News | Mar 30, 2022 10:19 PM EDT

Queen Elizabeth Refused To Retire As It Could Repeat THIS Royal Horror

By Alexandria Reeves

Queen Elizabeth II could have followed Prince Philip's footsteps when he retired, but she refused to do so to avoid a royal horror from repeating.

In August 2017, the late Duke of York announced his retirement after completing 22,000 solo appearances throughout his stint as Queen Elizabeth's "strength and stay."

Her Majesty could have done it, as well, especially when she surely conducted more royal engagements than anyone in the royal family. However, Queen Elizabeth refused to do so, as retiring would mean her immediate abdication and repeat of a royal horror they had been avoiding for a long time.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Express that the main reason why Queen Elizabeth did not retire like how Prince Philip did is that their roles are different.

Fitzwilliams explained that, for the Queen, the word "retire" means "abdicate."

"If there is some incapacity which prevented the Queen doing her job as she felt it ought to be done, then things would alter. But she's not forgotten her uncle's abdication. That is still regarded with some horror," he said.

Royal Horror: Edward VIII Abdicated To Marry Divorcee Wallis Simpson

The Queen's refusal to abdicate was rooted from the heartbreak the whole family suffered when then-King Edward VIII gave up his royal life to marry the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.

Express journalist Simon Edge explained in 2013 that the former king quit because he wanted to protect his mother, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth from any public damages once they ignored his American wife.

"[But] he stressed that he was far from happy with the arrangement and wasn't prepared to abide by it for much longer," he went on.

His abdication led the monarchy to make the Queen's father, George VI, to be the official monarch then. However, it set a bad example for The Firm. What's worse is that, Her Majesty believed that her father's health deteriorated when he succeeded the throne.

Queen Mother also developed a resentment towards her brother-in-law, as she believed that the pressure put on her husband caused him to fall ill.

After King George VI died due to lung cancer in 1952, the unexpected time brought Queen Elizabeth to the throne at the young age of 25. Mrs. Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's first cousin, said that Her Majesty pledged to offer her entire life serving the monarchy and kept that promise in a letter.