Queen Elizabeth II: Discovered Documents Reveal How Prince William And Prince Harry Were Dangerously Close To Being Commoners

On the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, details have been divulged about her own past and the manner in which some intended avenues that were not taken may have left her children and grandchildren to be commoners.

One specific plan that was fortunately avoided involved the 1930s Machiavellian plot. The passing of this particular proposal would have seen the royal family looking a whole lot different and would have left the Queen a lowly Duchess.

.@RoyalMail celebrates #Queenat90 with a specially commissioned Stamp Sheet of 4 generations of the Royal Family pic.twitter.com/ypzbjdB6T1

— BritishMonarchy (@BritishMonarchy) April 20, 2016

Daily Mail elaborates on the recent intriguing findings that came by way of discovered documents, handwritten, and suggesting that Queen Mary would rule alongside Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, Prince George, after which George would become king.

“According to a never-seen-before Cabinet document, there had been proposals for King Edward VIII’s mother to become regent instead of his younger brother, George VI, taking to the throne. The handwritten document proposed that Queen Mary would rule without becoming the sovereign, with the now Queen Elizabeth’s glamorous uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent, later becoming king. If the plan had gone ahead, it would have meant that today The Queen would be languishing on the sidelines of the royal family, probably known as the Duchess of Edinburgh.”

Queen Mary, Prince Albert, later George VI, Duchess of York and Prince George, later Duke of Kent. pic.twitter.com/d1SrJtxVw7

— House of Labhran (@Houseoflabhran) July 10, 2015

This would, therefore, have left Queen Elizabeth’s children, Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward, as outsiders to the royal family. Furthermore, the Queen’s grandchildren, Prince William and Prince Harry, would not be princes at all, but would instead be relatively common, likely with day jobs. It’s hard to even contemplate, but (gasp!) this would leave Kate Middleton, the current Duchess of Cambridge and wife to Prince William, to be an unknown, along with her two little ones, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who clearly would not have a title to their names.

The plan never went ahead, and instead George VI took over as King in 1936 when “his brother abdicated to marry his love, Wallis Simpson.” Elizabeth’s father died at the age of fifty-six in 1952, when the Queen, as we know her, took over.

The publication reminds of the historical facts surrounding Elizabeth’s ascension to the British throne.

“She had just departed Britain for a tour of Australia via Kenya and was in the East African country when she learned of the news. She immediately flew back to the UK as Queen Elizabeth II and her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, when she was just 25 years old.”

Although the plan that was discovered could have altered the course of history and the line of the royal family entirely, it is certainly not the first time that documents have been filed to alter the course of history in regards to the royal family.

Documents indicate that when Queen Elizabeth succeeded to the throne she went about ensuring that her sister, Princess Margaret, would never be made regent, and instead intervened so that her husband, Prince Philip, would have acted as regent if she had passed in her earlier years as monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II with her sister Princess Margaret the Countess of Snowdon. pic.twitter.com/JrN5KHxb2j

— History in Moments (@historyinmoment) April 8, 2016

As the papers stood from the laws put in place in 1937, if Elizabeth had died early on, Princess Margaret would have been made regent until Prince Charles reached his 18th birthday. The Queen took matters into her own hands to deny her sister the role.

The Mail relays the worries and perceptions that were brought on by the Queen’s actions on this occasion.

“Files obtained under Freedom of Information laws show that the Queen’s suggested change caused considerable discussion in the then Government, and that the Queen wished to see the change to the law brought in as soon as possible. Some Ministers were worried the public might regard any changes as an affront to the Queen’s younger sister. They were also worried about the timing of any new legislation, given continued speculation about Princess Margaret’s private life. At the time she was involved in a romance with RAF Group Captain Peter Townsend, who was considered an unsuitable husband for her because he was divorced and a commoner.”

It’s clear that Queen Elizabeth II had reason for the alteration and she certainly has earned the recognition she is gaining on this day, her 90th birthday. As CNN notes, the royals did well to pay tribute to their monarch.

[Photo by Chris Watt/Getty Images]