The Queen's hidden cousins 17/11/11 ch4 9pm
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Just thought I'd let everyone know about this http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2059831/The-Queens-hidden-cousins-They-banished-asylum-1941-left-neglected-intriguing-documentary-reveals-all.html. So sad.
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"Former ward sister Dot Penfold, now retired from nursing, also has fond memories. ‘They were no problem to look after but they were mischievous, like naughty children. Katherine was a scallywag. You could scream at her and she’d turn a deaf ear.’"
Wasn't that programme shocking and sad! Who else thinks that Katherine, when she was young, and even now in old age, bears a stunning resemblence to Anne and Zara?
I'm afraid the Royal Family need to be seen to be doing much better for her.
It would be a very nice gesture if the Queen and the younger royals had contact with the remaining sister I think.
I couldn't believe that the family actually lied to Debretts Peerage that both sisters had died. That was really shocking and no way was a mistake.
It is a sad story that there is really no right answer to. Yes, perhaps the royal family should have done something about it in 1987, especially as the Queen Mother was patron of Mencap. But the Queen Mother and to a large extent the Queen were from a different age. It just wasn't "the done thing" then, and no matter how much we want to, we can't translate things that happened decades ago into the values held today. What's done is done and they are where they are.
To play devil's advocate for a moment, what reaction and media circus would there have been if Katherine had been wheeled out for her name-sake's wedding this year? Would EVERYONE watching been kind and thought it was great? Would she have been bewildered and frightened? None of us know.
If the Queen doesn't feel able to have any sort of relationship with her cousin, for whatever reason, that is her business and I don't feel in any position to judge her, as I have cousins I don't know and have hardly ever seen, and would find it extremely difficult to try to start any sort of relationship with now. The other Bowes-Lyon sisters and the Burke's peerage fiasco are different matters however, but again, maybe born of the times they were in. I just don't feel able to judge someone on an unwise decision taken fifty years ago by someone generations above them.
Perhaps the noble and wise thing to do now would be for some of the younger royals to start to visit Katherine and take an interest in her. This would only be if their interest was genuine however, and not a "damage limitation" exercise. Whether the Queen would be comfortable with this or not though, none of us can know - neither can we know how she feels about the whole story.
While the girls were very closely related to the Queen, they were not royal and were the responsiblity of the family of John Bowes-Lyon.
The wider family's role can't be explained by anyone other than them. I know from personal experience that it's not always easy to interfere in the business of relatives, no matter how closely related. And the Bowes-Lyon family was a large one, it seems ridiculous to slate the Queen and Queen Mother specifically.
As for hiding embarrassing relatives away, the tendency of the Royal Family to do this has been dramatically exaggerated. Prince John being a prime example.
However, to completely ignore their birthdays, Christmas, and any other occasion by not even sending a card, never visiting them and even denying their very existence by saying they are dead while still alive is quite unforgiveable! It is just disgusting!
And the Queen Mother as the patron of a society like Mencap, should have at the very least acknowledged her nieces, and shown the world that there is no shame in having a family member who is less than "perfect" by society's standards! After all, the Royal Family's life of privelege is funded by the people, so they should try to relate to the lives of the people!
Good post. I agree about the presents etc. and also about the Queen Mum and Mencap.
They were a wealthy family so they could easily have afforded a couple of nurses to live in and care for the 2 girls.
It's bound to be shown on More 4 soon enough, just keep an eye out for it. I would say in about a week or two's time.
Wasn't the family told by the hospital that they shouldn't visit once the mother (who did visit) had died - surely this would explain the reason they didn't visit?
But they could have still senta birthday or Xmas gift!
Just taking a pot-shot at the Royal Family.
I have watched it today on tv on demand. It will be on there for a week.