Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton
ON THE RECORD · 19 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“I tried to get more out of her, but she was of that generation who quite rightly just didn’t want to talk about it.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton explained why his mother refused to elaborate on her intelligence career.
“I remember sitting with the Queen Mother at lunch and talking about the war. It was enlightening. And she had a wonderful sense of humor. I absolutely adored her.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton remembered having lunch and discussing wartime experiences with the Queen Mother.
“I remember one occasion when my father got really down in the dumps,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton shared an anecdote about his parents during a family lunch.
“[They] had all of us children and went to live in Suffolk, which is where I grew up,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton recounted his childhood and family life in Suffolk.
“It all seeps in,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton discussed how the women in his life influenced his writing.
“She was the daughter of a Scottish girl who grew up in Glamis Castle. When she was 15, her favorite brother was killed in the trenches in the First World War. And Glamis Castle was given over, at least a part of it, to being a military hospital for wounded soldiers coming back from the First World War.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton spoke about the Queen Mother's background and experiences during World War I.
“Like my mother, she had an incredibly sharp memory,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton compared the Queen Mother's sharp memory to that of his mother.
“We were watching a documentary one afternoon about 30, 40 years ago,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton recalled the moment his mother revealed her connection to British intelligence.
“... [My father] could go up and down in moods. And my mother just ... kept the family going absolutely on the straight and narrow through the middle with her calmness really. That was the great thing about her. Nothing fazed her.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton reflected on how his mother kept the household grounded.
“She went into secret service,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton discussed his mother's postwar service in British intelligence.
“She was an absolute joy to be with,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton reflected on his time serving Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
“She made really good roast potatoes for lunch. And she’d obviously had enough. She got this potato, and she flung it down the dining room table with [my sister] Sarah and me on either side thinking, ‘My goodness, what’s going to happen now?’”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton recounted an amusing moment when his mother threw a potato at the dining table.
“Somebody of strength, somebody who has their own opinions and is not going to be pushed around,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton shared the legacy he hopes his mother leaves with readers of his novel.
“And there was a thing called the ‘Cambridge spy ring,’ which were Soviet agents who had infiltrated the British system. And there was a great mystery about who the fifth man was. And up pops the documentary maker saying, ‘Well, it could be Sir Roger Hollis.’”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton described watching a documentary about Soviet spies with his family.
“My mother, without missing a knitting stitch, said, ‘Absolute nonsense. He was a total gentleman and a patriot.’”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton recounted his mother's immediate reaction to claims about Sir Roger Hollis.
“So she joined MI5, which was the equivalent. It's a sort of mixture between the FBI, I think, and the CIA. And she was in that during the Cold War.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton described his mother's role in MI5 during the Cold War.
“[My sister and I] both looked at her sideways as if she was completely mad,”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton described his and his sister's reaction to their mother's comment.
“And she hit my father clean between the eyes. My father was literally crying with laughter within about 20 seconds. She just knew. It wasn’t always roast potatoes, but she knew how to deal with him.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton described his father's humorous reaction to his mother's actions.
“She was like everybody’s favorite granny. She had a bolt of steel running down her spine, so nothing fazed her.”
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-23
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton described the strength and character of the Queen Mother.