Princess Diana Lovingly Called Queen Elizabeth This Surprising Nickname Throughout Her Childhood
Throughout Princess Diana‘s childhood, her family, the Spencers, had a longstanding relationship with the royal family. She was so close to the members of the House of Windsor that she had a loving and surprising nickname for Queen Elizabeth.
Princess Diana had a sweet nickname for Queen Elizabeth growing up
As a young girl, Princess Diana regularly interacted with the royal family. The Spencer family had been closely allied with the British royal family for several generations; her grandmothers, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer, and Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy, had served as ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
Therefore, there was a base relationship between the Spencer family and the House of Windsor. So when she married into the royal family, Diana wasn’t as unfamiliar with their clan as history has written.
In fact, a New York Times story written in 1981 on the heels of Diana’s wedding to then-Prince Charles discusses just how close she was to the family. It revealed Diana’s sweet nickname for Elizabeth.
The article discussed Diana’s lineage, and how the Spencer family was linked to the royals. The Spencers were directly descended from the Stuart kings, five times, from King Charles II and once from James I. Earl Spencer, the equerry to King George VI and later to Queen Elizabeth II.
With such a close link to the royal family, Diana felt a familiarity with them. So much so that she called the queen ”Aunt Lilibet” since childhood.
What was Queen Elizabeth’s relationship with Princess Diana like?
Diana spent her early years living at Park House, situated on the royal family’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk. There she often played with Queen Elizabeth’s younger sons, Andrew, born in 1960, and Edward, born in 1964.
Although Diana had been in close proximity to the royals in her earlier years, she didn’t formally cross paths with Prince Charles until 1977, when Charles was dating Diana’s older sister, Sarah. At the time, Diana was 16 and Charles was approaching 30.
By the time Princess Diana was 19, she was involved in a romantic relationship with Charles and married him one year later. But, although the queen and Diana had a close bond, she didn’t give Diana the assistance she craved during her early days of royal life.
Diana reportedly turned to the Queen for guidance after marrying into the royal family. But while Diana needed someone to hold her hand during her difficult assimilation into the life of a senior royal, the queen reportedly didn’t provide what she craved.
Her Majesty was incredibly stoic, even with the closest members of her family. She was ill-prepared to deal with the emotionally vulnerable newest member of the royal family. Diana sought emotional closeness that the queen was unable to provide her.
Did the women ever reconcile their relationship?
Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana reportedly had a cordial relationship. At the end of 1992, the Queen gave her consent to, at last, allow her and Prince Charles to separate as their marriage appeared irreperable.
By 1995, the queen encouraged a formal divorce. Elizabeth was said to have advocated for Diana to retain the title of Her Royal Highness, but Prince Charles refused.
Princess Diana died in 1997. She sustained life-ending injuries in a car crash in Paris, France.
Queen Elizabeth allowed the flag to fly at half-staff over Buckingham Palace on the day of her funeral. She spoke of Diana in a message to the country one week after her death.
The queen said, “I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional and gifted human being. In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness. I admired and respected her—for her energy and commitment to others, and especially for her devotion to her two boys [Princes William and Harry].”
Queen Elizabeth attended Princess Diana’s funeral with the rest of the royal family. She bowed her head to the coffin as it passed.
