- Samantha Cohen was the Queen’s press secretary for seventeen years
Queen Elizabeth II ‘loved it’ when things went wrong because it ‘brightened her life’, a former aide has claimed.
Samantha Cohen spoke fondly of her relationship with the late Queen in an interview with Australian newspaper The Herald Sun.
Ms Cohen was the Queen’s press secretary for seventeen years, then her assistant and private secretary, before resigning from her job at the Royal Household in 2019.
Speaking to the newspaper, she said: ‘The Queen had no ego, she was so comfortable, yet she loved it when something went wrong.’
The Queen especially liked it when a “cake wasn’t cut” or a “plaque wasn’t revealed,” she added.
Samantha Cohen (pictured), worked as a former Assistant Secretary to the Queen and senior advisor to the Duchess of Sussex
Elizabeth II cuts a cake to celebrate the start of the Platinum Jubilee during a reception in the ballroom of Sandringham House (pictured)
Ms Cohen said the “best of times” were accompanying the Queen on her two royal tours to South Australia and Queensland in 2002 and 2011.
Ms Cohen was nicknamed ‘Samantha Panther’ for her pragmatic attitude and was enthusiastic about the royal family launching a YouTube account when the idea was mooted.
The former aide spoke to the Queen daily and had her own bedroom at Windsor Castle for almost a decade.
In 2018, Samantha Cohen worked as private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Queen’s request.
Valentine Low’s book claimed that Ms Cohen left her position after being treated ‘harshly’ and because it was like ‘working with teenagers’, but according to The Herald Sun she would not comment on these claims.
The Duchess of Sussex’s team denied the accusation of bullying.
Ms Cohen sits behind The Queen and Meghan Markle at an event (pictured)
Mrs Cohen was once invited to Balmoral for Christmas and said the Queen was a “special woman” and that she missed her.
Originally from Brisbane, Australia, Ms. Cohen began her career as a journalist at the Sunshine Coast Daily in Australia before working for the Australian Government.
She now works as chief of staff for the global CEO of mining giant Rio Tinto.
