The One Piece of Advice From the Queen's Mother That Made Her More Confident

Stacey Leasca
Updated
It's simple advice we surely all could use.

Just looking at Queen Elizabeth one might think, “There goes a confident woman.” Her stoic stance, quiet pride, and confident gaze lead many around the world to assume the Queen has always had it all together. But, according to Lady Penn, a former lady in waiting to the Queen Mother, Elizabeth wasn’t always as calm, cool, and collected as she seems. All it took to change that, however, was a little motherly advice.

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“The Queen Mother told the Queen when she was very young to be brave,” Penn said while filming a new documentary series broadcasting on Channel 5. “I think the Queen probably felt walking into a room full of people was rather daunting.”

So the Queen Mother shared one simple piece of advice with Elizabeth to build up her confidence right as she entered a room. And it’s advice we surely all could use.

“She said to her, 'What you want to do, when you walk into a room, walk through the middle of the door.' And I think by that she meant, don’t sort of go in apologetically. You walk through as if ‘I’m in charge.’”

This wasn’t the only revelation Penn, other former staffers, and historians shared on the documentary, which kicked off by examining the Queen’s earliest years as the reigning monarch.

Related: Queen Elizabeth Has Been Traveling With This Luggage Since Her Honeymoon in 1947

Historian Kate Williams also detailed the moment when Elizabeth learned she would one day be Queen. Following Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936, Elizabeth learned she would be Queen while at a swimming lesson alongside her sister Margaret. When Margaret heard the news she reportedly responded, “poor you.”

Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne came years later, following her father’s death in 1952, when Elizabeth was just 25 years old. Tuesday, Feb. 6, marked the 66th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne. According to the Express, Her Majesty quietly celebrated the day at home. For the outside world, the day was marked with a 41-gun salute by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at both Green Park and the Tower of London.