When Queen Elizabeth II died in September, it was the end of an era that stretched back to my grandparents time. I’m not a monarchist but I did feel some sadness in her passing, and still have a hard time imagining the vast changes that her long life spanned through- world war II, independence of the UK’s colonies, the 50’s post-war austerity (and gender roles), the cold war, the Thatcher years, Charles and Diana’s divorce, the death of Diana, the birth of the internet, terrorist attacks, a pandemic. Whew. And for all of that she remained a largely well-thought of figure, an enigma, an icon- even for people who aren’t big fans of the institution of the monarchy overall.
When I was looking at the different biographies I could find for her (the Palace Papers is still on my list), this seemed like the most light-hearted. It promised all the gossip about the most loveable denizens of the Queen’s household, her corgis- who they bit (many people), their forbidden romances (producing ‘dorgi’s, the corgi-daschund crossbreed), whether they really ruled the roost (QE II really did, but the corgis were a close second).
Junor tells the story of the Queen’s love for dogs in general and corgis in particular, throwing in a little family history about how the monarchy’s love for dogs began with Queen Victoria (her first dog: a King Charles Cavalier- which my friend who also owns a King Charles Cavalier thinks is very appropriate for her princess of a pooch). The Queen’s uncle and her father followed in the family tradition, but the corgi love started when the Queen was given a corgi puppy as a girl. That first puppy was named Susan, and Junot suggests that she likely provided the young Queen with significant comfort during a tumultuous childhood (her uncle’s abdication, but dramatically altered the role her father and later she would play; the start of WWII where children were sent out of London).
On the dog gossip, I would say this fell a little short my expectations. Junor’s descriptions of the dog misadventures tended to gloss over things. I wanted to know what the royal family thought about the dog escapades, the nips at ankles, the puppies out of wedlock! I understand that neither the royal family nor the household help is likely to really spill that tea, but that is what I’d hoped for.
The best part of this book was the glimpse of an alternative life that the Queen would likely much rather have led- her sliding doors moment occurred when her uncle abdicated. From the stories and background that Junot relays, it seems obvious that the Queen was most comfortable- most herself- when she was out with her dogs in the country. You can imagine her imagining the life she would have led had her uncle not abdicated (and if he had had children). Her royal relatives more removed from the line of succession could have spent their days raising dogs and riding horses and on a perpetual trust fund vacation of sorts, but the Queen had a calendar packed with ribbon cuttings and hospital openings and visits with Liz Truss, all the while living her struggles in a very public glare. I’m not really feeling sorry for her (it was still a life of privilege) but I am feeling inspired and grateful for the decades of service she gave to her country. I think that regardless of whether the monarchy should exist at all, there is a a poignancy in how she subsumed a large part of her real self to be what she felt the country needed.