“One day she hopes to be a lady”

By theroyalpost on February 10, 2012 • ( 1 )

While they were growing up, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret of York had a Scottish nanny named Marion Crawford. They called her “Crawfie” and she was a very important part of their lives. She worked as a nanny for them for seventeen years. Sadly, her relationship with the royals did not end well (check out an article from the Guardian in 2000 by clicking here),but today let’s focus on a cheerful memory from that time.

One especially charming story of Crawfie’s time with the Princesses has stuck in our minds since we first read it. It seems like the perfect way to round out the first week of Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee celebrations.

A young Princess Elizabeth was walking up the corridor of Buckingham Palace when she noticed that the guards on duty would salute each time she walked past. So, naturally, she thought this was great fun and kept walking back and forth and was amused each time she got a salute. Crawfie came along and saw what she was doing and was horrified. She insisted that the Princess apologize to the guards immediately. Crawfie told them,“She may be a Princess, but one day she hopes to be a lady.”