The Queen Mother Was Much Nastier Than You Thought

This is the Queen Mother. A pastel coat, somewhere between mint and lavender. That matching hat with the upturned brim, a little gloved wave, the soft smile, the gin. Here was a woman who waved at racehorses, lived to a hundred and one, and seemed, by every account printed in every newspaper, to be the warmest soul in Britain. The nation's grandmother, the Queen Mum. That's the version they sold us, and they sold it well. But behind it, we have a very different Queen Mother...