Despite living her life under the glare of the (royal) spotlight, Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t someone who enjoyed being on the world’s stage. According to Samantha Cohen, a former aide to the late monarch’, the queen was a “shy person.” Although she often spent time with world leaders and shaking hands with celebrities Queen Elizabeth wanted no part of the “world of celebrity.”
Former aide describes Queen Elizabeth as a ‘shy person’
Speaking to the U.K.’s Telegraph, Cohen, who worked for Queen Elizabeth and the royal family for nearly 20 years, remembered the monarch as a “shy person.” She enjoyed the privacy that Balmoral, her beloved sprawling estate—upwards of 50,000 acres—in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, gave her.
“She wanted to be a family woman [as well the queen]. It was important to her,” Cohen told the outlet. One of her traditions, the former aide explained—having family at Balmoral in the summer months—was something she “loved.”
“She loved hosting everybody for summer, allocating the rooms, and checking them herself,” Cohen said. (The queen’s son, King Charles III, has continued the tradition of having family come to stay.)
The final months of Queen Elizabeth’s life highlighted her fondness for Balmoral. Rather than decamping to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, or Buckingham Palace in the heart of London, England, she opted for Scotland and Balmoral. Although she reportedly had concerns about dying at Balmoral, the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, 74, assured her that “it’s fine.”
‘Antithesis of celebrity’ Queen Elizabeth had ‘no ego’
Queen Elizabeth II and Samantha Cohen | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Cohen continued, noting how Queen Elizabeth had “no ego” despite her status as leader of the British royal family and one of the most famous women in the world.
“It always struck me that in a world of celebrity, where we had all sorts of celebrities coming into the palace,” she said, “the queen was the antithesis of celebrity.” Instead, being “the maestro” was simply her job, not her identity “as a person.”
“She understood this was her role,” Cohen said. “She took it very seriously and performed it to perfection. But she knew it was separate to her as a person. She was never intoxicated by the allure, never showed off, was never tempted to preen.”
“I loved that so much about her because she had no ego,” she added.
Listening was Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘superpower’
Queen Elizabeth II and David Beckham | John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Cohen also praised the late monarch for her listening skills. “She tapped into all walks of life and she listened, she really listened. That was her superpower,” she said of Queen Elizabeth.
Cohen also noted how the queen, as a “countrywoman,” could “talk to people about cattle, horses, and dogs,” and yet “was equally comfortable speaking in parliament.”
Sept. 8, 2024, marked two years since Queen Elizabeth died. She was 96 and had spent 70 years on the throne, marking the milestone just months before her death during Platinum Jubilee Weekend.
