Sometimes dubbed the Queen's best friend, her cousin Margaret Rhodes was the daughter of Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon, her mother's sister, and Lord Sidney Elphinstone.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 1935-
As a grandchild of George V and Queen Mary, he is the Queen's first cousin, and since his mother was a first cousin to Prince Philip, Edward is also Philip's first cousin once removed.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, was often referred to as the queen's favourite over the years given her special bond with the queen. Also famously known as Sophie Wessex, the countess joined her husband Prince Edward and his siblings Princess Anne and Prince Andrew during the tributes' acknowledgement.
Angela worked with Her late Majesty for almost 30 years. Share this: Angela Kelly is preparing to say goodbye to her Windsor home as she calls time on her living there following the passing of the Queen last year. Angela and Her late Majesty were very close, with Angela believed to be one of her best friends.
Cliff Richard, ABBA and Dame Vera Lynn... we revisit Queen Elizabeth II's favourite artists.
Prince Edward, 58, Earl of Wessex
Out of all of the kids, Prince Edward, now known as the Earl of Wessex, is believed to be the Queen and Prince Philip's favorite child.
“I would say that Led Zeppelin are the greatest, and as a rock band they deserved the kind of success they got,” said Mercury. “Robert Plant is one of the most original vocalists of our time. He was always my favourite singer.
Enter Angela Kelly ‒ the queen's most loyal aide for the past three decades. She's also known as her hairdresser, dresser and “best friend”, as claimed by various media.
Freddie Mercury may have been one of the more extroverted singers of his generation but his closest friend in Queen was the quietest member. Peter Freestone was a PA to the band and witnessed the friendship from close up and has revealed what bonded Freddie with bassist John Deacon.
Paul Kevin Whybrew, CVO, RVM (born 1959) is a British former courtier to the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. He served as Page of the Backstairs to Queen Elizabeth II until her death on 8 September 2022.
Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)
The Queen's Consort
The Duke of Edinburgh was devoted consort (companion to the Sovereign) for over 60 years, from Her Majesty's Accession in 1952 until his death. In 2009 he became the longest serving British consort, a distinction previously held by Queen Charlotte, George III's consort.
At the time, Nerissa was 22 years old and Katherine just 15. Although their exact diagnosis was unknown—at the time, they were just called imbecile—the sisters were said to be severely handicapped and nonverbal and have a mental age of six. They remained in hospital care until both of their deaths.
The ties to the royal family mean they were first cousins of Queen Elizabeth II. The sisters were born with severe learning difficulties and, following the death of their father in 1930, they were admitted to a mental health institution, the Royal Earlswood Hospital in Redhill, London, in 1941.
In short, yes, it is legal for second and third cousins to marry in the US.
Twenty-eight members of the British royal family have lived to the age of 80 years or older since the Acts of Union 1707 established the Kingdom of Great Britain. These British royal family members consist of 2 centenarians, 9 nonagenarians, and 17 octogenarians.
One of the Queen's most trusted staff, Angela Kelly, who became Her Majesty's personal assistant and dresser, will stay on living at Windsor - thanks to the royal.
"Despite Philip's love of equestrian sports, he didn't share his wife's obsession with the horses themselves. Bloodstock is the subject that brings the queen most alive, and that was the unchallenged realm of her closest male friend, Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, seventh Earl of Carnarvon."
And Princess Eugenie, the sixth of her generation, has a particularly close relationship with her grandmother. While the Queen's affinity for Eugenie's mother Sarah Ferguson has wavered over the years, the monarch has always remained close with her granddaughter.
Gary, or Gan-Gan
According to royal correspondent Richard Kay, Prince William was encouraged to call her Granny as a child, but he couldn't quite get the hang of it. What he could manage, was Gary. Kay said: "On another occasion, the Queen was on hand after William fell over at Buckingham Palace, bawling: 'Gary, Gary'.
Everyone that isn't an immediate member of the royal family has to refer to the monarch by her official title. That includes politicians, heads of state, and even royalty from other countries. There was, historically, one exception to this rule.
He used to play tennis sometimes, especially when he was on holiday, and enjoyed watching Wimbledon. He also liked watching rugby, but football and cricket did nothing for him.
Taylor talked a lot about movies with Mercury (“We'd all go and see the latest Stanley Kubrick film, every four years”) and said the singer's “absolute favorite film” was Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, which the American Film Institute voted the best comedy ever made.
Just like his fellow band members, Mercury loved all things on four wheels. He owned the Rolls-Royce for more than a decade, from 1979 all the way to his death in 1991.