Elizabeth the Queen (80 page)

The Queen and Prince Philip with (
from left
) Princess Anne, Prince Charles, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew during the family’s annual holiday at Balmoral, August 22, 1972.
Lichfield/Getty Images

“Whoever invented these robes wasn’t very practical, even in the days when somebody wore clothes like these.”

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in the procession to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor for the annual Service of Thanksgiving honoring the knights of the Order of the Garter, the Queen’s most prestigious Order of Chivalry, June 1975.
Reginald Davis MBE (London)

“As a human being one always has hope, and one always has perhaps the gambling instinct, that one’s horse is going to be better than the next man’s horse, and that’s why one goes on doing it.”

The Queen and Prince Philip in a landau for the traditional Royal Ascot procession on the grassy straight mile at the racecourse, June 1980.
Reginald Davis MBE (London)

It was the first time the public had witnessed so vividly the unflinching physical courage and equilibrium that friends and courtiers had seen privately
.

Elizabeth II riding sidesaddle with Prince Philip at Trooping the Colour shortly after a gunman had fired six blanks at her from the crowd, June 13, 1981.
Reginald Davis MBE (London)

Diana put on a good show that day, but in fact had sunk into postnatal depression that she later called her “dark ages.”

The Queen, Prince Philip, and the Queen Mother with Charles as Diana holds Prince William after his christening at Buckingham Palace, August 4, 1982.
Kent Gavin, Royal Photographer

“I knew before we came that we have exported many of our traditions to the United States,” the Queen deadpanned, “but I had not realized before that weather was one of them.”

Ronald Reagan reacting as Elizabeth II commented on the six days of torrential downpours during her visit with Prince Philip to California, March 3, 1983.
Diana Walker/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

Fergie regularly rode with the Queen and “felt favored and blessed … I was robust and jolly and not too highly strung.”

Prince Andrew and his bride, the former Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson—the Duke and Duchess of York—riding in a landau to Buckingham Palace after their wedding, July 23, 1986.
Tim Graham/Getty Images

“She felt very much at home in Kentucky. I saw an atmosphere of informality and gaiety that I never saw in England.”

Elizabeth II on her fourth private holiday touring the stud farms in Lexington, Kentucky, with her hosts, Will Farish (
left
) and his wife Sarah (
far right
), as well as the Queen’s racing manager, Henry Porchester, the 7th Earl of Carnarvon (
second from right
), May 1991.
David Perry/Lexington Herald-Leader

Mandela and President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia were the only world leaders to call the Queen “Elizabeth” without causing offense
.

The Queen and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa riding in a carriage to Buckingham Palace at the beginning of his state visit, July 9, 1996.
Tim Graham/Getty Images

“It had not just been for work. It had been their floating home.”

Elizabeth II wiping away a tear as she, Prince Philip, and Prince Charles watch the decommissioning ceremony for the royal yacht
Britannia
in Portsmouth after forty-three years of service, December 11, 1997.
Tim Graham/Getty Images

“Sophie first of all respects her as the Queen, then as a mother-in-law, but she also understands that she is a human being and treats her that way.”