On paper, Harold Wilson and Queen Elizabeth II could not have come from more different walks of life. 

Wilson was a proud Yorkshireman from Huddersfield born into a lower middle-class family. 

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II came from a very different social background as a member – and head  – of the most famous family in Britain. 

Despite the stark differences between the two, Wilson and the Queen devolved a close friendship which led Elizabeth to bestow upon Wilson the honour of being her favourite Prime Minister. 

Today, is 30 years since Wilson died from colon cancer aged 79 and while the late Queen did not attend his funeral it is likely his death had a profound effect on Her Majesty.

As according to author and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth Wilson and Elizabeth enjoyed a ‘relaxed intimacy’ which was unique as the meetings between the Queen and her PM were typically very formal.  

Writing in his biography of the Queen, ‘Elizabeth an intimate portrait’, Brandreth revealed that Her Majesty allowed Wilson to smoke his pipes during their meetings which ‘grew longer and longer: one touched two hours, a prime-ministerial record’.

Brandreth believes that their friendship developed for a number of reasons. 

Harold Wilson greets the Queen outside No.10 in 1976. Despite the stark differences between the two, Wilson and the Queen devolved a close friendship which led Elizabeth to bestow upon Wilson the honour of being her favourite Prime Minister

A young Queen Elizabeth II in 1965. Wilson was the Queen’s PM whose age was closer to her own 

Wilson with his trademark pipe. Writing in his biography of the Queen, ‘Elizabeth an intimate portrait’,  Gyles Brandreth revealed that Her Majesty allowed Wilson to smoke his pipes during their meetings

Prior to Wilson’s election in 1964 as the Queen’s first Labour PM, all of the Prime Ministers were much older than the young Elizabeth. 

‘Sir Anthony Eden, born 1897, who succeeded Churchill, and Harold macmillan, born 1894, who succeeded hIm, were of a similar vintage and each in his own way, played the old school charmer with the young queen… essentially telling her what was going on rather than seeking to draw any advice,’ Brandreth said.

Wilson was different. He was the Queen’s first Prime Minister who was not educated at a public school, although he was Oxford educated like three of her four previous PMs.

But most importantly Wilson was closer to her own age – at just ten years her senior – and treated the Queen as an equal. 

As a staunch royalist, the Labour politician is reported to have said: ‘I have great respect for tradition. I like the real ceremonies of the Monarchy.’ 

Which explains why Wilson made it ‘his business to endear himself to his queen’, according to Brandreth.

His mission was a resounding success with Elizabeth inviting Wilson to stay for drinks after their very first meeting. 

The late Queen also got on well with Wilson’s wife Mary. Brandreth wrote that the Queen ‘admired Lady Wilson’s poetry and did not like the way it had been “belittled in certain quarters” when Mary first published a collection of her poems.’

The Queen with Wilson in 1969. As a staunch royalist, Wilson is reported to have said: ‘I have great respect for tradition. I like the real ceremonies of the Monarchy’

Wilson with his wife Mary. The late Queen also got on well with Wilson wife Mary. Brandreth wrote that the Queen ‘admired Lady Wilson’s poetry and did not like the way it had been “belittled in certain quarters” when Mary first published a collection of her poems’

Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh leaving Downing Street in 1976. As a mark of their close friendship, the Queen accepted Wilson’s invitation to have dinner at Downing Street just before he stepped down. The Queen had not dined at No.10 since Winston Churchill invited her in 1955

According to Robin, Harold and Mary’s son, they got on so well that Mary was invited to Buckingham Palace in 2016 to have tea with the Queen to mark her 100th birthday.

In 1970, Wilson lost re-election in a surprise defeat at the hands of Tory leader Edward Heath. 

Elizabeth relationship with Heath was in stark contrast to one she enjoyed with Wilson.

‘Heath was socially awkward at the best of times and found it hard to relax and, unlike Wilson, found it difficult to relax with an attractive, intelligent women ten years his junior,’ Brandreth said. 

However, the Queen was given the unusual opportunity to resume her weekly meetings with Wilson when Labour beat the Conservatives in the 1974 election making Wilson PM once again.

By now, aged 58, Wilson had grown weary of British politics having been leader of the Labour Party for over a decade. 

He reportedly told a  close adviser in 1974 that: ‘I have been around this racetrack so often that I cannot generate any more enthusiasm for jumping any more hurdles.’

Two years after he re-entered No.10 Wilson resigned reportedly out of physical and mental exhaustion from his time as Prime Minister. 

The Queen with Tory PM Edward Heath in 1973. Elizabeth  relationship with Heath was in stark contrast to one she enjoyed with Wilson

Wilson at Labour Party Conference in 1973. After his departure, Elizabeth and Wilson remained close friends. So much so that Brandreth claims Wilson showed him a small photograph of him and the Queen which he kept permanently inside his wallet

Elizabeth II at the state opening of Parliament in 1966. Prior to Wilson’s election in 1964 as the Queen’s first Labour PM, all of the Prime Ministers were much older than the young Elizabeth

As a mark of their close friendship, the Queen accepted Wilson’s invitation to have dinner at Downing Street just before he stepped. The Queen had not dined at No.10 since Winston Churchill invited her in 1955. 

The Queen also immediately made him a Knight of the Garter, the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system.

After his departure, Elizabeth and Wilson remained close friends. So much so that Brandreth claims Wilson showed him a small photograph of him and the Queen which he kept permanently inside his wallet. 

In the years running up to his death in 1995, Wilson developed Alzheimer’s which caused his health to deteriorate significantly. But through his health struggles in later life the Queen kept in touch with the Wilsons. 

Tragically, his health struggles meant Wilson struggled to earn money post-premiership as his Alzheimers meant he struggled to write and give speech – which was a traditionally a source of income for former Prime Ministers.

Upon his death the then-Prime Minister John Major paid tribute to Wilson describing him as a ‘formidable political opponent’. 

‘In the ledger of life, his credit balance is very high. It is a privilege for me, as one, nominally, of his political opponents, to pay him this tribute and I do so unreservedly,’ Major added.

A memorial service was held for Wilson at Westminster Abbey which was attended by Major and all the living former Prime Ministers. While the Queen did not attend, the then-Prince Charles was at the service.