Queen Elizabeth II - Britain's Longest Reigning Monarch Documentary

The woman known to history as Elizabeth Windsor, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was born in London on the 21st of April, 1926. Her father was Prince Albert of York, known to his family and close friends as “Bertie”. Her mother was Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon for whom Elizabeth was the first born child. She was given the name of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, but despite the fact that her regnal name was “Elizabeth II,” she was not named for the iconic Queen Elizabeth I. Instead she was named for her mother, for her paternal great-grandmother Queen Alexandra, and for her grandmother Queen Mary. Elizabeth II was named for women who were consorts rather than those in whom authority was vested, and few imagined that she would grow up to do much more than marry, have children, and enjoy a life of quiet aristocratic privilege. The first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, Elizabeth’s birth was happily welcomed, but the family had little expectation of the grand status which would one day be hers. Her father, Prince Albert of York, was not the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne of Britain, but rather was the second son of King George V, who had been King of Britain and Emperor of India since 1910. Bertie’s older brother, Prince Edward, who was called “David” within the family, was next in line to inherit the throne. David was not yet married, but he was just thirty-two, only eighteen months older than Bertie. He had not married by the time Elizabeth was born, but most people were of the opinion that the Prince of Wales still had plenty of time to marry, have children and secure the royal line in this way. Thus, few people would have imagined when she was born in the spring of 1926 that Princess Elizabeth of York would one day be Queen. Even though she was the third grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s birth was accompanied by great excitement, as she was theoretically the third in line to the throne. For most of the day, a crowd of reporters and well-wishers stood outside the house at 17 Bruton Street, where the Duchess of York had given birth, hoping for a glimpse of the members of the royal family coming and going to meet the newborn princess. King George V and Queen Mary were among the first to pay a visit to 17 Bruton Street that very day, eager to meet their first granddaughter. The queen pronounced her a, quote, “little darling with a lovely complexion and pretty, fair hair,” while the King was equally taken with his newest grandchild. Elizabeth became a great favourite, not only with the British newspapers and magazines who christened her, “Princess Betty,” but also with the senior members of the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of York were periodically busy with royal duties and functions and Elizabeth therefore spent a sizeable proportion of her childhood being cared for by her nannies and governess, a typical scenario for royal children in times gone by. However, her parents also placed great importance on their family life and made sure that they had daily quality time with their daughter for at least an hour every morning, and every evening between tea-time and bedtime. Neither did Elizabeth lack any family for company when her parents were away. She either stayed with the King and Queen at Sandringham or Balmoral, or with her maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, at Glamis Castle in Scotland, or at their London house at 17 Bruton St. where she had been born. While Bertie and Elizabeth were away on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1927, they missed their daughter’s first word. The princess’ nanny, Clara Knight, reportedly helped her learn to pronounce the word “Mummy,” although amusingly, Elizabeth used the title on multiple individuals before her mother’s return. The Duke and Duchess of York were openly overjoyed at being reunited with their daughter, if not a little dismayed at how much she had grown and changed in the months that they had been away. Still, they knew she was well-cared for in their absence, and it was generally not the practice for small children to accompany royals during extended travel. Elizabeth’s uncle David also showed her much affection. He visited her often during her childhood, bringing her gifts and chatting amusedly with his little niece. King George V doted on her and would willingly play any part in her games. On one occasion, one of the King’s equerries or attendants was shocked to find the King on his hands and knees pretending to be a horse, and allowing the two-year-old Princess to lead him around by his beard! Elizabeth called him “Grandpa England,” which amused him greatly, as did his granddaughter’s inability to pronounce her own name as a toddler. “Lilibet” was the best she could do, and the King made sure that the nickname stuck. Lilibet had what many observers and historians characterize as an idyllic childhood. Soon after her birth, the Duke and Duchess of York moved into a house at 145 Piccadilly in London. Elizabeth spent most of her days with her nanny, Mrs. Knight, and her nurses, Ruby MacDonald, and her sister Margaret MacDonald, whom Elizabeth called “Bobo.” She enjoyed regular and daily quality time with her parents, who believed in the importance of a close, warm, and fun-filled family life. Elizabeth’s favourite activities were playing with her toy ponies and working in the garden with her father. Her love of the outdoors became apparent very early on, while she also shared a love of animals with other members of the family, particularly horses and dogs. Bertie had no less than eight pet dogs during Elizabeth’s childhood, including three Corgis, which famously became the queen’s favourite breed, ones she kept several of down to her last years. Elizabeth’s grandfather, George V, shared her love of horses, and gifted her with her first pony for her fourth birthday, a Shetland named Peggy. Elizabeth began taking riding lessons the following year, eventually proving to be an impressively adept equestrienne and as incurably horse-mad as most of the royal family. Lilibet, who loved to be outdoors getting dirty, once remarked that she hoped she might marry a farmer, so that she might spend every day outdoors with horses and dogs. During the summer of 1930, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, gave birth to her second daughter and last child at her family’s ancestral home at Glamis Castle in Scotland. She and Bertie named the infant princess Margaret Rose. Lilibet was delighted with her baby sister. She wrote to a relative that at first, she thought that Margaret was some kind of “wonderful dolly,” only to discover that she was alive! The next few years were relaxed and happy ones for the family. Bertie and Elizabeth referred to their family affectionately as “us four”, a surprisingly close relationship for a royal family unit. Bertie’s relationship with his own parents, by way of contrast, had been comparatively cold and distant and Elizabeth might be said to have been the first monarch raised in a relatively modern manner. In 1931, the King gifted the Yorks with Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. After extensive renovation and redecoration, the family used the house as a weekend retreat. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became particularly attached to the Royal Lodge, and it remained her primary residence for fifty years following her husband’s passing in 1952. The Yorks had some of their happiest times together as a family at Royal Lodge in the early-to-mid 1930s. For Elizabeth and Margaret, the days usually began with chatter and hijinks in their parents’ bedroom before breakfast. The girls would spend the bulk of the day either playing outdoors or in the nursery with Ruby, Bobo, and Mrs. Knight, whom they called “Alla,” or attending to their lessons with their governess, Marion Crawford, whom they called “Crawfie.” There would usually be more family fun time in the late afternoon or early evening, between teatime and bedtime. Bertie, Elizabeth, and their daughters became beloved by the British press and the public quite early on. They seemed to project an almost bourgeois domestic contentment that ordinary people admired, and with which they could identify. This national perception of their family’s character as loving, stable, and relatable would come to be exceptionally important later on, when Bertie was called upon to ascend to the throne. Like so many siblings who are close in age, Elizabeth and Margaret developed very different personalities. Elizabeth was reserved, conscientious, and dutiful. Adults who met her were impressed by her quiet dignity and composure from a young age. She was efficient and tidy, carefully arranging her shoes outside the nursery door and lining up all of her toy ponies in a neat row each night before bed. That being said, she also had a sense of humor and fun that were no doubt enhanced by having her sister Margaret as a nursery companion. Whereas Elizabeth was reserved, Margaret was openly affectionate. While her sister was practical and dutiful, Margaret was romantic, imaginative, and often mischievous. There were the inevitable struggles between them as young children. Margaret had a tendency to bite when she was incensed with Elizabeth, who, equally incensed, would hit her back. Elizabeth expressed annoyance that Margaret seemed always to want whatever she wanted. Margaret was also given to teasing, which aggravated Elizabeth, who had a short temper when they were children. But at the same time, she was enormously protective of her younger sister, conscientious about keeping talk of unpleasant or frightening things to a minimum in front of her, and mindful to include Margaret as much as possible. Their relationship would eventually be complicated and strained by the family’s proximity to the crown, but nonetheless, throughout their lives, the two sisters remained close and loving confidantes. Compared to the royal court, where the monarch was head of the Church, the York household was a much more secular space. For most of her life, Queen Elizabeth II cherished a deep religious faith and took her position as the head of the Church very seriously. But during her childhood, her parents placed far more emphasis on kindness, consideration, order, and good manners than on religious devotion. Holidays meant large family gatherings and Elizabeth and Margaret enjoyed summers in Scotland, and Christmases and Easters at Sandringham, in Norfolk. They received a weekly allowance of one shilling each and Elizabeth saved most of hers throughout the year to buy Christmas presents for her family. Small gifts rather than extravagant ones were preferred and the royal family still observes this tradition of simple gift-giving today even after Elizabeth’s passing. Even in her later years the Queen enjoyed the “white elephant” or “gag” gifts most of all. A recent biography noted a bit of whimsy that sat on a corner of the Queen’s bathtub – a crowned rubber duck, a gift from one of her grandchildren. During childhood Christmases at Sandringham, Elizabeth and Margaret often received books, dolls, toy horses, and sweets. Elizabeth kept a careful list of gifts she had received and who had given them to her, making sure to send a thank-you note to each one. She also carefully smoothed out and saved the wrapping paper to be re-used later, as wrapping paper was something of a luxury item in 1930s Britain. Marion Crawford, or Crawfie as she was known, Elizabeth and Margaret’s governess, seemed to think that the two girls lived isolated and lonely lives. She later wrote of her concern that the princesses did not have the opportunity to see or experience nearly enough of the real world. She wanted to take them on many more excursions than were permitted: to ride “the tube,” or the London subway, to play in a public park, to meet and mix with ordinary children. However, such excursions were difficult to undertake due to the media attention that might ensue. The York princesses were simply too recognizable to the London public. It is interesting that Crawfie did not reflect on the fact that Elizabeth and Margaret actually did spend time with quote-unquote, “ordinary” people all the time. In fact, they spent the bulk of their time with Ruby, Bobo, Mrs. Knight, and Crawfie herself, all of whom came from working-class backgrounds. In light of this, it seems doubtful that the girls could have failed to absorb something of their sensibilities, values, and beliefs. It had been Mrs. Knight who had taught Elizabeth to save her used wrapping paper, to be conscious of waste and ostentation. It was to Bobo and Crawfie that Elizabeth would constantly turn, either to share her joys or her worries. Some observers and historians disagree with Marion Crawford’s perception of the princesses as lonely and isolated. While they concede that the girls generally did not get many opportunities to meet ordinary children, they point out that they were permitted to play with plenty of children from “their own set.” This included the children of extended family members and children of the aristocracy. And while Crawfie’s descriptions of the princesses portrayed them as mostly down-to-earth, other writers have emphasized that Elizabeth and Margaret were ultimately never in doubt of their status. They were, after all, curtsied to by almost everyone after their father became King. And, as many children do when they believe they can get away with it, they sometimes did not hesitate to remind their playmates of their right to get their own way. As close-knit as the family was, their social dynamics could be as complex as those of any other family. Margaret’s outgoing and affectionate nature resulted in a close relationship with her parents that Elizabeth might have envied. Additionally, as the elder daughter, the expectations of Elizabeth were higher, and became increasingly so as the family’s proximity to the throne shifted in the ensuing years. On the other hand, Elizabeth had a stronger affinity with other members of the royal family as a child, including her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, than Margaret did. The sensible and pragmatic Queen Mary felt a special kinship to her eldest granddaughter, whose personality and outlook on life strongly resembled her own. Members of the family were often impatient with Margaret, seeing her as having a “difficult character,” distrusting her conspicuous high-spiritedness, her frankness, and her passion. Reserved, neat, practical, and dignified, Elizabeth had more in common with her grandparents. Despite the difficult dynamics that seemed to afflict all families, Elizabeth and Margaret had a relatively happy childhood, and a surprisingly quiet, slow, and predictable one considering their status as royals. The fact that Elizabeth, nor those around here, ever expected her to be the Queen of Britain is evident from the approach to her education. With Crawfie, she and Margaret studied English literature and history. In subsequent years, they received regular lessons from a French instructor, but this was largely the extent of their formal academic training in their earlier years. King George V was opposed to the idea of the princesses attending school and his sons David and Bertie agreed. They believed there were too many public relations pitfalls involved. For example, which school should they choose and how could they avoid offending other educational institutions? How could the princesses pursue a normal education while being constantly singled out and scrutinized? Additionally, Bertie remembered his own awkward and painful experiences of being bullied at school, of being pressured to succeed, and he was eager to give his daughters an easier, more carefree childhood and to keep them sheltered as long as possible. Although one can readily understand his protective impulse, Bertie almost certainly underestimated his daughters. Even as young girls, they were far more confident and self-possessed than Bertie had been at their age, and both might have benefitted greatly from being able to attend school and receive a more varied and challenging education. There was at the time, however, a significant amount of social pressure not to educate aristocratic women to be scholars or intellectuals. One did not want to be labeled a “bluestocking,” a derogatory term for an educated woman who ought to prefer a more traditional female role. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was initially in favour of sending the girls to school, but ultimately came to agree with the other senior royals. After all, she herself had also been educated at home by a governess. Throughout each week, the princesses attended to their lessons daily but usually did not study for more than two or three hours. Additionally, the Duke and Duchess of York often thought little of interrupting schoolroom activities in favour of family fun time, a habit that worried the princesses’ governess. Crawfie privately believed that Elizabeth and Margaret should have a more rigorous education, but her position in service to the royal family did not permit her to criticize Bertie and Elizabeth’s approach to educating their children. Crawfie managed to discreetly bring the matter to the attention of Queen Mary, who heartily agreed that her granddaughters should have the most varied education possible, even if under informal circumstances. Queen Mary began to take the girls on regular outings herself to museums, galleries, and historic sites. In addition to their studies in the schoolroom, Elizabeth and Margaret received piano, voice, and dance lessons. The naturally charismatic Margaret proved to be especially talented in the performative arts. She was a natural mimic with a facility for accents, had a lovely singing voice, and a hilarious knack for comic timing. Famed writer and performer Noel Coward once observed that had Princess Margaret been permitted to pursue a career in the theatre, she undoubtedly would have been an enormous success. Elizabeth could play piano decently enough, but she was far less interested in the arts than Margaret. Interestingly, the sisters also got the chance to learn and practice domestic arts. They had a child-sized cottage playhouse on the grounds of their weekend retreat at Royal Lodge, a gift to the princesses from the people of Wales. Everything was in miniature, but the little house was stocked with every convenience including hot running water and modern appliances, and even a wireless set. The girls loved their cottage, and the British public was charmed by descriptions of the York princesses learning to cook and keep house, a down-to-earth and inspiring image of royalty in Depression-era Britain. In January 1936, when Elizabeth was nine years old, her seemingly idyllic and carefree childhood came to an end when her grandfather King George V died. Elizabeth was deeply saddened by his loss, but, as Crawfie later wrote admiringly, “she seemed determined to go through it all without making any fuss.” On the day of George V’s funeral, while watching the King’s body being loaded onto a train at Paddington Station, Elizabeth stood silently while dozens in the crowd openly wept. The year following the King’s death was a strange one for Elizabeth and Margaret and for their parents. There had been fewer and fewer visits from Uncle David in the last few years, and now they stopped altogether, now that he had automatically ascended to the throne as King Edward VIII. Edward’s conduct, both before and after he became King, was troubling to most members of the royal and parliamentary establishment. Such matters were almost certainly never discussed in front of Elizabeth, but she could probably sense the tension within her own family. Most of the new king’s romantic entanglements in recent years tended to be with married or divorced women, which complicated his new status as head of the Church of England. Divorce was largely forbidden by the Church, except in very select cases of neglect, abuse, or infidelity. Even in these cases, couples were still encouraged to try to “work it out,” or “come to some arrangement.” Because Edward was destined to become the head of the Church, which frowned to such an extent on divorce, his relationships in the past had been controversial. But Edward’s most recent relationship and the one which he was still involved in when he became king in January 1936, with Mrs. Wallis Simpson, an American socialite and divorcee who was still married to her second husband while having an affair with Edward, was scandalous by the standards of the time. Nevertheless, Edward was determined to marry her, but most members of the British political establishment were overwhelmingly opposed. Ultimately, Edward VIII would choose to abdicate rather than give up his relationship with Mrs. Simpson. On the 7th of December 1936, the king summoned Bertie to his house at Fort Belvedere and delivered the news that he had decided to abdicate the throne. Although Albert was aware that this was a possibility for some time, he was still devastated by the news. “I’m quite unprepared for it,” he later confided to his wife. “David’s been trained all his life. I’m only a naval officer, it’s the only thing I know about.” Though she was deeply worried for her husband and family, Elizabeth tried to comfort him. “We must take what is coming to us and make the best of it” she said. It is eminently clear that her eldest daughter inherited her legendarily “stiff upper lip” from her family. Less than a week after the abdication, when Bertie returned home from the Accession Council, Elizabeth and Margaret curtsied to their father for the first time. Their darling “Papa” was now the King. Margaret asked her older sister: “Does this mean that you will be the Queen one day?” Elizabeth replied gravely and quietly: “Yes, I suppose it does.” “Poor you,” Margaret said in commiseration. Elizabeth was now her father’s heir-presumptive. The family had to leave their home at 145 Piccadilly, though admittedly they were moving into the plusher surroundings of Buckingham Palace, the main royal palace in London. Bertie’s transition to being King George VI, the regnal name he adopted to establish continuity from his father, George V’s reign, was stressful for the whole family. Bertie and Elizabeth now had far greater responsibilities and worries, and it became much more difficult for the family to find time to be together. Part of the problem was simply the sheer size of Buckingham Palace. “People here need bicycles,” ten-year-old Lilibet observed when they first moved in of those who had to travel between different parts of the palace grounds. Indeed, it was a substantially long walk from one end of the palace to the other, and the new King and Queen, with their dramatically increased duties, had far less time to spend with their daughters in the nursery. They tried to compensate by spending as many full weekends and holidays as possible at Royal Lodge, where they could play games, picnic, and ride horses together as a family. But now that he was King, Bertie’s work never really stopped. Even on the weekends, he only had a few hours to spend with his family before he inevitably had to get back to his daily “red box” of state papers. The immensity of Buckingham Palace made adjusting to their new home difficult in other ways as well. The kitchens were about a half hour’s walk from the rooms where the royal family actually dined, so the food was constantly served cold. Many rooms were chilly and damp, some with cracked walls. Some pieces of furniture were a hundred years old or more and the palace had an aggravatingly persistent rodent infestation. Crawfie was distinctly underwhelmed, not only by the condition of the palace but also its lack of warmth. “Life in a palace resembles camping in a museum,” she later wrote. There was also now a good deal less privacy for the family, who were shadowed constantly by detectives and bodyguards. Such is the lot of being a member of the royal family, no matter how attractive a prospect it might look from the outside. On the 12th of May 1937, Elizabeth attended her parents’ coronation at Westminster Abbey and received her first intimation of what lay in store for her as Queen one day. She sat with her sister Margaret and her grandmother Queen Mary and watched the proceedings, at first, with fascination. Mindful of her position as his heir presumptive, Bertie tasked his eldest daughter with writing a detailed account of the coronation, which today rests in the royal archives. Elizabeth was impressed by the beauty, majesty, and seeming magic of the service, and she observed that the Abbey itself seemed suspended in “a haze of wonder.” As the coronation ritual stretched on and on, however, she became impatient. “The service got rather boring as it was all prayers,” she later wrote. Anxious to know when it would be over, she quietly flipped through her program. She then discreetly nudged Queen Mary and pointed out the word “finis”, meaning ‘the end’ in Latin, on the last page of her program, and she and her grandmother smiled conspiratorially at one another. The following year, Elizabeth began to attend private classes at Eton College with the Vice-Provost, Sir Henry Martin. In order to prepare her for her future role as Queen, she studied constitutional law and the history of the monarchy. Martin emphasized strongly that the secret of a successful monarchy is adaptability. He pointed to the ongoing collapse of ancient royal houses, and asserted that the British monarchy had largely forestalled a similar fate by drawing back the curtain of mystery, allowing themselves to become more accessible to the public, and by being receptive to public opinion. This contrasted with France where an aloof and largely uncaring royal establishment in the eighteenth century had been brought to a shuddering and ultimately bloody end with the French Revolution. By way of contrast Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, cognizant of the anti-German sentiment among the people during the First World War years, changed the royal family’s name by proclamation in 1917, from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. While this did nothing to erase the King’s heritage, or make people forget the fact that Kaiser Wilhelm was, in fact, his first cousin, it was a powerful statement of King George V’s identity as a British king, a leader and defender of his people. Another key aspect of Sir Henry Martin’s instruction was his emphasis on the importance of broadcasting, which, since the reign of George V, has remained one of the primary means the royal family uses to connect with the public, from radio in George’s time to television speeches, interviews and in-depth documentary films in more recent decades. When their father ascended the throne, Elizabeth and Margaret were still very young, and because of their dramatic status change, they were now destined to live their lives in an even more rarified atmosphere than the one into which they had been born. There was concern within the family that, in consequence, the girls might become even more isolated. Bertie’s younger sister Princess Mary, who was honorary president of the Girl Guides, suggested they might like to join a guide troupe. There were, of course, major issues with this proposal, similar to the ones that had prevented the princesses from attending school. How could their security be ensured without restricting their experience? Would they be accepted in a cooperative, egalitarian group like the Girl Guides, in light of who they were? Would any accommodations to the princesses be viewed as preferential treatment? Finally, it was decided that a special troupe would be formed consisting of relatives and the daughters of the aristocracy. Margaret, who was not yet old enough for the Girl Guides, was admitted to the troupe as a “Brownie.” Twenty girls roughly Elizabeth’s age met regularly at Buckingham Palace beginning in 1937. They went on treks and explorations within the palace’s extensive grounds, earned merit badges, and cooked sausages over an open fire. In later years Elizabeth would speak warmly and nostalgically of her experience as a Girl Guide and she continued to support the organization and its values throughout her long reign. During the summer of 1939, the King and Queen, accompanied by their daughters, paid a visit to the Royal Naval College. It was there that Elizabeth met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark for the first time. Philip was her distant cousin and also a descendant of Queen Victoria. He had been named “Best Cadet” during his first year at Dartmouth. He was outgoing, funny, and already rather sophisticated at eighteen years old. He received the King and Queen warmly and played with Elizabeth and Margaret during their visit. Elizabeth admired his confidence and handsomeness a great deal, but she was just thirteen and still had her braces on. It would be quite a few years before Philip would come to see her as a young woman rather than a child. Philip’s uncle and closest male mentor, Louis Mountbatten, Bertie’s cousin, was especially eager to encourage ongoing interactions between his nephew and the future Queen, seemingly anxious to have some influence over the next generation of royals. Throughout 1938 and 1939, London began to transform in anticipation of a potential war with Germany as the Nazis became ever more aggressive in their pursuit of land in Central Europe, annexing Austria first, then the Sudetenland and finally Czechoslovakia. Anti-aircraft batteries were installed, bomb shelters were constructed, and gas masks were issued to tense and dismayed citizens. When war was finally declared in September 1939, Elizabeth and Margaret began to listen as closely to the wireless as the rest of the British public, hoping for good news. Crawfie read them the newspapers daily, but she made efforts to edit out whatever she believed to be too shocking. Elizabeth, in turn, tried to shield Margaret from news and information about the war that she thought would upset her. Elizabeth was encouraged to try to continue as normal, but she was as eager to contribute to the war effort and “do her bit” in the unfolding crisis as were many young people of her generation. She and Margaret organized weekly sewing parties in their schoolroom during the fall of 1939 and the spring of 1940 to produce goods for the war effort. The King and Queen insisted that they and their daughters should follow the rationing requirements, although they still enjoyed the privileges of having game from their own estate and fresh produce from the gardens. During the autumn of 1940, the princesses were secretly sent to live at Windsor Castle for the duration of the war, since it was the most well-defended royal residence. This was in keeping with government policy which saw London emptied of the vast majority of its children and elderly people during the Blitz, the bombing campaign by the Germans between the autumn of 1940 and the early summer of 1941. Bertie and Elizabeth made an effort to spend as many weekends as possible at Windsor, but because they remained at Buckingham Palace for most of the week, it was a worrisome and confining adjustment for two young girls. There were blackout curtains at every window, lights were kept as low as possible, and a small group of carefully-chosen soldiers stood guard, ready to take the princesses to an undisclosed safe house should an attack occur. The British media, as anxious as the government to protect the princesses, made no effort to uncover or expose their whereabouts. Newspapers reported only that they were safe and staying at an undisclosed location “somewhere in the country.” For five years, Elizabeth and Margaret tried to carry on as normal, attending to their lessons daily, but there were now all kinds of new and frightening realities to confront, including preparation for air raids. They tried to distract themselves by exploring the castle and playing hide and seek. The staff tried to keep them as occupied as possible and treated them kindly. They invited the princesses to tea parties with cakes and biscuits baked by the mothers and sisters of the guards, and the King’s librarian took them down to the underground vaults of Windsor Castle to see the Crown Jewels. Knowing the Nazis’ reputation for plundering cities like Vienna and Paris that they had conquered, these historic treasures had been hidden from potential invaders along with innumerable other important artifacts and pieces of art from British museums and galleries. The British newspapers praised the fortitude of the princesses in their isolated life, noting that they obeyed rationing, kept their gas masks clean and near at hand, and planted a “victory garden” in which they grew fresh vegetables for themselves. The Blitz began across southern England during the summer of 1940. Like the rest of the people of London who found it near impossible to sleep during the bombings, Elizabeth and Margaret tried to stay calm during air raids. They would hurry down into the dungeons of Windsor Castle and try to distract themselves by reading, singing, or telling stories. By the end of the war, the Germans had dropped no less than three hundred bombs around the great park of Windsor Castle, just a small fraction of the tens of thousands of bombs which rained down across England during the conflict. On the thirteenth of October 1940, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth gave her first public speech on the wireless during Children’s Hour on the BBC, in which she offered comfort and encouragement to all of the children displaced by the War. The future queen stated, “We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace. And when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place. My sister is by my side and we are both going to say goodnight to you. Come on, Margaret.” Then came Margaret’s higher and unmistakable younger tone: “Goodnight children.” The broadcast was an international sensation, particularly in North America where many British evacuees were sheltering. Hundreds of schools and churches throughout the United States and Canada installed wireless technology just to hear the Princess’ speech, and the BBC received numerous requests to repeat the broadcast. London may have been devastated by the Blitz, but Hitler had utterly failed to weaken British morale, and he then foolishly began to turn his attention to Russia believing that Britain would soon decide to negotiate peace terms with the Nazis. He was wrong. It was during the last few years of World War II that Elizabeth came of age and began to assert her independence. This assertion was more subtle in Elizabeth than in other young women. She was, overall, dutiful and eager to please her parents, but she nonetheless had her own convictions and a will of her own. Bertie and Elizabeth were not keen to see their daughter grow up too quickly. Above all, they wanted to forestall the moment when their family, “us four,” would be separated. From a public relations standpoint, both the royal establishment and the media continued to treat and portray Elizabeth as a child. Even at aged 16 or 17, Elizabeth might still be dressed in an outfit that matched Margaret’s, who was over four years younger. Elizabeth also continued to live in the nursery wing and complete her lessons daily with Crawfie. It was not until her eighteenth birthday that she was finally given her own suite of rooms outside of the nursery. In anticipation of her future role as Queen, she was also made a councilor of state. Her parents began to give her more royal duties, including giving speeches at public functions and serving in charitable organizations. However, for Elizabeth, this was not enough. Having come of age in the midst of a calamitous war, she was, like many members of her generation, highly practical. She and Margaret had covertly and longingly watched debutante balls as children, but much as she had looked forward to a more traditional entry to adulthood, the current crisis was so much more important. Like others who grew up during the war, she was a strong believer in fairness and collective responsibility and she yearned to play a greater part in the War effort. “I ought to do as other girls of my age do,” she said. Many of her young aristocratic cousins were already doing their bit for the country, fighting in the field, caring for the sick and wounded in hospitals, and working in transportation or logistics for the war effort. Elizabeth wanted to play her part also. So, when she turned 16 in April 1942, she promptly signed on at the Labour Exchange, but was not offered work. It is unclear why. Her status may well have been seen as a potentially problematic distraction, but the King’s influence may also have played a part. Finally, a month before her nineteenth birthday, Elizabeth was permitted to join the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army. Elizabeth’s service in the ATS was viewed by many as highly effective propaganda and a morale booster for the British, but the princess’ experience of service was very different. “It was the only time I had been able to test myself against people of the same age,” she said later. In March of 1945, Elizabeth began training as a driver and a mechanic. She worked hard and eventually became adept at the job, able to disassemble and reassemble an engine quickly and successfully. And yet, like her Girl Guide troupe, a certain amount of authentic experience remained out of her reach. Quote-unquote “normal” interactions were made extraordinarily difficult simply because of who she was. Moreover, Bertie only finally allowed his daughter to enlist, when he knew that the war would be over in mere weeks, with victory assured when the German campaign in the east against the Soviet Union had failed and new fronts were opened in southern and western Europe. Elizabeth was not the sort to confront or fight, but she had a quiet determination to assert her independence and to be her own person. This is most apparent in her choice to marry Prince Philip, which was probably the first decision she ever made without consulting her parents. While Elizabeth remained at Windsor Castle throughout the war, Philip’s naval service took him to the Mediterranean and the Pacific. He continued to write to Elizabeth and visited the royal family several times throughout the duration of the war, when he was on leave. Elizabeth seemed to fall more and more in love with him each time he visited. While Philip was flattered by the young princess’ attention, he still mostly saw her as a child. Yet, he was very fond of her, as he was fond of her whole family. Bertie, Elizabeth and their daughters had a closeness that was very attractive to Philip, who had spent much of his childhood lonely and separated from his own family. He was invited to spend Christmas with the Windsors in 1943 and Elizabeth bustled excitedly around the nursery. “You know who’s coming this Christmas, don’t you Crawfie?” she asked happily. After another stay at the palace during the summer of 1944, Philip appeared to change his mind about Elizabeth. The two were very different people, but that was perhaps, part of the attraction. He was sophisticated, opinionated, and often painfully irreverent, whereas she was innocent and demure. But she was also unfailingly faithful, dependable, and honest as few people in his life had been. And Elizabeth may have found Philip’s tendency towards plain-speaking refreshing. He certainly said and did things that Elizabeth could not, but perhaps sometimes wished to. Following Philip’s visit, his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, known affectionately to the royal family as “Dickie,” promptly broached the subject of Philip’s marriage to Elizabeth with the King and Queen. Bertie and Elizabeth initially had numerous reservations about Philip, particularly regarding his temperament, his reputed way with women, his rebelliousness, and his family’s partial German heritage. Additionally, they believed that Elizabeth, at eighteen, was still too young to be betrothed. Lord Mountbatten subsequently approached other courtiers and politicians to advocate for his nephew’s suit. Elizabeth did not display any outward resentment that her parents were lukewarm about her relationship with Philip, but neither did she hide her feelings from her family or household. Crawfie later wrote that the princess kept a picture of Prince Philip displayed in her sitting room. When Crawfie inquired whether it was wise to do so, as anyone who saw it might begin to gossip and speculate, Elizabeth realized her governess was right and put the picture away, replacing it instead with a photograph of the Prince with a thick and unruly beard. “There!” she said satisfied. “I defy anyone to recognize who that is!” Victory in Europe Day on the 8th of May 1945 saw greater crowds in the streets of London than anyone had ever seen before. Multitudes stood outside Buckingham Palace cheering and calling for the royal family to emerge onto the balcony. “We want the King!” they chanted. Elizabeth stood with her parents, Margaret, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, proudly wearing her ATS uniform and waving to the cheering crowds. That evening, in a burst of high spirits, the royal family went out on to the streets of London to join the dancing and celebrating that seemed to be going on everywhere. Elizabeth and Margaret repeated their outing together the next night as well. “We walked for simply miles,” Elizabeth wrote in her diary, “through Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Pall Mall.” The two sisters, who had grown up so sheltered, joined their fellows before the gates of Buckingham Palace after midnight, to cheer for their parents the King and Queen, who waved from the balcony. The evidence everywhere in London of the ravages of war was as heartbreaking to Elizabeth and Margaret as to the rest of the city. And yet, they walked, cheered, sang, and danced with other young Londoners who, like the princesses, had shed their childhood in a time of war. Such was the sense of unification among the Second World War generation when what seemed then like the greatest struggle in history, came to an end. By 1946, with the war over and England returning to some form of normality, Elizabeth had established a more adult routine. Each morning she was awakened by Bobo, now the Princess’ dresser rather than her nanny, who helped her get ready for the day. She attended to her correspondence and her obligations to her various charities, and attended royal council meetings. She now had her own independent household in Buckingham Palace, including her own receiving rooms for palace business, two ladies-in-waiting, a footman, and a housemaid. She was also finally permitted to choose her own clothes and decided what fashions she preferred. The Depression and the War had had their impact on fashion. Rationing meant that each person was limited to one outfit per year. And the struggles of the times made ostentatious dress seem vulgar and disrespectful. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had taken care to dress her daughters respectably, but simply, and the public admired that she often “made over” some of her own garments to clothe the girls. Therefore, when Lilibet came of age, she unsurprisingly showed little interest in high fashion, and seemed to prefer an elegant, but modest and traditional look. Besides, she was a countrywoman at heart, and was much more comfortable in clothes that were functional. It is therefore ironic that, as Queen, she would ultimately prove to be an international fashion icon. The unique outfits created by her personal staff were designed to be as distinctive and memorable as possible. Throughout her tenure as Queen, she grew to appreciate the art and artistry of fashion and loved the bright colours and occasionally avant-garde ensembles that were chosen for her. These amazing outfits certainly made it difficult to lose the Queen in a crowd! During a visit to Balmoral during the summer of 1946, Philip proposed to Elizabeth and she accepted. Her father, the King, however, insisted they wait until after Elizabeth’s twenty-first birthday, the following spring, to announce the engagement. Some historians speculate that this may have been a strategy to try and keep them apart long enough for one or both of them to lose interest. Perhaps Bertie was simply reluctant to let his beloved Lilibet go just yet. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth took their daughters with them on a state visit to South Africa in the spring of 1947. During this Elizabeth was warmly and enthusiastically received by the crowds who came out to greet the royal family. The 21st of April 1947 was Elizabeth’s twenty-first birthday. It was declared a national holiday and a great ball was held in her honour at Capetown. Earlier that afternoon, she gave an historic speech which was broadcast all over the empire, composed by Sir Alan Lascelles. When Elizabeth first read it, tears reportedly filled her eyes: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service, and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. But I shall not have the strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do. I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.” The royal family returned to London early in the summer of 1947. Elizabeth and Philip’s several months of separation had seemingly had no impact on their determination to marry. In the weeks following her return, she was often seen out and about with Philip, in the passenger seat of his black MG sports car. On the 8th of July, they announced their engagement. The prospect of having a full-blown and public royal wedding was something of a public relations gamble during the immediate post-war period. On the one hand, it might bolster British morale at a time when rationing was still in force and the economy was still recovering from the long war effort. But conversely, the expense of a royal wedding could be perceived as totally out of touch with the difficult economic situation confronting the country. In the end, the British public seemed excited at the prospect of a royal wedding. Numerous ordinary citizens and well-wishers donated their clothing ration coupons to help produce the bride’s wedding dress, which was designed by Norman Hartnell in ivory satin with a fifteen-foot train, with the white roses of York painstakingly stitched in pearls. Prior to their wedding, Philip renounced his German surname and his Greek and Danish titles, becoming simply Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. King George VI then admitted Philip into the Order of the Garter, reserved for the closest and most trusted companions to the sovereign, and conferred on him the title of “His Royal Highness, Duke of Edinburgh.” On the 20th of November 1947, Elizabeth and Philip were finally married with great celebration at Westminster Abbey. From all over the world, the couple received over ten thousand congratulatory telegrams and nearly three thousand wedding gifts. Two thousand people attended a public reception just to see the couple’s wedding gifts displayed. The next few years were happy and contented ones for Elizabeth and Philip. The King gifted them with the royal residence of Clarence House next to St. James’ Palace, and the newlyweds spent time renovating and improving it for themselves and their growing family. On the fourteenth of November 1948, just six days before their first wedding anniversary, Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles. The following year, on the fifteenth of August, she and Philip were blessed again, this time with a daughter, Princess Anne. Beginning in 1948, Philip was stationed in Malta, and despite the birth of two children and her royal duties and responsibilities, Elizabeth tended to give priority to being at her husband’s side during the early years of her marriage, even if her children remained in England. Charles took his first steps without either of his parents there to witness the milestone, just as Elizabeth had spoken her first word with only Mrs. Knight, Bobo, and Ruby to tell the tale. Elizabeth made efforts to spend at least an hour with her children every morning and at least another hour between bath time and bedtime. When they did not accompany their parents abroad, Charles and Anne were left in the care of their nannies at Clarence House, or stayed with their grandparents, the King and Queen, when they went to Sandringham. While some have criticized Queen Elizabeth for this approach to motherhood, it is worth noting that her own mother and father had parented Elizabeth and Margaret in much the same way, and still considered themselves a close family. In 1950, Marion Crawford published The Little Princesses to the shock and dismay of the entire royal family. Crawfie had remained one of Lilibet’s closest confidantes, even after her retirement as governess in 1947. Ms. Crawford had approached Queen Elizabeth for permission to publish the memoir, and the Queen had refused, horrified by the notion. The publication went ahead regardless and became an immediate best-seller, netting over £75,000. The Windsors felt utterly betrayed. They severed all ties with Ms. Crawford and never communicated with her again. From then on, the royal family would refer to anyone who wrote a royal memoir as “doing a Crawfie.” By the standards of the modern “tell-all” memoir, The Little Princesses is an overwhelmingly idealized, sentimental, and flattering portrait of two children Marion Crawford obviously loved dearly following her long years working with them. But in 1950, it seemed to be a gross and vulgar violation of the royal family’s privacy and a betrayal of the trust they had placed in their children’s beloved governess. Since then, the royal family has had many more people who have worked closely with them “do a Crawfie,” and sharing human and relatable details about the royal family has become increasingly less objectionable over time. The royal family themselves have done so several times since the 1970s. Queen Elizabeth permitted the creation of two family documentaries, allowing camera crews and production staff into royal residences. Several biographies of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were published during their lifetimes, particularly so from the 1990s onwards. By 1951, it became clear that Elizabeth and Philip’s rather carefree days as a married couple would be coming to an end sooner than expected. The health of King George VI was precarious. He had contracted lung cancer after years of chronic smoking, forcing his doctors to remove one of his lungs and he suffered from various associated ailments. Elizabeth and Philip had to take on far more royal duties during the king’s illness, and finally, Philip was forced to give up his naval career. In October, they departed for a royal tour of the United States and Canada on the King’s behalf. And in January of 1952, they undertook another major tour, the first stop on which was Kenya. Bertie saw his daughter and son-in-law off at the airport. It was the last time he would see Elizabeth. King George VI, known to his family as Bertie, died quietly in his sleep a week later. It was dawn in Nyeri, Kenya, and Elizabeth was up early, watching the sunrise at a lookout point at the famed Treetops Hotel. Speaking years later to a biographer, former royal Equerry Mike Parker described a moment of peace and wonder that morning when a magnificent eagle appeared and hovered above them. “I never thought about it until later,” he said, “but that was roughly the time when the king died.” Elizabeth’s private secretary, Martin Chartres, heard the news about the King’s death at a local hotel. He quickly telephoned Mike Parker at Sagana Lodge where Elizabeth and Philip were staying, and asked him to inform the new Queen of what had happened. Parker, who couldn’t bear to tell her, asked Philip to speak to her instead. Philip took his wife into the garden to give her the terrible news. Elizabeth appeared to pace up and down the garden agitatedly, but when she came back inside, she was calm. She apologized to her staff for the lack of notice but said they would have to leave as soon as possible. By the time Chartres arrived, her face was flushed but she was otherwise composed, writing letters of apology for the abrupt end to the tour and the necessity of cancelling multiple engagements. Before they departed, Chartres asked her what regnal name she would choose. Sovereigns often choose a name that shows continuity with the past or reverence for a certain line of rulers. Elizabeth preferred to keep things simpler. When asked what her regnal name would be, she replied: “My own name, Elizabeth, of course. What else?” It was a fitting beginning to the straight-forward, no nonsense reign of Queen Elizabeth II. When Elizabeth returned to London in February 1952, her grandmother, Queen Mary, promptly paid her a visit at Clarence House, insisting that she, “her old granny and subject, must be the first to kiss her hand.” Elizabeth was shocked and deeply affected by the reverence and it brought home the reality of her new position to her even more forcefully. The next morning, she addressed the accession council at St. James’ Palace, affirming in her speech her desire to serve dutifully. When her father had been crowned King, he had been hailed as both King and Emperor, but in the light of the ongoing collapse of Britain’s colonial empire, his daughter was styled “Queen of the United Kingdom, the Head of the Commonwealth, and Queen of her other realms and territories.” This distinction is not necessarily immediately apparent, but it was an important one, signifying that the British monarch was no longer the ruler of an empire, but an honorary Queen of individual dominions which would each have the right to decide their own degree of affiliation and commitment to the Commonwealth. A little over a year later, on the 2nd of June 1952, Elizabeth’s coronation was held in Westminster Abbey. In a notable break with precedent, it was the first time that a coronation for a British sovereign had ever been broadcast live. Officials had reacted with horror in previous decades to the notion of allowing full public consumption of such momentous events in Westminster Abbey. A live broadcast had been suggested for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937, but the Archbishop of Canterbury had hotly rejected the proposition, claiming that ordinary people could not be trusted to show the proper reverence. The Archbishop was particularly disturbed at the idea that people might be able listen to the sacred service while drinking in their local pub – and with their hats on! The Duke of Edinburgh, who chaired the planning committee, was strongly in favour of televising the coronation, making the monarch more accessible to the people in a modern way. The committee finally agreed, but insisted that the camera pan away from the ceremony during the anointing and communion. Elizabeth wore an exquisite ivory satin gown, which, according to her instructions, was minutely embroidered with the floral emblems of every country in the Commonwealth. After taking the coronation oath, she was anointed, invested with regalia, and crowned to cheers of “God save the Queen!” The crowds outside the abbey erupted in celebration and millions of people across Britain who were watching the event on television cheered along with them. Thousands of households and businesses had purchased or rented television sets just to see the coronation. From the point that she ascended the throne in 1952, the central challenge of Queen Elizabeth’s life was to keep personal and family life firmly compartmentalized from her life and duty as the monarch. Unfortunately, this proved to be an immensely difficult goal to achieve and was no doubt the cause of great pain and regret to her over the years, because her duty as Queen had to always come first. Because of her unique position, she could rarely express her opinions, for fear of potentially sparking a constitutional crisis. She had to be endlessly diplomatic. During the decades following her accession, the monarchy faced successive challenges including public interrogations of its cost to taxpayers and questions about its real utility in the modern world. In addition, public fascination with scandals within the personal lives of the royal family threatened to undermine their legitimacy. The late Queen was often praised for the manner in which she approached these crises, with her first priority being her position as Head of State, of the Church, and the Commonwealth. Others criticized her approach to her family’s personal struggles, and asserted that she could have been a better mother to her children, or a better sister to Margaret, even if that meant potentially compromising her duty as Queen. After her sister’s coronation, Princess Margaret was waiting for her carriage in front of the Abbey when a photographer noticed her picking a piece of lint off a man’s jacket, that of her father’s equerry, Group Captain Peter Townsend. Before long, speculation about their relationship developed into a media frenzy. Elizabeth was reportedly sympathetic to her sister’s situation, and wished for her to be happy. She had never liked taking sides, so she did not initially encourage or discourage Margaret in her relationship with Townsend. Unfortunately, Townsend was divorced and his wife was still living, and therefore, the Anglican Church would not consent to marry them. Margaret moreover, was third in line to the throne, and the shadow of the abdication still loomed large in the early post-war period. The royal family and those who worked most closely with them asked the couple to delay a formal engagement, perhaps hoping that their feelings for one another would wane. Sadly, they did not, and rather than forfeit her title, her income, or be forced to live abroad, Margaret and Peter mutually called off their engagement. Several years later, Princess Margaret married the photographer, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, with whom she had two children, Sarah and David. The couple divorced in 1976. Things were chilly not only between the Queen and her sister in the early years of her reign, but seemingly between herself and her husband also. Philip had not adjusted well to being the husband of the Queen of England. Having to give up his naval career had been a bitter disappointment and he found the endless round of royal duties – of ribbon-cutting, handshaking, and speechmaking – extraordinarily tiresome. He was accustomed to a much more active life and it was difficult for him to adjust to being a supporting act for the Queen. By 1957, American newspapers began to gossip about Philip and the supposedly questionable company he kept at the Thursday Club, a men’s lunch club featuring a who’s who of politics, finance, and the arts in Soho. Rumours of indiscreet behaviour by Philip and those accompanying him on the 1957 royal tour began to spread also. The palace denied the rumours. Eventually Philip did manage to carve out a niche for himself and settle into his royal duties. An endlessly curious and adventurous man, he remained particularly interested in being a patron for science, technology, sports, and education initiatives. In 1957, Elizabeth made him a “Prince” of the United Kingdom through letters patent, to thank him for his service to the Crown and the Commonwealth. He was not given the title of King Consort or Prince Consort due to overwhelming political opposition. Elizabeth’s position as a female monarch was by no means unprecedented but it was still a delicate one, especially in light of her wedding vows to “love, honour, and obey” her husband, which was the still the conventional wording in the middle of the twentieth century. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip eventually developed into a cohesive and effective team, and she described him on multiple occasions during their lifetimes as her “strength and stay.” The decades they faced together certainly did call for both strength and stability. The royal couple welcomed two more children in the next few years: Prince Andrew was born on the 19th of February 1960 and Prince Edward, four years later on the 10th of March 1964. Prince Philip was firm in his insistence that their children be permitted to go to senior school with ordinary young people. Charles, Andrew and Edward attended their father’s alma mater, Gordonstoun in Scotland, and Anne attended Benenden School in Kent. They grew up nowhere near as sheltered as their mother had, and as a result, grew into more worldly young adults than Elizabeth had been when she first entered her adult years. There has been a great deal of disagreement among observers and biographers about the Queen’s performance as a mother. Charles collaborated in a biographical publication during the early 1990s which sometimes painted Elizabeth as cold and distant, and at other times affectionate, but not enough inclined to interfere when she should. The impression was given that, as a result, her children were all rather lost. Some biographers disagree with this perspective, pointing out that Elizabeth, despite the rigors of her position, spent as much, if not more time with her children than most of the aristocratic women of her acquaintance. Speaking to a royal biographer in the early 2000s, all that Prince Philip would say for the record was: “We did our best.” The 1960s saw the beginning of an unprecedented increase in criticism and satire directed at the monarchy. Only a few years earlier, making fun of members of parliament or the royal family in public would have been viewed as shamefully disrespectful. But by the 60s, British comedians regularly began to poke fun at their political elites, especially comedians with republican or progressive leanings, and British newspapers were far less reticent about publishing items injurious to their authority figures. In 1969, Prince Philip gave an interview on American television lamenting the financial situation of the royal family. His references to the exorbitantly expensive upkeep of palaces and yachts fell flat and were perceived as totally out of touch in a Britain which still had not achieved a full economic recovery from the Second World War. Commentators began to look much more closely at the royal family’s income from the Civil List payments, and the cost to the taxpayer. There was increased scrutiny of the fact that the Queen paid no estate or income tax, and was not required to disclose any details about her private fortune or finances. At the time, the Queen’s personal fortune was probably not more than £12,000,000. Her personal fortune however grew much greater. She inherited approximately £70,000,000 from the Queen Mother’s estate in 2002, but what her total net worth was is difficult to calculate because many royal resources such as residences, artifacts, and regalia, actually belong to the nation. In the early 1990s, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip announced that they would begin paying taxes on their personal income. In the 1970s, the royal family began to work with younger and more modern press officials, and new innovations were introduced to increase public accessibility to the monarchy. The Royal Walkabout was first introduced in the course of a royal visit to Australia, during which the Queen undertook a street visit that was not on the official itinerary to meet people, shake hands with them, and chat a little. The public responded warmly and positively to the practice, and it became a permanent and regular event during royal visits all over the world. In 1977, Queen Elizabeth marked twenty-five years on the throne with her Silver Jubilee celebrations. The city of London hosted more than six thousand street parties. The Queen’s popularity had remained consistently high despite greater expectations of accountability from the public. The Queen made a very successful visit to Northern Ireland, which was encouraging considering the region had been embroiled in sectarian conflict since the late 1960s. But the Northern Ireland Troubles struck much closer to home during the next few years, and was the first in a fairly rapid succession of dangerous incidents that put the safety of the royal family and those who served them at risk. In 1979, Lord Mountbatten and his grandson were killed in a bombing in Ireland for which the IRA, the Irish Republican Army, claimed responsibility. Similarly deadly attacks were carried out on several of the Queen’s household cavalry and military musicians at Hyde Park in London, in 1982. At the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony celebrating the Queen’s birthday in 1981, seventeen-year-old Marcus Sarjeant fired six shots at the Queen, which thankfully, turned out to be blanks. Mounted sidesaddle on her horse Burmese, Elizabeth was startled, but she recovered quickly enough to effectively soothe her horse and the public admired her grace under pressure. Only months later, on a visit to Dunedin, New Zealand, seventeen-year-old Christopher Lewis tried to shoot the Queen with a rifle from the fifth floor of a building overlooking a parade in her honour. Thankfully, he missed. Both of these would-be assassins faced charges and jail time. The security of Buckingham Palace itself was called into question in July of 1982 when it was revealed that a man named Michael Fagan had somehow managed, without any sort of special equipment or ability, to breach the palace’s defenses, travel through the corridors unseen and then walk right into the Queen’s bedroom. Multiple and differing accounts of this event exist, so exactly what happened is still somewhat unclear. But apparently, Fagan simply walked in and opened the Queen’s curtains. Startled by the intruder, she reportedly pressed the button next to her bed to summon her staff, but the bell was either broken or simply went unheard. It seems she managed to slip out of the bedroom while Fagan was looking around for a cigarette lighter. There was fascinated speculation that the two might have even had a conversation, as some believed that Fagan had been in the Queen’s bedroom for as long as ten minutes. Fagan however, speaking to several newspapers years later, denied that they discussed anything, stating that the Queen had simply run out of the room at the first opportunity. Such threats to her safety was a reality that Queen Elizabeth had to face quite frequently throughout her life, but commendably, it did not curb her willingness to remain accessible to the public. She continued to perform her royal duties very much in the open. Protecting the Queen during her walkabouts, for example, was ultimately very difficult, but Elizabeth refused to be intimidated. She was also determined to preserve a sphere of privacy and comfort for herself and her family, and traditionally opposed measures that threatened to violate it. Queen Elizabeth worked with no fewer than fourteen Prime Ministers, but the Thatcher years were particularly interesting for her from a political standpoint. Margaret Thatcher was not just Britain’s first female Prime Minister, but she was also the first Elizabeth had worked with who was her own age. One might imagine that this political relationship would have been among the Queen’s most harmonious and successful, but multiple biographers and historians believe that it was not. The Queen was far too devoted to constitutional norms ever to break the confidentiality of her weekly meetings with Britain’s top elected official, or to criticize a Prime Minister openly, which she never did. Historians speculate that the strongest division between the two women may have emerged over Thatcher’s reluctance to approve the recommendation of sanctions against South Africa to encourage abolition of apartheid, to which the Queen was deeply committed. According to former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, Queen Elizabeth was highly active “behind the scenes” in encouraging international support for an end to the oppressive apartheid government in South Africa. Despite the numerous challenges she had hitherto faced as both a mother and a Queen, these challenges reached something of a crescendo during the 1990s. A new decade had brought increased criticism of the younger members of the royal family and the Queen was increasingly satirized in television programs. True to form, she attempted to fight fire with fire by making another documentary film, “Elizabeth R,” for which she allowed cameras to follow her about for nearly a year while she provided the commentary. The film premiered in 1992, the same year which the Queen once dubbed in a famous speech at London’s Guildhall, her Annus Horribilis or Horrible Year. The reasons for her lamenting 1992 are all too well known. The marriages of three out of four of her children fell apart in 1992 and a disastrous fire at Windsor Castle caused £60,000,000 in damages to her childhood home. In March of the following year, the Queen’s former nanny Margaret “Bobo” MacDonald, her confidante and closest friend, passed away at the age of eighty-nine. She had been by Elizabeth’s side for sixty-seven years, continuing to serve as her dresser when the young princess moved out of her nursery. Elizabeth was deeply saddened by Bobo’s passing. Yet another terrible blow struck the royal family in 1997, when Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris. At the time of the accident, Elizabeth and Philip were at Balmoral with Charles’ and Diana’s sons, William and Harry, to whom they now had to explain the terrible reality of their mother’s death. The nation, and many more people around the world, mourned Diana’s passing. She had been widely popular and much beloved for her philanthropy and empathetic kindness, and an impromptu shrine consisting of thousands of cards, flowers, and tokens of sympathy accumulated in front of Buckingham Palace in the following days. The newspapers began to question why there was no flag flying at half-mast over Buckingham Palace, why the Queen had not addressed the nation, and why the royal family did not seem to be mourning Diana’s death with any visibility. There was a fundamental disconnect at work here. What the public wanted was a show of emotion. What the Queen wanted was to protect her devastated grandsons and allow them and the rest of the family to mourn privately. But because Diana’s separation from the royal family had been so acrimonious, the Queen understood that something more was required to validate the very genuine public mourning. Elizabeth acquiesced, returning to London and giving a live broadcast the day before Diana’s funeral, expressing her admiration for her daughter-in-law and the family’s grief at her passing. Public approval of the Queen reached its lowest point in 1997, but soon rebounded significantly. Elizabeth confronted two more terrible losses in 2002. In February, her sister Margaret passed away at the age of seventy-one, and the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, died just one month later, at the impressive age of 101. Elizabeth was broken-hearted. As a family, she and Margaret and their mother had lost Bertie far too soon, but the three women had remained an exceptionally close family unit for half a century thereafter, one upon which the Queen had always relied for advice and comfort during her many decades as sovereign. During the same year, the Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee and fifty years on the throne. Even as she mourned her mother and sister, she re-affirmed the vow of service she had made half a century before: “I am driven by my resolve to continue with the support of my family to serve the people of this great nation of ours to the best of my ability, through the changing times ahead.” Indeed, times were certainly changing with regard to what was acceptable within the royal family. In 2005, she gave her blessing for Prince Charles to marry his longtime love, Camilla Parker-Bowles, who was subsequently made Duchess of Cornwall. Because both Charles and Camilla were divorced, the couple were married in a civil service and the Queen and Prince Philip did not attend the ceremony, but they happily attended the reception. As sovereign, Elizabeth was mindful of her position as head of the Church, but she understood that times truly had changed considerably during her reign. Few people now expect that members of the royal family should marry anyone other than whom they choose. In a move that speaks even more strongly about letting go of the past, before she died, the Queen expressed her wish that the Duchess be given the title of “Queen Consort” at Prince Charles’ coronation. This represents a major departure from the traditional approach to marriage and divorce within the royal family, especially in light of their longtime affair, and Camilla’s involvement in the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage. In 2012, the Queen reached the zenith of her popularity, with incredible approval ratings approaching 90%. That year, she became the only British monarch besides Queen Victoria to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee. And to a riotous reception, she opened the Olympic Games in London with a very special James Bond-themed performance with Daniel Craig, during which she hilariously appeared to parachute out of a plane into the Olympic Stadium. The royal family has seen a re-emergence of criticism and scrutiny during the last decade, some of it surrounding the departure of Elizabeth’s grandson, Prince Harry, and his wife, Megan Markle, from their royal roles, their seeming estrangement from the royal family, and the much-discussed exclusive interview they gave to Oprah Winfrey in March of 2021. Public attention was also drawn to the royal finances with the release of the Paradise Papers. In 2017, it was reported that a sizeable proportion of the Queen’s wealth from the Duchy of Lancaster rests in offshore tax havens. Different estimates exist of what Her Majesty’s net worth was, but it was generally reckoned to be between £500,000,000 and £600,000,000. Perhaps most troubling of all to royal supporters and critics alike in more recent years are Prince Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and the lawsuit for sexual assault launched against him by Virginia Giuffre, which he settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. In January 2022, just months before her death, the Queen stripped her son Prince Andrew of his military titles, as well as all royal duties and patronages, none of which will be returned. In the announcement, it was added that Andrew would face the lawsuit as a “private citizen,” without the support of his family. Despite the reoccurrence of scandal and criticism for members of the royal family, which grieved the Queen in the last years of her life, she remained highly popular both in the United Kingdom and abroad. People all over the world often wrote to her to express their admiration, and to express sympathy for her various family dramas, an example of public understanding which she appreciated. Even at the lowest point of her popularity in 1997, she still had a 70-75% approval rating in the UK, as well as in the “Old Dominions” of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. These are polling results that must be the envy of elected politicians everywhere, and are quite impressive considering the length of her tenure as Queen. In 2002, opinion was fairly unanimous among the people of the UK and Britain’s old Dominions: they strongly agreed that the Queen had done a good job as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth, but a small majority did not believe that the monarchy would long outlast her. That opinion has not changed much in the last two decades, with many people remaining skeptical about the potential success or stability of a monarch other than Queen Elizabeth. Inevitably, the most basic question most people have about the Queen is simply: “What was she really like?” Philip said that his wife’s greatest virtue was her tolerance. He described her as careful, observant, disciplined, and highly moral, but rarely judgmental. Her Majesty’s dresser for nearly thirty years, Angela Kelly, wrote of the Queen’s courage, kindness, strength, sense of humour and sense of fun. She apparently had a notable talent for putting people at ease, and was a master at helping those who were a little over-awed in her presence to relax with a little pleasant small-talk. Being the fashion icon that she was, the Queen grew to appreciate beautiful clothes as much as anyone, but she was always most comfortable in riding clothes, practical outdoor shoes or boots, and one of her signature headscarves. The photographs and footage in which Elizabeth appeared to be the most excited, animated, and happy, were when she was spending time with her dogs and horses, riding, or watching horse-racing. From the late 1960s onwards, Elizabeth enjoyed pursuing a career breeding and racing horses. She also loved spending time with her family, which has continued to grow following her passing to eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, but she experienced an increasingly solitary time towards the end of her life, following the death of her husband Prince Philip in 2021, indeed one of the most poignant images of the Queen in the last years of her reign was her sitting alone in mourning for her dear husband Prince Philip, due to Covid restrictions that were in force at the time, in the pews at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Even though that was arguably the very worst moment of her life, considering the esteem and affection she had for him, the Queen always placed duty above her personal needs and unlike many of Britain’s politicians, she led by example during the Covid pandemic. While in the last few years of her life, she passed along the bulk of her royal duties to Charles, Camilla, her grandson William, and his wife Catherine Middleton, Queen Elizabeth still cherished her position and duty as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. She would never have abdicated. “It’s a job for life,” she once remarked. “It’s a question of maturing into something that one’s got used to doing and accepting the fact that it’s your fate, because I think continuity is very important.” Some political commentators today are quick to dismiss the monarchy as outdated, needlessly sentimental, and a waste of resources. But others have argued that few if any elected politicians could ever hope to exercise the level of “soft power” that was at the core of the Queen’s influence. “Soft power” refers to the ability to produce desired outcomes using gentle persuasion rather than compulsion or force. Elizabeth embodied British history. She provided a concrete link to her nation’s past in the modern world. Further, the Commonwealth continues to play an important role for those countries that choose to belong to it. The association provides access to numerous resources for the further development and betterment of all member nations, and it is through these international partnerships that the Queen was able to concentrate some of her “soft power.” Commonwealth countries not only share resources and strategies for development, but also cultural, political, and judicial sensibilities. The Commonwealth is one type of tool for preserving international cooperation and friendship, and for the continued promotion of the rule of law, democratic institutions, and both civil and human rights. Elizabeth’s reign witnessed a complete redefinition of both monarchy and empire, and in a fascinating paradox, the monarchy became in many ways more influential the more its actual power declined. The most popular members of the royal family in the twenty-first century function as “super-ambassadors.” Politicians and diplomats who might refuse to deal with elected British officials invariably jumped at the chance to meet the Queen, who was called upon many times to encourage political accord by holding a royal event or visit. She left an immense legacy both to the British people and to the wider world, guiding Britain through greater social, political, economic, and technological change than perhaps any monarch in history. She also provided leadership, comfort, perspective, stability and a willingness to make change – whatever her people required of her within constitutional limits. But beyond this, Elizabeth was also a touchstone of global decolonization. Countries and peoples with a painful history of British occupation and colonization came to associate her with the gradual withdrawal from empire, the end of oppression, the beginning of independence and self-governance, and the beginning of international friendship on equal terms. It is worth noting that more than half of Britain’s former colonies remain members of the Commonwealth today, and most of those who chose to withdraw still maintain good relations with the UK and have largely favourable approval ratings for the monarchy. All good things come to an end. When Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee was celebrated in February 2022 it was done so with the awareness that it would almost certainly be the last major anniversary of the queen’s accession all the way back in 1952, as by the time the event was held in 2022 she was 95 years of age. As a result, Elizabeth was largely confined to balcony appearances at Buckingham Palace during the event. In the months that followed her health declined precipitously, not least perhaps because of the loss of her soul mate and much loved husband Prince Philip, at this time Prince Charles and other working royals were increasingly called upon to fill in for her at events. As such, it was perhaps not surprising when the news was released in early September 2022 that the queen was very ill at her favourite residence, Balmoral in Scotland. In the end she died faster than many had expected, though Charles and Anne were by her side when she passed on the afternoon of the 8th of September at 96 years of age. Her state funeral was particularly long to accommodate the long lines of people who wished to file by her body as it lay in state at Westminster Abbey throughout mid-September. Finally, on the 19th of September, after a private family ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle next to her parents and husband. As is the custom with royal succession, Prince Charles succeeded his mother immediately upon her death, becoming King Charles III. He was 73 when he succeeded to the throne in September 2022, making him the oldest person to become monarch of Britain. In line with his mother’s wishes Charles’ second wife, Camilla, became his queen consort at his coronation at Westminster Abbey on the 6th of May 2023. It was a remarkable occasion in the history of modern Britain, as it was the first royal coronation in over seventy years and only the sixth coronation in the last 200 years. So what kind of monarch will Charles be? His task is not as arduous as it once would have been. If Elizabeth had only lived into her seventies and Charles had become king in the late 1990s or early 2000s it would have been problematic, given that he was, somewhat unfairly, depicted in many circles as the villain in the demise of his marriage to Princess Diana and public opinion towards the Prince of Wales was very low following Diana’s death in 1997. However, with the passage of time people have warmed again to Charles and his coronation was warmly greeted. His style of kingship will be different to that of his mother. He believes in a slimmed down monarchy and will reduce the size of the royal establishment, while he will also try to champion causes which are closer to his heart to a greater extent that Elizabeth did, notably his life-long advocacy of environmentalism. Charles has been concerned with climate change for decades and as such he ascended the throne at just the right moment to be able to champion this cause. Whatever kind of king he is, it will be different to his late mother. It will be a tough act to follow. What do you think of Queen Elizabeth II? Will she go down in history as one of Britain’s most dutiful, respected and revered monarchs or was she a ‘silent’ Queen who was too reluctant to voice her opinions on important affairs? Please let us know in the comment section and in the meantime thank you very much for watching!

Channel: The People Profiles

Views: 396,923

Keywords: Biography, History, Historical, Educational, The People Profiles, Biography channel, the biography channel, biography documentary channel, biography channel, biography highlights, biography full episodes, full episode, biography of famous people, full biography, biography a&e, biography full episode, biography full documentary, bio, history, life story, mini biography, biography series on tv, full documentary biography, education, 60 minutes, documentary, documentaries, docs, facts

Id: QkgLlyCMqoE

Length: 108min 56sec (6536 seconds)

Published: Sat May 13 2023