There is a time in every woman’s life, when she is attracted to a man. A man who will mean the world to her. The man, whom with she would spend her life with.Queen Elizabeth had one too. It was Prince Philip.:But, there is one thing which Her Majesty never wanted to be faced with. Queen Elizabeth was once enamoured by a dashing handsome guardsman. He served her for 25 years and helped her through countless trials and tribulation as the young monarch established herself in Buckingham Palace.
Who was the man? The man who won Queen Elizabeth’s heart beside Prince Philip? His name was Patrick Plunket. He appears to have been the only other man who caught the Queen’s eye. Her Majesty shared a close bond with Mr Plunket. He helped her through marital woes and times of turbulence. It was a relationship that she still thinks about daily.
Queen Elizabeth’s pain was laid bare.
Mr Plunket died at the age of 51, in 1975. The Queen broke all royal protocols by ordering a royal funeral for him at St James’s palace. She attended the emotional service herself.
She even had a memorial temple built just for him in Windsor Great Park. It remains a favourite spot for her to sit and think. Her Majesty and Mr Plunket had been childhood friends.His father was an Irish peer Lord Plunket and was a friend of Elizabeth’s parents. His mother, Dorothé was a half-American heiress. But when Mr Plunket was just 15 his parents died in a plane crash.
Queen about her other man, Mr Plunket said: “He was in grief, after his parents died. Suddenly he was left all alone. but, somehow he came out from the darkness. When I became Queen, I appointed Mr Plunket Deputy Master of the Household”.
“He was responsible for organising all the banquets, state receptions and Ascot house parties. Mr Plunket revelled in it. And, he loved nothing more than to please and surprise his love”.
“As we discussed about the menus, guest lists and ways to keep boring guests at arm’s length, we became closer. He was tall, impeccably dressed, with a voice full of merriment. His eyes crinkled up with laughter and radiated an irrepressible sense of fun”.
Mr Wilson, a royal author said:- “In 1956, Prince Philip disappeared off on a world tour for four months. Mr Plunket provided a shoulder for Her Majesty to lean on, helping her through the lonely days and weeks”. “He’d notice at parties if she was looking lonely. He would scoop her up and dance with her, always there if she looked a bit lonely. While Philip was off dancing with one of his women friends, Plunket would whirl Elizabeth on to the floor”.
