Queen Elizabeth II's reign almost never happened after mother's accident

The course of British royal history may have been almost derailed before Queen Elizabeth II was even born.

On January 12, the Daily Mail retold the story of the Queen Mother’s near-fatal accident while she was pregnant with her first child — a moment that, according to some new information uncovered by the outlet, could have dramatically altered the monarchy’s future.

Nearly a century ago, The New York Times reported that the then-Duchess of York, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was injured in a motor accident on January 28, 1926. Her car collided with another motorist who cut between her car, “throwing the Duchess to the floor. She was slightly shaken but otherwise uninjured.”

What was not made public at the time was that the Duchess was 25 and expecting a child, the future Queen Elizabeth II. According to the Daily Mail, British politician Chips Channon later learned from Buckingham Palace that “She very nearly had a miscarriage!”

The outlet claimed the palace “did its best to play down the smash,” though the incident reportedly left the Duchess badly shaken. Just months later, on April 21, 1926, she gave birth via C-section at her parents’ London home to Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary.