Prince Harry’s desire to lead a ‘normal existence’ has been known for many years. However, it would seem he isn’t the only Royal Family member who wished to be ordinary. In her new book, Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy, Dr Tess Dunlop explores the late Queen’s deepest desires.
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‘I wish I could be more like you’
Dr Dunlop believes that a young Princess Elizabeth wished she could have a more normal existence and that her children could lead ‘ordinary lives’. 'Normal' was apparently what the Princess coveted.
Dunlop claims in her new book that the Princess confided in Mrs Eileen Parker, the wife of Prince Philip’s equerry and friend, Mike Parker. The future Queen apparently said:
I wish I could be more like you, Eileen.
She supposedly told her that she wanted her children ‘to be able to lead ordinary lives’. Princess Elizabeth also apparently said:
I am going to mother my baby – not the nurse
Unfortunately, this was nearly impossible for the young Princess. In the early 1950s, the then-Princess Elizabeth had to take on a much more prominent role within the Royal Family because of her father, King George VI’s ailing health. She was unable to be the ‘hands-on-mother’ to the now King Charles and Princess Anne, as she so wished. And in 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II when Charles and Anne were only 4 and 2 years old, respectively.
However, in her memoir, Eileen Parker wondered what price ‘a Princess would truly be willing to pay’ to raise her children like ‘ordinary people’.
‘Even if I was King, I’d do my own shopping’
Prince Harry has often expressed his desire for normality, stating that his time with the Armed Forces was ‘the happiest years’ of his life. Speaking on The Me You Can’t See, the Apple TV+ series he co-created with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry explained that he always ‘wanted to be normal’, to be ‘just Harry’. The Army gave him that.
He said:
I got to wear the same uniform as everybody else. I had to do all the same training as everybody else. I started from the bottom like everybody else. There was no special treatment because of who I was.
In a 2017 interview with author Angela Levin, the Prince declared he was determined to lead as ordinary a life as possible and hoped that his children would be able to.
He said:
I do my own shopping. Sometimes, […] I worry someone will snap me with their phone. Even if I was king, I’d do my own shopping.
Prince Harry did what the Queen could not. In 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior Royals and now offer their two children, Archie and Lilibet, a childhood protected from the public eye.
Sources used:
- Express: Did Queen have same dream as Harry? Young Princess Elizabeth wished for ‘ordinary life’
