Queen Elizabeth II had an incredible talent. A hidden talent that she kept for herself and some of her relatives or visitors like her biographer, Gyles Brandreth. The latter tells five months before her death why she made him laugh so much.
We thought we knew everything about Queen Elizabeth II, and yet five months after her death, there are still revelations, notably from her biographer, Gyles Brandreth. In his book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, he tells that at the end of her life the 96-year-old monarch would have battled bone marrow cancer. “I had heard that the queen had a form of myeloma – a cancer of the bone marrow – which would explain her fatigue and weight loss and her ‘mobility problems’ that we were often told about in the last year or so of her life,” writes in his book the man who was also close to Prince Phillip. On September 8, 2022, the queen officially died of “old age”. A sad end that does not make him forget the many funny moments they spent together.
To make him laugh, Elizabeth II had a secret recipe: her imitations. “Once, she interpreted ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’ by George Formby for me, while strumming an imaginary ukulele!”, still remembers the author in comments relayed by Hello l this Sunday, February 12. “She was an incredible impersonator and told me she was inspired by the famous impersonator Florence Desmond, who came to Windsor Castle to entertain the royal family during the war,” Gyles Brandreth told Yours magazine in an interview.
Imitations that make people talk
“The queen could do all sorts of regional accents,” continued the biographer lucky to have been able to witness such a performance that she never offered in public. This is not the first time Queen Elizabeth II’s impersonation past has surfaced. “In the intimacy, it is a woman who has a lot of humor, which is known in her family for the talent she has for imitations,” had already confided in 2015, on Europe 1, the journalist specialist in the royal families of Europe, Isabelle Rivère. “She imitates very well and with great brio especially the great characters she meets as part of her official duties. She makes you laugh a lot,” she added without joking.
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