Queen to send private message to family of Forces’ Sweetheart
The Queen is to send a private message of condolence to Dame Vera Lynn’s family.
Buckingham Palace said the monarch, who is staying at Windsor Castle, will write to express her sympathy after the Forces’ Sweetheart died at the age of 103.
The Queen echoed the singer’s famous Second World War anthem in her televised address on coronavirus in April, telling the nation: “We will meet again.”
The pair, who were born nine years apart, met many times and shared a bond due to their wartime experiences.
Dame Vera spent time with the teenage Princess Elizabeth and her family in 1945 at Windsor, where the princess stayed for her safety during the war, just as she has done in lockdown.
The singer and the royals celebrated the impending German surrender together, weeks before the official announcement of peace.
At a party in the castle, she joined other entertainers and the Royal Family “for a sort of private victory celebration”.
Dame Vera later recalled: “There was Tommy Trinder and one or two other artists, the King and Queen and two princesses were there, and it was just sort of a private little party.
“So of course I wasn’t surprised when peace was declared; we had already had a pre-warning, as it were, that it was finishing.”
Actress Miriam Margolyes summed up the Queen’s relationship with Dame Vera in her own tribute.
“There is no one in our lives, except the Queen, who had the power to connect a nation,” she said.
“For that she will be remembered and always with love.”
Dame Vera was closely associated with the Queen Mother – and both were heralded for keeping spirits up during the war when the nation suffered under the Blitz and troops were training at home and fighting overseas.
They used to write to one another, once sending mutual messages of support when Dame Vera fractured her thigh and the Queen Mother dislocated her shoulder at the same time, and they met frequently at charity events and occasions commemorating the war.
On the 50th anniversary of VE Day in 1995, Dame Vera took centre stage in front of Buckingham Palace to sing to the thousands of people who had gathered in celebration.
Watching from the balcony were the Queen Mother, the Queen and Princess Margaret.