A Resurfaced & Deeply Private Letter From Queen Elizabeth II Gives a Glimpse at Her Life as a New Mom
It’s a handwritten letter from the late sovereign to her midwife dated not long after Princess Anne was born. It’s up for auction and, as of June 28, the highest bid was for just over $1,100, per People. (Which … seems surprisingly low, no?)
Anywho!
In the letter, Queen Elizabeth II detailed the early days of being a mom of two.
“We are all getting on very well up here and I am feeling very much stronger already,” she wrote of her family’s time at Balmoral Castle. “It was lovely to be on the hill again the second day I was here, but the third day, the Jeep which takes one everywhere over the ground missed picking me up and I had to walk down to the road, with the result that I strained my knee on something, which has been very effective in keeping me within bounds!” Because, unfortunately, sometime’s moms need something as serious as a strained knee to actually take a break.
“However, the air is so good that I feel better every day, and though I still go to sleep in the afternoon, I don’t do it so often now,” she continued.
The Queen then told her midwife about how her kids were doing in the four-page note.
“Charles is getting fatter as he has an enormous appetite and takes a great deal of exercise. I find it extremely difficult to explain it away when he looks at something he can’t reach and then turns his back meaningly on me and says, ‘Mummy, lift!'”
OMG! A chunky baby Charles and a mom too tired to pick him up again. It’s so [eerily?] relatable.
The current monarch reportedly enjoyed the train journey to Scotland “far more” than his little sister. “[Anne] wasn’t too keen on the rattling to begin with, but she has steadily been putting on weight up here and has got lovely pink cheeks after she has been out. The sugar in her foods is gradually going up, and she doesn’t seem to be nearly so ravenous, often sleeping right up to bottle time.”
Perhaps the most relatable part of it all is when Queen Elizabeth began talking about The Queen Mother.
“The children’s grandmother is spoiling her eldest quite openly and will do so with Anne if she got a chance!” Queen Elizabeth said before ultimately signing the letter, “Yours very sincerely, Elizabeth.”
It’s all so wildly personal and down-to-earth for a royal who always seemed so … royal and closed off — not one to publicly share such intimate information about her family life. We have to imagine the bids will only increase on this momento before the auction closes on July, 10.
Before you go, check out these precious photos that prove Princess Diana’s commitment to motherhood over the monarchy.