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Documentary The Private Lives of the Windsors unearthed new stories between Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in her first years as monarch, including the Queen Mother’s dislike of Prince Philip as he courted her daughter. According to the documentary, the Queen Mother did not approve of Prince Philip as she saw him as a “dangerously progressive” man.

It also claims the Queen Mother became jealous of her daughter’s position “power and privilege” when she rose to the throne.

But according to the series, the Queen’s mother worried about the Duke of Edinburgh marrying into the family as she saw him as “the enemy”.

Her alleged animosity against the Duke was reportedly inspired by his courting of her daughter.

The final episode of the show, which airs next Monday on the Smithsonian Channel, alleges the Queen Mother was used to doing things her way.

She became bitter when she was forced to accept Prince Philip into her family because he “challenged her authority as family matriarch”.

Historian and biographer Professor Jane Ridley says: “The Queen Mother viewed him as rather an enemy and in fact one would see those early years as being a tug-of-war and a tussle for the ear of the Queen.”

Royal biographer Christopher Warwick added: “With the death of King George, we have to remember how young they were.

“The King was 56, the Queen mother was 51.

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“So she felt they’d been cut off in her prime, she loved the position of being Queen and suddenly all that was taken from her.

“The Queen mother minded very much being Queen mother, and she was jealous of her daughter having become Queen.”

But despite the Queen mother and King George VI’s disapproval of the Duke, their daughter, then Princess Elizabeth, was set on marrying him.

Historian Professor Kate Williams said: “Philip may have served in the British army, but his four sisters had married Germans, who fought for the Nazis.

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“The Royal family were quite keen to keep Elizabeth away from Prince Philip, as she was clearly devoted to him and was determined to marry him, but she had a lot of concerns about his suitability.”

Professor Williams said the Queen Mother made the “best of a bad situation” after the Royal couple got married and told her “darling Lillybet”, the family’s nickname for Elizabeth, both parents were delighted to welcome Philip as a new son.

But as the King’s health worsened, the Queen Mother took on more of his responsibilities.

When he passed away from lung cancer in 1952, she had to retire from her duties and let her daughter step in.

Historian Piers Brendon explains: “Churchill had the idea that she could perform a useful role in helping Elizabeth II be Queen.

“He was keen to have her as an ally behind the throne and he thought she could act as a barricade from too much influence from Philip, because Philip was then regarded as a quite dangerous progressive and the Queen mother was deeply old fashioned and reactionary.”

The Queen Mother and Prince Philip are said to have continued to disagree during his marriage to the monarch, as they discussed the education of the next King, Prince Charles.

Mr Bendon said: “The Duke of Edinburgh was determined to make a man of his first born son.

“But very early on, Charles was a wimp and the Duke of Edinburgh never really understood his son.

“Indeed, his son became a source of considerable irritation to him as he grew up, whereas the Queen mother reported what she needed was delicate nurturing, sympathy and understanding.”

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