Queen Elizabeth may not have been as rigid as she appeared.
In a recent interview published on Saturday, October 12, Samantha Cohen, a trusted royal assistant, discussed her 18-year tenure as an employee of the long-lasting monarch.
By the end of her life, the Australian-born aide, who was the mother of four, spent every day with the queen as her personal attendant. Cohen resided in Balmoral, Scotland, with Elizabeth, where she was at the time of her passing in September 2022, as per OK! Magazine.
Cohen clarified that the queen "wanted to be a family woman" and be a successful leader.
“It was important to her. She loved hosting everybody for summer, allocating the rooms and checking them herself,” Cohen elaborated.
Continuing with his shocking revelations, Cohen said that Elizabeth had a tendency for speeding. “She was bold," she recalled. "Spinning around Balmoral in her fast cars was her thing."
Not only did Queen Elizabeth enjoy riding horses, but she also enjoyed riding in her vehicles over her 70 years as queen, New Idea Magazine reported.
On occasion, while Queen Elizabeth was out riding her horse, Cohen's children would run into her, she said.
When she was grabbing the cereal for breakfast, the kids would call out to her, "Mom! A royal horse just passed by." On other occasions, she revealed, they would collide with her while riding their bicycles. "The Queen loved families having a nice time and hearing what everyone was doing," she divulged.
Cohen spoke highly of Elizabeth's handling of her staff.
"They made us feel so welcome, very much a part of their lives," she told The Sunday Times. "The Queen was remarkably kind and would give us all Christmas presents, handwriting the tags."
After that, Cohen told the news organisation her favourite recollection of the 96-year-old.
"Every morning, she would sit at her desk by the window, and you would go through the basket to see what had come in," she began. "One day, she mentioned, 'Oh, wait a second, there's a butterfly, we have to release it.'" Sitting atop a book, there was a lovely butterfly. She stood up, grabbed it, and it swooped away. It slipped out of my grasp as soon as I grabbed it. Shortly after, she managed to seize it.
"Right, where were we?" she asked, referring to Elizabeth, after we had liberated the butterfly from its cage and opened the window; we both couldn't help but giggle. “She was really playful!" the worker enthusiastically exclaimed. It was a good time.
Cohen insisted that from the beginning, their relationship was always "very respectful," even though they enjoyed each other's company.
Nobody was treated special. The Queen was an amazing boss, and she thought it was her duty to make her life easier. The fact that Elizabeth had "no ego," as Cohen verified, was one among the traits that she admired.
According to Cohen, the late Queen stood as the very opposite of a celebrity in a world where the palace welcomed many famous faces. She performed exceptionally well, giving it her all. But she knew that it was apart from her in some way.
Queen Elizabeth reportedly resisted the need to preen, flaunt herself, or give in to the allure. Cohen found that to be the most endearing aspect of her.
The Sunday Times interviewed Cohen.
