, providing the needed support whenever Albert spoke publicly. Within a couple of years, Albert's speech had improved to the point that his father sent the couple on a tour of Australia, in 1927. Logue continued aspects of speech therapy with Albert even after he became king.

Answer: Reluctant

When Bertie's older brother David, then known as King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne in order to marry Wallis Simpson, Bertie and Elizabeth were thrust into a position which they had never planned for or hoped to be in. After reporting the news to his mother, the Duke of York recorded in his diary, "When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child". Elizabeth is said to have told a member of her household staff after the abdication of her brother-in-law, the new Duke of Windsor, "We must take what is coming and make the best of it". Needless to say, there was a great deal of uproar about the circumstances in England, as well as concern over events in Germany.

The new king and queen had an enormous task ahead of them, but appear to have handled it with grace and dignity.

There are some sources that claim that Elizabeth never forgave the Duke of Windsor for putting all the stress that he did on her husband's shoulders; she believed that the extra burden hastened his death.

Some say that she was the driving force behind her husband making sure that Wallis Simpson never received a royal title, and that the two ladies exchanged barbs. Still other sources report that Elizabeth "never said anything nasty about the Duchess of Windsor, except to say she really hadn't got a clue what she was dealing with." There is no doubt, however, that even with feeling reluctant about their new roles, the pair served their country well during their reign, inspiring their people and becoming symbols of the fight the nation faced.

Answer: London, England

When Elizabeth was advised to leave England by the King's Cabinet, she famously replied, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave". So - she stayed and learned how to use a revolver!

The King and Queen worked every day at Buckingham Palace, while their children lived at Windsor Castle; every night they would return to Windsor to be with their girls. Buckingham Palace was said to have been without much staff and many of the windows were broken and boarded up. In fact, the palace was bombed in 1940, with the King and Queen inside and just 30 yards away from the worst damage. The Queen famously said, "I'm glad we've been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face". Most days they were seen in public - visiting hospitals, factories, bombed sites, their people - and although there was apparently some resentment from the public because Elizabeth would greet them in her best clothes, she believed that she owed the British people her best, and attempted to wear bright, colorful clothing to symbolize hope.

Answer: True

After George Vi died, there was a period of time when the new Queen Mother thought she would retire from public life altogether. She went to Scotland and was in mourning for a year until Winston Churchill visited her and convinced her to return to public life. According to "The Royal Family" website, she was either patron or president of "some 350 organisations", including President of the British Red Cross Society and Commandant-in-Chief of the Army and Air Force Women's Services.

She also made over 40 official visits to other countries, in addition to pursuing her love of fishing (which she gave up at age 80), her love of steeple chasing, and restoring Castle of Mey, which she purchased after the death of her husband.

Answer: Adolph Hitler

Some sources claim that it was Josef Goebbels who made the statement, while others say the statement is apocryphal. It is found, however, in so many sources, that it seems that there must be some truth to the story - especially after considering the fact that the chauvinistic Hitler would have not been very accepting of a strong, popular woman, which is exactly what the Queen was! There is no doubt that she not only supported her husband, but influenced him as well. There are two events that are believed to have prompted the comment. In 1938 the King and Queen visited France. The Queen's mother had just passed away, so the family was in mourning. Elizabeth did not want to wear black, nor was it appropriate for her to wear colors. An all-white wardrobe was created for her, which was simply stunning. The royal visit to France was to help consolidate the alliance between the two countries. Some sources say that Hitler made this comment after this trip to France, which he believed bolstered the resolve of the French people. Others say that it was made during the Battle of Britain. It is reasonable to assume that the pro-Nazi Duke of Windsor might have regained his throne if the Nazis had been victorious during the Battle of Britain. The King and Queen just were not going to let that happen; their resolve in the midst of the bombing of London may have prompted such a comment.

I must say that for as many positive articles that can been found about the Queen Mother, there are derogatory ones as well. It is not possible for a person to be liked by all. When one considers the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, however, it must be noticed that much of her strength and commitment had been first modeled by her parents.