A Yank's question about Her Majesty's political leanings

[iowasocialist]

I realize that your monarch can never be partisan, but I was told once by an Anglophile fellow Yank that the Queen and her family have always been a bit more in sync with Labour PMs than with the Tory ones.

However, watching the film "The Queen", we see a royal family that was anti-Blair and against the "modernizers", even before the dust-up portrayed in the film after the death of Diana.

Any comments?

Thank you!

[Anarcho-Socialist]

1. historically British monarchs preferred the Tories to the Whigs

and then they preferred to the Tories to the old Liberal Party, and then preferring the Tories to the Labour Party.

The British head of state has had less of an explicit preference for a party over another. The monarch did have a good rapport with Labour PM Harold Wilson, and she was reported to have had a bad rapport with Margaret Thatcher believing her policies to be too socially divisive. Thatcher was uncomfortable being around other women (not many served in her Cabinet) and clashed with the monarch, with the latter often finding Thatcher to be condescending.

I haven't heard anything about other PMs. But I suppose the monarch is happy as long as the government welfare cheques keep coming and the country remains stable.

[truebrit71]

7. I believe she despised Maggie..she was so pissed at her one occassion that at their weekly..

...get to together the two women went into a room with only one chair..the Queen sat down and grilled Maggie, on her feet, for several hours..

That's why the pound coin when it first came out was called a "Maggie", because it was thick, brassy and thought it was a sovereign..

Still think she liked Winston the most..

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. The 2 facets can be compatible

Labour supporters and politicians can be quite tradition-loving, but Blair was more of the "we have to change things" persuasion, which Thatcher was too. I've heard that the Queen's favourite PM was Jim Callaghan - a fairly genial, no-nonsense Labour PM, who fought in the war (and the queen always respects that in a man). Politically, I'm not sure what she thinks, but I suspect she'd tend towards a traditional conservatism. Charles had to be told it would be inappropriate for him to show his beliefs by joining the Labour party when he was at university, and is obviously 'green' (but in a rather annoying twaddle-believing way). Philip is undoubtedly a Tory.

[EmilyKent]

3. There was this in the Torygraph in 2007.

Revealed: Queen's dismay at Blair legacy

By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter
Published: 12:01AM BST 27 May 2007

The Queen has been left "exasperated and frustrated" at the legacy of Tony Blair's 10 years in power, friends have disclosed.

She has been "deeply concerned" by many of New Labour's policies, in particular what she sees as the Prime Minister's lack of understanding of countryside issues, her closest confidants reported.

Royal sources said that the Queen also believes privately that Mr Blair and his Government have meddled unnecessarily in Britain's heritage, including the reform of the House of Lords.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1552769/Revealed-Queens-dismay-at-Blair-legacy.html

How true it is of course, I don't know.

[Jeneral2885]

4. Well

The Queen's favourite PM of all time is still Winston Churchill who was a Tory. She doesn't really understand New Labour. Still, given that she din't knight Anthony C Blair, she probably will do the same "honours" for Brown...

[Jeneral2885]

5. Well

The Queen's favourite PM of all time is still Winston Churchill who was a Tory. She doesn't really understand New Labour. Still, given that she din't knight Anthony C Blair, she probably will do the same "honours" for Brown...

[non sociopath skin]

6. "She doesn't really understand New Labour."

That puts her with the majority, then.

:evilgrin:

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

8. This reminds me of the recent Private Eye cover...

where the Queen, in full regalia and looking very cross, is telling the leaders: "Hurry up, or I'll toss a coin!"