At some point in your childhood, did you wish to magically transform into a princess?
If you had a particularly active imagination, maybe you even thought you'd actually become
one someday.
But growing up as a princess, or any form of royalty, really, is likely a whole lot
better in concept than in reality.
Spoiler alert: It wasn't always great.
In fact, it was downright depressing at times.
When your mother is the Queen of England, the family dynamic is bound to get a little
complicated to say the least.
Here's the real truth behind the Queen and Prince Philip's relationship with their children.
Raised by nannies
Prince Charles was born in 1948, just a year after his parents' wedding and around three
years before his mother became the Queen.
Next came Princess Anne, who was born one year later.
Elizabeth and Philip decided not to have any more children until a decade later.
In 1960, the couple welcomed another son, Prince Andrew, and, in 1964, welcomed another
boy, Prince Edward.
In Jonathan Dimbleby's authorized 1994 biography of Prince Charles, Charles is quoted as saying
that the people who raised him were not his parents, but the nursery staff.
In yet another biography of the prince, author Sally Bedell-Smith reiterated that fact, writing
that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip only saw their children after breakfast and teatime.
So, basically not much at all.
Prince Philip the disciplinarian
Although he may not have spent much time with his parents growing up, Prince Charles still
viewed his father as a disciplinarian.
The unauthorized biography Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable
Life describes the young prince as having been a sensitive child.
Worried his son would become, quote, "weak and vulnerable," Prince Philip attempted to
toughen young Charles up.
Patricia Mountbatten, Charles' godmother, explained in the prince's biography that Philip
was also very concerned with Charles becoming spoiled.
Philip felt some tough love would work to "counteract the spoiling."
Philip is also said to have relied on sarcasm when dealing with not only Charles, but with
daughter Anne as well.
Unlike Charles, Anne reportedly pushed back.
You can't help but feel bad for the little prince.
Lacking in warmth
When Charles would sit with his parents during teatime, it wasn't exactly quality family
time.
Martin Charteris, a former long-term senior adviser to the Queen, is quoted in Prince
Charles' biography as saying,
"Somehow even those contacts were lacking in warmth.
The Queen is not good at showing affection."
When Charles' parents returned after nearly six months away, both the Queen and Philip
proved their standoffishness when it came to their children by not embracing them with
long hugs or kisses.
Instead, they simply shook hands with their then five-year-old son and three-year old
daughter.
When Charles was four years old, however, the Queen did set out to teach her son horseback
riding, but unfortunately for Charles, he said
"The whole idea of taking off scared me stiff."
It's the thought that counts, right?
A “happy unit”
In a BBC interview back in 2002, Princess Anne clapped back at the critics who labeled
the Queen as an "uncaring mother."
Instead of aligning with her brother Charles' beliefs and classifying her mother as lacking
warmth, Anne seems to feel that their mom was indeed a loving parent.
Anne further dubbed the royal family a "happy unit" in which they all got along.
She explained that they "may not have been too demanding" of their mother's time because
they recognized her unique position as, you know, ruler of the country and all.
They may have been just young children, but, according to Anne, they seemed to have a pretty
good idea of what the monarchy entailed, saying,
"I don't believe any of us for a second thought she didn't care for us in exactly the same
way as any other mother did."
Mommy-and-me time
Robert Lacey’s biography Monarch: The Life and Reign of Elizabeth The Second quotes the
Queen as saying
"What fun it is to have a baby in the house again!"
...after Edward, was born.
According to Lacey, Queen Elizabeth was able to spend a lot more time with Andrew and Edward
than she'd been able to with both Charles and Anne.
By the mid-1960s, ruling the country may not have exactly been old hat, but the Queen was
surely more comfortable in her role.
Unlike the awkward meals she once shared with her oldest son, Queen Elizabeth spent time
"cycling and chasing" her younger children through Buckingham Palace.
Once a week, Edward and Andrew's nanny was given the night off and Queen Elizabeth would
take over according to Lacey, the Queen even began to refer to the nanny’s night off
as her favorite night of the week.
Prince Philip’s soft side
It's not exactly a secret that Charles and Princess Diana had a relationship that was
fraught with disagreements, infidelity, and essentially everything else that could tear
a marriage apart.
But, Diana seemed to have an ally, and one you might not expect.
In 2007, The Telegraph released a transcript of letters written to and from Philip and
Diana.
The letters were read during the inquest into Diana's tragic death, and cast Philip in a
new, and very caring, light.
Diana fondly referred to her father-in-law as "Pa" and would often end her letters with
"my fondest love."
Philip wrote Diana saying he hoped they could continue their letter-writing as an "opportunity
to exchange views" and reassured her, saying,
"I will always do my utmost to help you and Charles to the best of my ability."
Picking favorites
Who's the Queen's favorite?
Perhaps that's an impossible question to ask, but some have surmised that it's not actually
one of her own children, but rather a daughter-in-law.
According to Express, the monarch's preference is Sophie Rhys-Jones, who married Prince Edward
back in 1999.
Edward is the only one of the Queen's children who has not gone through a divorce, but that
may not be why Rhys-Jones is favored.
Queen Elizabeth and Rhys-Jones share a lot of similar interests and spend a good chunk
of time together, sometimes riding horses and other times simply relaxing with the grandkids.
In 2010, the Queen further proved her love for Rhys-Jones when awarding her with the
Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, which is Queen Elizabeth's highest seal of
approval.
There's no doubt about it, this daughter-in-law is in the Queen's good graces.