Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother, Princess Margaret Came ‘So Close’ To Danger In 1951

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret came so close to danger in 1951. At that time, the Buckingham Palace became very furious at the thought that the three female royals could’ve died in an instant.

In the Channel 5 documentary “Secrets of the Royal Flight,” aviation historian Alistair Hodgson talked about the time when the three royals became the first three people to travel via a private jet on the DeHavilland Comet. He said that the Comet revolutionized air travel.

Historian Kate Williams added that the momentous occasion was such an incredible moment for the British public.

“To have made the first airliner, to beat America, we’d beaten the rest of the world. Our manufacturing was the best,” Williams said.

The historian added that the Queen Mother, Her Majesty, and Princess Margaret took the VIP flight on the comet. And the mindset was that if the flight was safe for the royals then it would also be safe for everyone else.

But according to the documentary’s narrator, the large picture windows and tables found inside the luxurious private jet eventually became the cause of its downfall. During one of its flights, the private jet crashed and all of the passengers were killed.

“DeHavilland’s success was dramatically short-lived. Soon after venturing into commercial airline service, three devastating accidents killed everyone on board when the planes inexplicably exploded mid-flight… Buckingham Palace was furious that the Queen, the heir to the throne, and her sister were put in such danger,” the narrator said.

Meanwhile, this wasn’t the only time when the Queen’s safety was compromised. There has been a slew of incidents wherein the monarch was close to being assassinated.

Almost 38 years ago, a teenager armed with a .22 rifle went to the fifth floor of a building in New Zealand in an attempt to assassinate the Queen and Prince Philip. Luckily, Christopher John Lewis missed shooting the royal couple.