Queen Elizabeth "Was Only Afraid of One Thing"—and it Caused Debates Within Her Family

Yahoo

12-05-2025

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Queen Elizabeth II was pretty much the definition of grace under pressure. Throughout her 70 years on the throne, she weathered everything from political upheavals and a pandemic to personal heartache—and she did it all with her steadfast smile. With the exception of watching her horses at the racetrack, the late Queen appeared calm, collected and unflappable. However, there was one fear Queen Elizabeth could never quite shake—and it's probably not what the public would expect.
"She was only afraid of one thing, and that was helicopters," royal biographer Robert Hardman said during a new episode of the Daily Mail's podcast, "Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things."
"She could put up with everything else: she'd been through the war, she'd been through heaven knows what, but she always had a thing about helicopters," the royal expert continued. Her fear seemed to have stemmed, at least in part, from a member of her staff who died in a helicopter crash in the '60s.
Hardman said that the accident "left a very deep impression on The Queen" and she wouldn't ride in a helicopter. However, this didn't mean that the late Queen never traveled in them later in her reign—at times, it was necessary due to her schedule or where she was traveling.
For instance, when she paid a historic visit to Northern Ireland in 1977, the monarch was forced to confront her fear. This was during the "height of the Troubles" in Northern Ireland because of the IRA, and her security team warned against moving around the country without traveling by helicopter. Hardman added that the late Queen was given "no choice" but to climb aboard for the first time.
"Even at the end of her life, she was very reluctant to use helicopters in bad weather and at night and particularly during winter," he said of Queen Elizabeth's aversion to helicopter travel.
However, as Hardman noted, "It's somewhat ironic that several of her children and grandchildren, notably Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince William and Prince Harry, all ended up flying helicopters at various points. She never liked them."
That being said, Queen Elizabeth was reported to have butted heads with Prince William over his use of helicopters with his children. Royal biographer Robert Jobson wrote about one occasion when William—who is a trained helicopter pilot—flew with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Apparently, Queen Elizabeth "had sharp words" with her grandson for defying "her wishes," he wrote, via the Daily Mail. "She had warned him against flying with George in case of an accident, telling her grandson he always had to be aware of the succession."
In 2021, royal sources also shared how the late Queen had "several conversations" with Prince William about the matter. "Her Majesty has told close friends and courtiers that she would like William to stop flying himself, particularly in bad weather, as helicopters are not the safest form of transport," an insider told the Sun. "It keeps The Queen awake at night and she is understandably very worried."