Queen Elizabeth was the queen of the United Kingdom and commonwealth regions from 1952 to 2022. She was the longest-reigning monarch of Britain and longest reigning, female monarch. Elizabeth became Queen at the age of 25 after father King George VI died. She also had a sister, Princess Margaret born four years after her.
Elizabeth was never supposed to be a Queen and wasn’t even in the spotlight until her uncle Edward VIII abdicated from the throne. Her father George VI reluctantly had to become the king after his brother had to abdicate to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. Suddenly, Elizabeth became the heir presumptive and was thrust into the limelight. There are many members of the royal family, but some of them weren’t subjected to public and led a private life.
Related – Who Is Queen Elizabeth’s Son Edward? What Happened To Him?
The Bowes-Lyon Sisters
Queen Elizabeth’s cousins from her maternal side are one such royal family members who were shielded from the public. Katherine Juliet Bowes-Lyon and Nerissa Jane Irene Bowes-Lyon were the daughters of John Herbert Bowes-Lyon and Fenella Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis. John was the brother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Elizabeth’s mother, also known as The Queen Mother.
It is believed that the sisters had developmental disabilities and even lacked the ability to talk. It was believed that the sisters died in 1961 and 1940 respectively but was later revealed that they were alive and were living in Earlswood Hospital for the mentally disabled. They had no visitors at the hospital and received no aid whatsoever. The hospital received no grants as well and only received small charitable donations from the royal family.
In Case You Missed It – What Were Prince Harry’s Last Words To Queen Elizabeth Before She Died?
The Documentary And Subsequent Controversy
In 2011, a documentary about the Queen’s cousins was released on Channel 4. It was called The Queen’s Hidden Cousins. The documentary was released to showcase the stark contrast between the comfortable and upper-class life of Elizabeth and Margaret and the difficult and harsh life of Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon.
The nurses who were questioned for the documentary stated that, to their knowledge, the family never brought the sisters a gift or card for their birthdays or holidays. When Nerissa passed away in 1986, no one from her family showed up for the service. She was laid to rest in the neighborhood’s Earlswood Redstone Cemetery.
Before Nerissa’s existence was made public, her burial was marked with plastic tags and a serial number. Later, the grandchildren of John and Fenella organized to put up a tombstone. The sisters have always been thought to be a symbol of the royal family’s discrimination but on several occasions, the family has claimed that the sisters were a part of the family and that they were “hugely distressed” by the rumored controversies.
You May Also Like To Read – How Much Is The Worth Of Queen Elizabeth’s Crown?
