Shoeshay, away
Did Queen Elizabeth II Laugh at Imelda Marcos as She Sells Seashells from the Seashore
It was all in Netflix’s The Crown Season 4
Hey, Qween! Tell it to someone you can’t remember the name of. But if there is one queen, we all know by name — the departed Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen loved gin so much that she has her own Queen’s cocktail — gin with Dubonnet with ice and a slice of lemon.
Well, she lived into her 90s, maybe that drink helped.
Many say she had a wicked sense of humor, proof of that are the many photos of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex crying. Those were tears from immense laughter, in return Meghan talks to Oprah about the wicked Queen.
More stories would be told about the Queen, it is her final sacrifice to help the British economy which is hanging on the edge of a recession.
So, don’t be too angry at the Queen, you peasants of an anti-monarchist.
Even Netflix is thinking of adding more seasons to The Crown now that more people are watching it. Just like King Charles III, Netflix Founder Reed Hastings is happy with the turn of events.
And if you watched season 4 of The Crown there was a scene involving Princess Margaret played by Helena Bonham Carter, where she recounted her Manila visit to an audience that included the Queen, to which she made Imelda Marcos — a royal punchline.
“She [Imelda] makes a beeline straight for me, says she’s desperate to show me her … wait for it,” Princess Margaret pauses for effect. “Shoe collection,” her niece Princess Anne (Erin Doherty) interrupts, before Princess Margaret corrects her, saying, “shell collection.”
“She was probably trying to say ‘shoe’ and you misunderstood her,” the indelicate Prince Philip (Tobias Menzies) says. The royals then proceed to mock Marcos’ accent, bursting into a fit of laughter. — As transcribed by Vice.
As the investigative journalist wannabe that I am, I made some research and my Filipino background did help me in finding the right sources — Google.
Princess Margaret did come to Manila for a state visit in 1980. Imelda Marcos was even the one who gave the princess a warm welcome at the airport, something she should have done to Ninoy Aquino in 1983, maybe Ninoy would not have died at the airport’s tarmac.
And while nobody really knew what Imelda said to the princess, it could be true that she mumbled her words, was it shoes or shells?
This photo proved there was indeed a shell collection inside the Malacañang Palace where Imelda and her dictator husband lived for 21 years before they were ousted by Filipinos, many now are living in the UK as nurses.
Yes, while my country the Philippines is so poor, we provide our president with a palace to live in, and hey, even today you can find the biggest IKEA in the whole world — where else but in Manila.
It is common for foreigners to make fun of people who speak English with an accent because people always make fun of things they don’t understand.
Imelda Marcos, ‘A Spoilt Beauty Queen’
During her 21 years as Malacañang Palace occupant, she met Queen Elizabeth II on a few occasions.
In 1970, at Balmoral Palace where the Queen quietly passed away, it was where she brought along her 12-year-old son now Philippine President Bongbong Marcos, who was there to attend the Worth Abbey prep school south of London.
For some reason, that would be one of the Queen’s many kept secrets as she allowed Imelda to bring the young Bongbong Marcos to Balmoral Palace.
‘A Spoilt Beauty Queen’
The British ambassador in Manila, John Curle, reported to the Foreign Office that Marcos, in public and private, had acted like “a spoilt beauty queen.”
“Though intelligent, she has not got a disciplined mind and the ends do not tie up,” Curle wrote.
Among the demands the British found unreasonable were Marcos’ request that it be publicly announced that the queen had sought an audience with her.
“Romualdez and Mrs. Marcos thrive on other people’s weaknesses but, if confronted by a firm negative attitude, they will have no option to concede,” the cable said.
However, Marcos astonished the diplomats by getting the queen’s consent to allow her son, Bong Bong, to attend an audience with her.
The protocol department at the Foreign Office informed Curle: “Owing to your strong representations in your telegram I felt I must ring Balmoral [Castle] and ask the private secretary to ask the queen herself whether she would like Bong Bong to come to the audience and to our intense astonishment Her Majesty agreed to this request.
The usual protocol is for one person only to have an audience with the queen.
“This has never been done before and I cannot understand why it has been allowed in this case.” The note added that Marcos would be told that Curle’s intervention was the key to getting the queen’s agreement.
Source: Diplomats Fear Imelda Marcos Visit
There are many more odd stories about Imelda, the ‘Spoilt Beauty Queen’ as she was called in the diplomatic circles in the 70s.
She and her husband Ferdinand tried to be the Asian version of Kennedy’s Camelot, they even wanted to curve themselves as gods that came out of bamboo.
Imelda tried to be a matchmaker between her daughter Imee and the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III.
But that didn't happen as Charles in his later years, was said to be the unnamed royal who allegedly asked what color Archie’s skin color was after he was born.
Let’s just say the new king has a limited color palette.
So, a brown prince would not be the King’s cup of tea.
Marcos even gifted Charles with a speedboat named Imelda, when many Filipinos were dying from hunger.
Well, now I know that Charles took Imelda for a — back ride.
There was even a rumor that Imelda tried to upstage the Queen when she wore a tiara at the opening of Sydney Opera House in 1973, and had to be told to remove her tiara, the Queen wasn’t wearing one.
In 1976, the Marcoses made a state visit to the UK, but for some reason, details of that visit remain to be sealed until 2029 unless someone requests it under the Freedom of Information Act.
Final words
For many years, it was ‘Long Live the Queen’ and suddenly on September 8, 2022, the inevitable happened,
The Queen is dead, Long live, the King!
There is no doubt, that the Queen lived a full life, sometimes a life like many of us, a life full of sh*t.
The Queen had to deal with the broken marriages of her sons, Prince Andrew’s sexual abuse charges, many scandals, deaths, and a crying Meghan Markle.
But her passing leaves many of us in grief, the Queen said this about it after 911.
Grief is the price we pay for love.
But somehow, I take comfort in the Queen’s words during the pandemic,
The Queen must be waving her hands at Imelda Marcos who at 93 is in the twilight years of her earthly life.
Imelda may have mumbled her words — shoes and shells in front of Princess Margaret, but it could also be a slip of her tongue.
She with her husband had opened up many shell companies, which they used to hide the billions of dollars that rightfully belonged to the Filipino people.
And while Imelda became a royal punchline, the joke is on us the Filipino people, now that another Marcos occupies the Malacañang Palace.
History repeats itself.
When Imelda got hold of the news about the Queen’s death, she requested her son, President Marcos to be his ‘plus one’ if he plans to attend the Queen’s funeral.
And she even offered to sing this song to the queen as she lies in state in Westminster Hall.
She always says Chairman Mao, himself taught her when she met him in the 70s.
The only problem is if she is allowed near the Queen’s coffin now that the Imperial State Crown is resting on top of it, well let’s just it can go missing, I mean it may find itself resting on her head, and declare herself the new Queen of England.
“Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.” — Queen Elizabeth II.
Thank you for reading.
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