As depicted in the Netflix series The Crown, the pair steered the country through a series of crises as Britain carved out a new role for itself on the world stage. Wilson is the only one of those fifteen who served for two separate periods, between 19 and again from 1974 to 1976. Yet the relationship with Labour’s Harold Wilson in the 1960s and 1970s attracts the most interest. Since the death of Elizabeth II, much has been written about the fifteen people who served as her Prime Minister. In his address, he said that her Elizabethan age would be seen as one of great progress: “Not because of voyages of discovery or colonisation but because of the ability of your people to influence governments and nations towards peace and stability.” Twenty one years on from her last appearance at Downing Street, when she joined Winston Churchill, she sat with members of the Labour Cabinet for Wilson’s farewell.

In his final days at Number 10, Elizabeth II was the special guest for a farewell banquet in his honour. Six months later, the Queen was one of the few who was not shocked by his resignation. As the Queen washed the dishes, he informed her that the game was up.

One night, after dining with her at Balmoral, he was driven to a secure chalet about a mile from the Castle. According to his account of events, Wilson decided to tell the Queen of his plans to resign as Prime Minister in unusual circumstances. With inflation and unemployment rising to critical levels, Labour’s great election winner, Harold Wilson, began to wonder if he still had the solutions to Britain’s problems. It was the Autumn of 1975, and Britain was on the brink of multiple political and economic crises.

Harold wilson by ben pimlott