Royal Expert Says One Royal Found Emotions "Totally Alien"

Queen Elizabeth and members of the royal family on the palace balcony during the Platinum Jubilee — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II's impressive, 70-year career saw her achieve a smorgasbord of achievements as Britain's monarch. But according to one royal biographer, the late Queen struggled in one particular area for an understandable reason.

In the book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward discussed Queen Elizabeth's approach to "emotional confrontation," revealing why the monarch found it difficult to deal with.

Referencing Princess Diana's alleged penchant for crying nonstop in Queen Elizabeth's presence, Seward wrote, "She would wait in the page's vestibule next to The Queen's sitting room and as soon as any visitor had departed, she would push her way in and throw herself on The Queen's mercy, frequently sobbing and telling her mother-in-law how much Charles hated her."

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Seward continued, "Not surprisingly, The Queen had no idea what to do. Emotional confrontation of this sort was totally alien to someone whose upbringing insisted that manners were more important than feelings. As a result, she did nothing."

Ingrid Seward

'My Mother and I'

Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth attending the wedding of Viscount Linley and Serena Stanhope, at the Church of St Margaret in October 1993 — "The Queen had no idea what to do."

Queen Elizabeth's alleged inability to handle the troubling relationship between King Charles and Princess Diana reportedly caused additional issues within the Royal Family.

"It was a low point in her relationship with her son and, as the marriage spiraled out of control, Charles was reduced to shouting down the telephone at his mother to try to make her understand," Seward shared.

Queen Elizabeth wearing a blue coat and hat — "It was a low point in her relationship with her son."

In the same book, Seward shared a revelation from former politician Douglas Hurd, who said of the late monarch, "The Queen trained feelings out of herself in order to avoid any confrontation."

Meanwhile, the late monarch's former press secretary, Martin Charteris, told the author, "The Queen is not good at showing affection. She'd always be doing her duty."

It seems that, just like anyone, even Queen Elizabeth II had her flaws.

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.