In 1953, the year I was seven, my mother gave me a scrapbook full of pictures she'd cut out of magazines and newspapers of the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II of England. I clearly remember gazing in awe at the photos of the dazzling young woman clad in an enviably pouffy dress, an ermine trimmed robe and a jeweled crown atop her regal head. She looked enough like my mother to my young eyes that I went to Mama with scrapbook in hand and asked if I could try on that crown.
Ever after that, I thought of my mother in terms of queenliness. She had a dancer's grace, wore her clothes beautifully, looked marvelous in hats (which I sometimes borrowed, pretending they were crowns), and ruled with intelligence and wisdom (albeit with a touch of severity).
Recently I came across this photo of Elizabeth. I can still see a slight resemblance. My mother has long since passed - she would have been 92 this May. The Queen will be 83 in April. The scrapbook disappeared long ago but my delight in thinking, even for a few giddy, childish moments, that my mother was a real live queen has not much abated.
photos of the Queen from www.picmium.com, Annie Liebowitz
WOW! what a likeness. it is stunning.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you are distantly related. There really is an uncanny resemblance.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting - my mother is of French descent. None of her relatives are British. It's my dad's side that's English (as well as Dutch, and Native American and he doesn't look a thing like the Queen).
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful memory. Yes, I see a resemblance.
ReplyDeleteI always felt my mother looked like the Queen, & her brother looked very like King George Vth!
ReplyDeleteI remember being fascinated with the little Princesses.
how cool!!!!
ReplyDeletemy mom always told me she wanted to marry the singer, Tom Jones. I spent a lot of time as a small child telling people that Tom Jones was going to be my dad ...!
then again, mom says i've always had a very active and dramatic imagination - for a red dirt mule!
xxx
rdm
Omigosh, your mother did look like the Queen! You know, that photo of the Queen by Annie Liebowitz, I just used it in one of my posts too. Didn't Annie capture her beautifully? Both the Queen and her sister Margaret were beautiful girls.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell which is which.
ReplyDeleteThey're all beautiful pictures.
And boy, that crown looks heavy!
Nice tribute. She certainly was a queen.
ReplyDelete