As a member of the British Royal Family, Queen Elizabeth II was a public figure her entire life. Despite being recognized the world over, the late monarch reportedly never considered herself to be a famous "celebrity," one royal historian has revealed.
In new book Queen Elizabeth II: A Concise Biography of an Exceptional Sovereign, David Cannadine revealed, "She never saw herself as a celebrity, she did not care what other people thought about her, and on several occasions she showed conspicuous bravery, as when she went to Ghana in 1961 and Zambia in 1979 despite official concerns, and when she calmly dealt with Michael Fagan, an intruder who in 1982 gained access to her bedroom in Buckingham Palace."
Cannadine also noted that, at one point, the former Queen "coolly remarked," "I spend most of my time conversing with complete strangers." Basically, in her public-facing role, Elizabeth reportedly became accustomed to making conversation with people she didn't know and would likely never see again.
In his book, Cannadine also reflected on the various roles Queen Elizabeth II played throughout her dextrous life. "Across the generations, she was a granddaughter, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and eventually a great-grandmother," he wrote.
The historian continued, "She loved the countryside but spent much of her life in London and much of her time visiting cities at home and capitals abroad. She was the Supreme Governor of the Church of England but reigned over a country comprising four different nations and, in some ways, she was a different personage in each one of them."
"This was her public persona as sovereign, but there was also a woman somewhere inside, which meant she was in some ways two different people," Cannadine explained. "'What should The Queen do?' she sometimes asked her private secretaries, rather than, 'What should I do?'"
Unsurprisingly, Elizabeth reportedly needed to find a way to hold all of the dualities involved in her role as monarch, which likely meant that most people never knew the real person underneath.
