Queen Elizabeth Needed This Man When She Became Queen – And It's Not Prince Philip

For the seven long decades that she has led the British monarchy, Queen Elizabeth has never failed to win over the hearts of her people. Interestingly, she would not have been the Queen that she is today if not for a man she knew in the past — and it’s not Prince Philip.

Queen Elizabeth was still young when she took on the role of the monarch. Because of that, she had to seek the advice of someone who had an incredible knowledge of the royal family during her first year as Queen. Although she was already married to Prince Philip when she was crowned on June 2, 1953, she had to turn to someone else for guidance when she realized the weight of her new role.

Since marrying Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip has stayed by her side every step of the way. No wonder the Queen previously described the Duke of Edinburgh as her “strength and stay.” During Queen Elizabeth’s early reign, however, she needed the help of a man named Sir Alan Lascelles as she tried to learn the ropes of the British monarchy.

Queen Elizabeth has had nine private secretaries since she became the Queen, but no other secretary had as much knowledge of the royal family as Lascelles, her first secretary. On her first year as Queen, Lascelles served as Queen Elizabeth’s private secretary, who guided her with all her decisions.

Royal biographer Hugo Vickers revealed in a 2012 article that Lascelles acted as a fierce judge of the monarchs he served under. He was also the one who urged Queen Elizabeth not to give her children Prince Philip’s surname, Mountbatten, because he knew that such a German surname would not sit well with the British public at the time.

Vickers also revealed that Lascelles once said that Queen Elizabeth had an “almost telepathic intuition” when it comes to making the right decisions. The veteran royal secretary also reportedly described Prince Philip as “rough and uneducated.”

Having dedicated 27 years of his life to royal service, Lascelles got to serve four of Britain’s reigning monarchs. Before serving Queen Elizabeth, he served King George V, Edward VIII, and King George VI.