The Queen has reigned for 67 years so far, and it is hard to imagine Her Majesty showing any nerves as she makes her regal appearances. However, when she came to the throne as a young woman, the Queen was endearingly shy, according to one of the sovereign’s former ladies-in-waiting. Lady Pamela, and her late sister Lady Patricia, are the daughters of Prince Philip’s uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Lady Pamela followed Her Majesty around the world as her lady-in-waiting, and was even present on the fateful trip to Kenya in 1952 that saw the 25-year old Princess Elizabeth return as the Queen.

Speaking to Vanity Fair’s James Reginato in 2013, Lady Pamela shed light on the monarch’s early years on the throne, revealing how the young Queen was “shy and prone to self-doubt”.

Lady Pamela said: “Before she had to make an appearance, she’d say, ‘If only mummy were doing this; she does it so well. I’m not spontaneous like mummy.”

Mr Reginato added: “Needless to say, she quickly grew into her position – a key part of which was learning to control her emotions.

“Not surprisingly, Pamela has no patience for people who have criticised the monarch for not showing feelings.”

Lady Pamela told the author: “She had to learn to control all her emotions. You don’t cry in public, you can’t show you are tired, you can’t show you are bored.

“Your own emotions are entirely not to be considered.

“And you have to train yourself to smile yet again.”

Lady Pamela continued: “Sometimes we would be in motorcades for hours.

“It is just physically impossible to smile the whole time.

“Occasionally you have to relax your facial muscles.

“But whenever she did, since the car was going so slow and we could hear everything, we’d hear someone in the crowd say, ‘Doesn’t she look cross.’”

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In the interview, Lady Pamela also gave insight into the young Queen and Prince Philip’s relationship, recalling how the Royal Family were initially “appalled” when the Princess fell in love.

Lady Pamela said: “She never from that moment thought of anybody else. It was a real love match.”

However, the Queen’s third cousin recalls how Elizabeth had to convince her parents to let her marry Philip when she came of age.

Lady Pamela continued: “The King and Queen were appalled.

“The thought that he might become a son-in-law was most unwelcome. Why wasn’t she marrying some respectable English duke?

“Yes, he was a Prince of Greece and Denmark. But very suspect, Greece – they get rid of their royal families regularly. And he had no money.”

She added how the Duke’s infamous bluntness was also an obstacle to endearing himself to the Royal Family.

She said: “He’s never been one to flatter. He was not the courtier they were used to.”

This year, the 90-year-old Lady Pamela made her podcasting debut, as she spoke with her daughter India Hicks on her self-titled podcast.

India Hicks rose to fame in 1981, when she was one of Lady Diana Spencer’s bridesmaids at St Paul’s Cathedral.

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