Oct-1951-Apr 1955
The queen had a special fondness for her first prime minister, Churchill, the giant of a statesman whom many felt saved the country thanks to his determined leadership during the darkest days of World War II. Churchill had a warm friendship with Elizabeth’s parents, King George VI and the Queen Mother and represented the British people’s fighting spirit and glorious past. His coalition government had gone through a humiliating defeat at the end of the war and was briefly succeeded by the Labour Party, headed by Clement Atlee. He returned to the Prime Ministership in 1951 and Elizabeth was coronated in 1953 at age of 27.
Decades later, when asked which PM she enjoyed meeting with the most, the sovereign replied, “Winston of course, because it was always such fun.” One of the household staff confirmed this, reporting that “I could not hear what they talked about, but it was, more often than not, punctuated with peals of laughter, and Winston generally came out wiping his eyes.” Their favorite topic of conversation was a shared passion for horses, racing, and polo.
