What do the first female president, Margaret Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth have in common?
世界初の女性首相マーガレット・サッチャーと6か月違いで生まれた女王エリザベス2世は、英国の歴史において重要な時代を共有した。 背景の違いにもかかわらず、どちらの女性も男性優位の世界で強い意志を持ち、影響力のある人物でした。 彼らは職業上の関係を維持しており、最初の会談は礼儀正しいものの、温かくはなかったと言われている。 二人の女性は人生において重要な役割を果たした父親を深く尊敬しており、離婚が一般的だった社会で長く安定した結婚生活を送っていた。 彼らの夫は妻の卓越性を支持し満足しており、友好的な関係を共有していた。(English) Margaret Thatcher, the world's first female Prime Minister, and Queen Elizabeth II, born six months apart, shared a significant era in British history. Despite their different backgrounds, both women were strong-willed and influential figures in a male-dominated world. They maintained a professional relationship, with their first meeting described as courteous but not warm. Both women had deeply respected fathers who played a significant role in their lives, and both enjoyed long, stable marriages in a society where divorce was common. Their husbands, supportive and content with their wives' prominence, shared a friendly rapport.
What do the world's first female president, Margaret Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth have in common?
We approach the similarity between Queen Elizabeth and Thatcher, born half a year apart.
1)
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister during the more than 70 years of Queen Elizabeth's reign, took Britain to a higher level.
She was born in the same generation, with a difference of half a year. I am sending you three parts about Prime Minister Thatcher's presence on her Queen and Britain.
2)
The first female Prime Minister! Margaret Thatcher, later known as the Iron Lady.
Margaret Thatcher's funeral occurred at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 17 April 2013. Thatcher's body, which had been in the state for nine days, was laid to rest in the Cathedral as part of a military funeral.
Flags were flown at half-mast at the Prime Minister's official residence. Queen Elizabeth attended the funeral of the first female Prime Minister of a modern nation, known as the "Iron Lady". It was unusual for the Queen's politicians to attend, and the funeral was a "quasi-state funeral".
On 4 May 1979, Britain became the first country in the world to have a female Prime Minister. It's the first time in any modern country.
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, nicknamed the "Iron Lady", had her first audience with Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace on that day, marking the beginning of a three-term, 11-year relationship.
3)
In the 60 years since her coronation, the Queen has met 13 Prime Ministers (one reappointed), but Margaret Thatcher is the only woman in this history.
Queen Elizabeth's first meeting with Prime Minister Thatcher was courteous but not as warm as the interaction with Prime Minister Churchill.
From the beginning, the Queen may have watched Prime Minister Thatcher curiously, saying she was "very different from previous Prime Ministers". Some British journalists say the Queen is "misogynistic" or "masculine".
4)
Her son, Prince Charles, told his biographer that Mrs Thatcher was "too intimidating". Her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, is said to have jokingly mocked Thatcher's background.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had a remarkable presence at the time, proving she was a strong-willed politician full of ability and self-confidence.
5)
Prime Minister Thatcher, of the same generation as Queen Elizabeth, only six months older than her, was born in Grantham, in central England, into a family that ran a general store selling groceries and was brought up by pious parents who instilled in them the preciousness of work.
In 1943 he went to Oxford University, where he studied chemistry. He was a scientific genius. In 1951, aged 26, he married Dennis Thatcher. After the birth of their twins, she looked and qualified as a lawyer while bringing up their children. In 1959, at 34, she entered politics, standing for the Conservative Party and winning her first election.
6)
"Mum, I don't want to go!" I cried, shaking off the twins who clung to me. And I plunged into the male-dominated world of politics. And on 4 May 1979, at 53, she became the world's first female Prime Minister of a modern nation.
7)
Two people who respect their father and are protected by their loving husband.
The public also greatly appreciated the relationship between Her Majesty the Queen and Prime Minister Thatcher. These two great women had many things in common.
One is that they both respected their father and made him their mentor in life. Queen Elizabeth's father was George VI.
Thatcher's father, Alfred Roberts, ran a general store and was mayor of Grantham. According to her biography, her father was hailed as "the epitome of the English middle class".
8)
The second is the type of husband. Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher married in their 20s, maintained a good marriage in a divorce-prone Britain, and celebrated their golden wedding anniversaries.
Both the Queen and Prime Minister Thatcher are women who go their way. A husband has the freedom to walk behind his wife. Both husbands are golfing buddies, and when they meet face to face at meetings etc., they are seen talking happily.
A respected father and a reliable husband are the ingredients that enable these two great women to achieve great things.
9)
About four months after Thatcher's inauguration, a momentous event occurred for the British royal family.
27 August 1979. IRA (Irish Republican Army) terrorists planted a bomb on Lord Mountbatten's fishing boat, the Shadow V, while he was enjoying his summer holiday.
In the next instalment, I will report on the death of Lord Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip, who united the Queen and the Queen Mother.