Rare Royal portrait by artist to the stars
THE cover of Lord Hurd’s new biography features a striking portrait of the Queen, left, by a fashionable artist more commonly associated with pop stars. Elizabeth Peyton painted the Queen in 2002 clad in a head scarf – a favoured garment of Her Majesty. However, the image appears to capture the Queen as she appeared in the 1970s, right.
US born Peyton is renowned for her stylised portraits of rock stars such as John Lennon and David Bowie.
PUBLISHED to celebrate the Queen becoming the longest-serving British monarch, Elizabeth II: The Steadfast is the compelling new biography by Lord Hurd. As one of the leading politicians of his era, the former Foreign Secretary was perfectly placed to observe the Queen, and the insights in his book hold particular significance.
Although Lord Hurd is careful to warn that he ‘would not claim any privileged access to her thoughts or inner feelings’, his book, which is published later this month, has the endorsement of a preface written by Prince William.
Here, our extract from Lord Hurd’s book gives a remarkable new understanding of the Queen, with revelations about the burden of the Queen’s Speech, her determination to maintain a traditional Royal Family – and how Diana, had she survived, would have become Her Majesty’s ally.
...on tradition
TIMES change and we change with them, so does the Queen. The House of Windsor can no longer pride itself on setting a moral example to the nation; the example which it can now hope to set is not of absolute moral strictness but of charity and good sense. Day by day, year by year, the Queen has set a solid example of both these qualities.
On the one hand they wish her to keep and use the trappings of monarchy. They would not relish the pedestrian and undramatic style of her Scandinavian and Dutch counterparts. Elizabeth’s subjects expect to see the Crown and the glitter of Royal diamonds on suitable occasions. They rejoice with the Queen on her Royal birthday and the anniversaries of her succession.
They expect men and women of undoubted gallantry and long public service to be honoured by the Queen or by members of her family. But at the same time they expect the Queen to keep the monarchy up to date.
...on Diana’s death
LORD Spencer in his farewell words to his sister achieved headlines with phrases which were applauded in the Abbey and outside. No one, on reflection, believed that the Earl or his family offered an alternative model for the upbringing of the Princes.
As the years passed, the Queen and Diana would have found a way of working together. Had they had the time, Diana might have become an ally of the Queen, alert to every shift of fashion, always glamorous and always unpredictable and exciting.
...on Queen’s Speech
ONE regular event badly needs amendment. The speech from the Throne delivered by the Queen at the opening of each parliamentary session is painful to hear and must be even more difficult to deliver. Just about everyone knows she has had no involvement in its composition. It is the fruit of deliberate consultation among her Ministers.
The resulting document has none of the natural form and harmony of the English language. A possible remedy is to hand: I believe that the Queen’s Speech to Parliament should be the work of one Minister only, in partnership with the Queen.
Every Cabinet still produces at least one Minister who knows how to use the English language to good effect.
...on keeping her counsel
UNLIKE Prince Philip and the Prince of Wales, she sees little merit in the spontaneity which brightens up their speeches but from time to time has landed both of them in trouble.
[In the run-up to the Scottish referendum] of course the public were interested in the Queen’s view. Of course she could not express a view while keeping her reputation for neutrality.
It was nevertheless her judgement that something should be said. She solved the dilemma by quietly urging her Scottish subjects to think carefully before they voted and to come together in friendship after the vote. No one of goodwill could accuse her of making a partisan statement; yet no one of sense could be in doubt about her views.
...on becoming heir – and then Queen
[SHORTLY after the Abdication of Edward VIII, her father unexpectedly becomes King in 1936.]
The same day the Princesses practised their curtsey to their father, when as King he came home to lunch… Princess Margaret asked her sister if it meant that one day she would be Queen. ‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘I suppose it does.’
[The Queen ascends to the throne in 1952 on the death of her father George VI.]
The news was flashed to Kenya and reached Elizabeth and Philip at Sagana Lodge near Treetops, the famous point from which wildlife could be watched. The Queen did not break down or show any strong emotion. She apologised to those around her for spoiling the rest of their visit.
Elizabeth II: The Steadfast by Douglas Hurd is published on August 27 by Penguin.