A woman who worked as an assistant to the late Queen Elizabeth II for 18 years has revealed some unexpected details about her boss, including that the monarch was a “brave” driver who loved to drive at high speed.
Samantha Cohen, 56, spoke with the Sunday schedule about her time working with Her Majesty, talking about how she joined the press office around 25 years ago, before being promoted to the royal’s communications secretary and then her deputy private secretary.
Cohen said he first saw the woman who would become his future employer during the head of state’s visit to Australia in 1977, during his Silver Jubilee year. Cohen, a Brisbane schoolgirl at the time, said she was “beyond excited” for the occasion.
Not only would she work for Queen Elizabeth for almost two decades, but she would also become “one of her most trusted aides and closest confidants.”
During those many years, Cohen sat the Queen down almost every day. He also toured Australia with her three times, in 2002, 2006 and 2011.
Samantha Cohen (pictured, left) is seen sitting behind the Queen (pictured, right) as she watches a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge in June 2018 in Widnes.
He describes their relationship as “very respectful” and adds that the monarch did not have favorites. She simply considered her job to be making the lives of the royal, whom she described as an “amazing” employer, “as easy as possible.”
The mother of three and her family, her husband Richard Halle, and their children (now aged 13, 16 and 19) often moved to wherever the Queen was; for example, they spent summers at Balmoral and Christmases in Norfolk at Sandringham, where they were given a cottage during their stay and gifts with handwritten labels from the monarch.
During summers in Scotland, when Cohen’s family was given a home to stay, the children sometimes ran into Mer Majesty, who “loved for families to have a good time and listen to what everyone was doing.” .
Describing the royal as a “shy” person who wanted to be “a family woman” as well as head of state, Cohen said she loved the privacy she enjoyed at Balmoral, as well as welcoming everyone and allocating rooms for guests.
In Scotland, the Queen showed her love of speed, with Cohen saying the royal was “brave” and adding that she would “drive her cars fast around Balmoral.” “Its passengers would reportedly be left white-knuckled.”
Another notable trait of the late monarch’s character, according to Cohen, was that she had “no ego” and that, despite being one of the most famous people in the world, she was “the antithesis of celebrity.”
Instead of being a braggart, drunk on being royalty, the Queen “took (her role) very seriously and performed it to perfection,” while remembering that it was independent of her as a person.
While he saw the royals at their happiest when off duty, according to Cohen, he also enjoyed tours of Australia, finding them more relaxing “because there was less protocol.”
According to Cohen (pictured attending Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018) he revealed that the Queen loved speed and drove her cars very fast around Balmoral .
After Australians voted to keep Elizabeth as head of state (a narrow victory during the 1999 referendum), during a visit to the country in 2000 (her thirteenth trip there), the Queen gave a speech in which she spoke of how there was the decision. the citizens.
‘I have always been clear that the future of the monarchy in Australia is a matter that you, the Australian people and you alone must decide by democratic and constitutional means. It shouldn’t be any other way,’ he said.
In May 2018, shortly after Prince Harry married Meghan Markle, the Queen asked Cohen to work for the couple and shared his vast experience with her. He left the Royal Family in October 2019, after 18 years of working in the institution.
She has not commented publicly on the bullying allegations surrounding the Duchess of Sussex, claims the Duchess denies.
Cohen (pictured while visiting Nyanga township on September 23, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle) began working for the Sussexes after their wedding in May 2018, before leaving his work for the Royal Family in October 2019.
Despite formally leaving The Firm, Cohen was so trusted that he was asked to join the January 2020 ‘Sandringham summit’, the now infamous meeting at which the royals and Harry brokered the deals for him to leave. to the family as a high-level working member and move abroad.
Cohen, who was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 2016 for her personal service to the monarch, began working for Boris Johnson in 2022, then chief of staff to the global chief executive of mining company Rio Tinto.
He left that position in September 2024 so he could spend more time with his family.
Her favorite job, she revealed during the interview, was working for the Queen, which included highlights such as the royal pleasure of taking a day trip to Italy to have lunch with then-President Napolitano. At 88 years old, the monarch had reduced her trips abroad.
While there, they also visited Pope Francis, before flying back to England. The Queen thought it was fun to take a day trip to Europe, something she had not done before. As he boarded the plane back home, he told Cohen, “Well, there you have it, we did it.”
