Simpler times with Harry and Wills
A grandmother’s love is like no other. Here, the Queen’s happiness is unmistakable, Wood points out to Reader’s Digest, as she “leans in” to look at the world through the innocent eyes of her young grandsons, the Princes William and Harry, at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor in 1987.
For more adorable royal kids, check out these pictures of the world’s future kings and queens.
A horrible year
“1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure,” Her Majesty stated in her public address at Guildhall on November 24, 1992, which marked her 40th year as Queen. It had, as she put it, turned out to be an “Annus Horribilis,” which is the politest possible way the Queen could express her regret at the collapse of three of her children’s marriages, a devastating fire at the historic Windsor Castle, and the related tabloid feeding frenzy. In this photo, the Queen, then 66, stretches her mouth tensely, pulling and holding back her emotions, as Wood puts it. Still, she maintains her composure as she holds her script, just as she did 56 years earlier (see “The future foretold,” above).
Quality time with a future king
In a much more mirthful moment, the Queen and her eldest grandchild, Prince William, have some fun together in the Royal Box at the Royal Albert Hall in London during the Annual Festival of Remembrance on November 7, 2015. It’s a rare moment in which Her Majesty allows us to see her enjoying her family, genuinely and without self-consciousness, Wood tells Reader’s Digest.
Don’t miss these 12 photos of Prince William acting like the future king that he is.