Indiana natives who met Queen Elizabeth describe her as 'kind,' adaptable

EVANSVILLE – George Rehnquist fondly remembers Queen Elizabeth II as a kind, grandmotherly figure when they met in June 1994.

“It was very unusual to meet the queen,” he said. “It’s not something you do every day or even had any expectation to do so. It was very special.”

The now-retired attorney and longtime Princeton, Indiana, resident was in London celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the YMCA’s formation in '94 when the meeting occurred. After a celebration at Westminster Abbey, he and other attendees went to a "tea party of sorts," where they met the queen and Prince Philip.

“She was a very small lady. She was very kind. She likes to talk to people," he said. "She asked questions a grandmother might ask, such as: Did I like the accommodations? Of course, we said yes.

The Queen, England's oldest and longest-serving monarch, died Thursday at age 96, ending her 70-year reign.

"Obviously it was very sad," he said. "At that age, I don't think you're surprised. On the other hand, when you are growing up, you think she's always going to be my queen."

Queen Elizabeth II's reign at age 25 began in the infancy of television, before the birth of rock ‘n roll. It then extended to hip-hop and the Internet age. Her passing marked the end of an era, and the beginning of the reign of her eldest son, King Charles III.

Rehnquist was in London as the U.S. chairman of the international YMCA committee for the celebration in '94.

“Over time, she did a very good job of growing with the changes in the country,” Rehnquist said. “I didn’t get a sense that she was an old lady who couldn’t change with the times."

An Evansville man with 'insider' information on the queen

Rehnquist isn’t the only Southern Indiana figure who reached across the pond and met the queen.

Evansville’s Tim Alexander gained enough access to meet the queen and the new king several times through the years. He became the Scottish editor for the Burke's Peerage publishing and genealogical firm in London about 37 years ago. It's known as the "Voice of the Aristocracy" and is the "go to" authority on the Royal Family and the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.

“I had access to all types of 'insider' information on the Royal Family that few in Britain did, much less someone from Evansville, Indiana,” Alexander said. “I had studied British Law at the University of London and became an expert on Scots Peerage Law, a rather rarefied sub-field of British Law. I advised Scottish and English lawyers on the subject.”

When she died, Queen Elizabeth II was queen of 15 nations. Alexander said she had much more political clout behind the scenes that most realized at "a very subtle level."

Based on his research and the research of his late father and grandfather, Alexander claimed a dormant set of Scottish peerage titles, including the Earl of Stirling. But he dare not call himself that in Evansville “or they would put a butterfly net over my head.”

“She was very intelligent,” Alexander said of the queen. “When she was about to be introduced to someone important, she would ask her senior aids the following: 'Is he his own master?' In other words, is he what he claims to be or simply a 'front man' for others.”

He said the Queen had both soft and hard sides, but generally was a kind person.

“She lived in a bubble, as did all the senior royals,” Alexander said. “When I was Scottish Editor at Burke's Peerage, at the time when Prince Charles and Princess Di were still married and Fergie and Prince Andrew were also still married, I saw up close the intense media attention that they had to endure daily.”

Alexander knew many of the royal reporters and eventually came to feel sorry for the royal family.

“The London newspaper market was the largest and most contested newspaper market on Earth and the royals were always good for a story,” he said. “The trouble was that many stories were false but the royals could not really respond. They just had to take it on the chin.”

When Queen Elizabeth II was born, her grandfather was king-emperor of a large empire, Alexander said.

“Her family was at the top of a system of royalty and nobility in the United Kingdom and the world,” he said. “Most kings and queens were related to her. For instance, the Kaiser of Germany, the Czar of Russia and her grandfather were cousins.”

By the time she died the British Colonial Empire had waned considerably. Her parents had lost the titles of Emperor and Empress of India, and what was left was the British Commonwealth of Nations: a collection that includes more than 50 nations and and still encompasses a third of the world's people.

“She managed to adapt to changes that would have overwhelmed many,” Alexander said. “Still, there were all types of procedures and royal protocols that were followed. When I would get a letter from her, it was always ‘aforenoon’ or ‘afternoon’ and the location given. ... The Principal Private Secretary would write to you. If he began ‘I am commanded to write,’ then you know that she had actually dictated the letter herself."

Her colorful clothes and trademark hats were designed by “a lady from a very normal working class background,” Alexander said.

“She was known to be far less ‘highfalutin’ or pretentious than many of her nobility," he said.

Contact Gordon Engelhardt at gordon.engelhardt@courierpress.com or on Twitter @EngGordon

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Indiana natives who met Queen Elizabeth say she was 'kind,' adaptable