The course of British royal history may have almost been derailed before Queen Elizabeth II was even born.
On January 12, the daily mail retold the story of the Queen Mother’s near-fatal accident while pregnant with her first child, a moment that, according to new information discovered by the outlet, could have dramatically altered the future of the monarchy.
almost a century ago, The New York Times reported that the then Duchess of York, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was injured in a car accident on 28 January 1926. Her car collided with another motorist who cut between her car, “throwing the Duchess to the ground. She was slightly shaken but otherwise uninjured.”
What was not made public at the time was that the Duchess was 25 years old and expecting a child, the future Queen Elizabeth II. According to the Daily Mail, British politician Chips Channon later learned at Buckingham Palace that he “nearly suffered a miscarriage!”
The outlet claimed that the palace “did everything it could to downplay the disaster,” although the incident reportedly left the duchess very shaken. Just a few months later, on April 21, 1926, she gave birth by Caesarean section at her parents’ home in London to Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.
