Do Let’s Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

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The Queen Mother was 101 when she died, having been born in 1900. She grew up in Glamis Castle, Scotland, and married Prince Albert (Bertie), in 1923. Following the Abdication crisis of 1936, Prince Albert was crowned King George VI, and Elizabeth was crowned as Queen Consort. King George VI died fifteen years later, at which point his daughter Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth II, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. During her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations, and dry-as-a-martini delivery style as she was for being a beloved royal. Now, Do Let’s Have Another Drink recounts 101 (one for each year of her remarkable life) amusing and astonishing vignettes from across her long life, including her coming of age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law and her unexpected ascendance to the throne, and her half century of widowhood as her daughter reigned over the United Kingdom. Featuring new revelations and colorful anecdotes about the woman Cecil Beaton, the high society photographer, once summarized as “a marshmallow made on a welding machine,” Do Let’s Have Another Drink is a delightful celebration of one of the most consistently popular members of the royal family. With the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, the royal family has been in the news once again. While fascination with the royal family rarely wanes, the younger generations tend to grab all the headlines. The Queen Mother, who died in 2002 at the age of 101, led a fascinating life where she encountered many of the well-known people of the day. She, like her daughter, had a great belief in "doing one's duty" and continued to participate in royal duties until just a few months before her death. This book takes a look at her life, decade by decade, to show the woman who tried (not always successfully) to avoid publicity. This book is a totally delightful, humorous, and compelling collection of 101 vignettes about the Queen Mother during her lifetime. One each for the number of years she lived.

She was ruthlessly political, especially when it came to the Abdication, and the way in which to treat the former King and Mrs Simpson, who, from their brief appearances in this text, appear to have been thoroughly deserving of the exile they endured. I've read many books about the Windsors over the decades, but never a biography solely covering Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, known in her unmarried beginnings as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. When I drank in the cover of this book and its title, I surmised I was getting truly a new spin on the topic in the form of humorous anecdotes about The Queen Mother. But when I first delved into the book my expectations were upended, for this was an actual biography...and a very good one! So at first I was a little disappointed because I was waiting for the punchlines that weren't coming. However, once I switched gears and realized what a wonderful biography I was reading about this historic royal icon, I ploughed through it with delight! The whimsical stories started coming once The Queen Mother was a widow, freed from the responsibilities and limitations her former role of Queen Consort demanded.Gareth Russell’s survey avoids both of these traps. Described by the author as “a skimming-stone biography,” it tells its story in 10 chapters, one for each decade of the Queen Mother’s life, and 101 gossipy anecdotes. By the end, as the last pieces in the jigsaw fall into place, we have a warm, funny, and above all sympathetic picture of a remarkable woman, one who throughout her long life managed to combine self-indulgence with a powerful sense of duty – both traits which are out of fashion today.

When told that Lady Mountbatten was being buried at sea, the Queen Mother replied cheerfully. ‘Dear old Edwina, she always did like to make a splash!’ Russell wasted a great opportunity to compare Diana and the QM’s similarities. They both had a high EQ and could put people at ease. Perhaps a vignette could have features their mutual dislike despite their mutual similarities. I have long admired this wonderful woman and wish I could have met her before she passed away. Along with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, the world has lost two beautiful icons. May God rest their souls. Gareth Russell’s new biography of the Queen Motheris stuffed full of outrageous anecdotes. Because her father, Lord Strathmore, couldn’t be bothered to register her birth for six weeks, a fabulously bonkers rumour began circulating that she was really the daughter of a French chef. One conspiracist pointed to her podgy appearance, claiming: “She did look like the daughter of a cook.” When told that Lady Mountbatten was being buried at sea, the Queen Mother replied cheerfully. 'Dear old Edwina, she always did like to make a splash!'

During her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations and dry-as-a-Martini delivery style as she was for being a member of the Royal Family. She was also famed for her fondness for ‘drinky-poos’ – usually a gin and Dubonnet or three. Now, Do Let’s Have Another Drink recounts 101 biographical vignettes – one for each year of her long, remarkable life, including her coming-of-age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law, the truth about her tragic nieces and her relationship with her two daughters over half a century of widowhood. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was never a person I envisaged reading a book about. But, here we are. I have just finished reading Do Let's Have Another Drink: The Singular Wit and Double Measures of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother by historian Gareth Russell. Just within the last week, Russell's captivating book was named a Best Book of 2022 by The Times. All I can say is this honour is well and truly deserved. Diana Mitford Mosley and the QM did NOT get along, not only because of their politics but because Diana was great friends with Wallis, "that woman". The Queen Mother, of course, needs no introduction. Personally, I remember seeing her in photographs and footage of the royal family as a child. She passed away when I was 14 years old - I remember hearing of her passing and feeling saddened at the time but that's it.