Elizabeth II

Elizabeth was born on the 21st April 1926 at her grandparents home in Mayfair. She became queen in 1952 and died in 2022.

She was born into a family known as the royal family. Her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York.

Timeline

• 1926 - Elizabeth was born on the 21st April 1926
• 1934 - Elizabeth meets Philip at a wedding
• 1936 - Edward VIII abdicated the throne making Elizabeth's father the king and Elizabeth the next heir to the throne
• 1939 - World War 2 began and as a result Elizabeth was evacuated to Windsor Castle.
• 1947 - Elizabeth marries Philip on the 20th November 1947.
• 1948 - Elizabeth's son, Charles is born
• 1949 - Elizabeth and Charles moved to Malta, where Philip was stationed with the Royal Navy.
• 1950 - Elizabeth's daughter, Anne is born
• 1951 - Elizabeth returned to England from Malta.
• 1952 - Elizabeth became queen
• 2022 - Elizabeth died

Early Life

When Elizabeth was a baby her parents one time had to travel to Australia, during this time she stayed with her grandparents, George V and Queen Mary (the King and Queen of England). During this time she kept in touch with parents via telegram.

During this time in her life Elizabeth was a princess or a girl who is closely related to the king and queen (usually a daughter or granddaughter).

She was known by her nickname Lilibet [1].

Elizabeth developed into a confident and cheeky child. An example of this was in 1927 when at the Christmas lunch she climbed under the table and threw biscuits at the guests[1]. Another time the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time when visiting King George V found Elizabeth pulling him by his beard and leading him around like a horse[1].

At this time Elizabeth lived a quiet life in a country house in Windsor Great Park.

Romantic Life

Elizabeth met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Prince George from the British royal family in 1934. For her wedding she saved up clothing rations.

The wedding took place in Westminster Abbey in London where she arrived by horse and carriage.

Following the marriage Elizabeth and Philip lived in Buckingham Palace.

Education

Primary Education

Rather than attending a school to be educated, Elizabeth was homeschooled by a governess. This was normal for the time for children from wealthy families.

She would have learned how to speak, read and write French. She later used her French language skills when she went on a royal tour of Canada.

Elizabeth also learned how to ride horses by Mr. Owen and joined the Girl Guides where she learned how to cook food on a fire. As part of the Girl Guides she joined the Sea Rangers which was for those who were interested in swimming and sailing.

Preparing to be Queen

Elizabeth's education pivoted towards learning how to become a queen when her father became the king.

Subjects she now had to study included law, history (especially about the kings and queens which had gone before her and the decisions they made (both good and bad to help her make good choices when she was queen), religion (she was taught this by the Archbishop of Canterbury).

King Edward VIII abdicates the throne

When George V was king Edward VIII (Elizabeth's uncle and George V's son) was heir to the throne. This means he was next in line to become the king of England. When George V died he did become king however, later in 1936 he abdicated the throne as he wanted to marry a woman who the royal family did not approve of.

As Edward VIII did not have any children, Elizabeth's father was the next heir to the throne and became King George VI. This meant that now Elizabeth as the eldest child of George VI was the new heir to the throne and next in line to become queen.

Elizabeth II and World War 2

In 1939, when Elizabeth was thirteen, World War 2 started. In order to keep Elizabeth and her sister safe, they were moved out of London to Windsor Castle in a process called evacuation. This was not unusual at the time and many children were moved away from their homes and families in cities across the United Kingdom to live with other families in the countryside.

During this time Elizabeth will have experienced a change to daily life including air raid drills, this may have included heading to the nearest air raid shelter, one was added to Windsor Castle but elsewhere in London the tube was sometimes used to provide shelter.

Food rationing was also common during this time which led to some strange recipes like squirrel soup and crow pie [2]. Growing your own fruit and vegetables was encouraged, Elizabeth did this at the allotments at Windsor too.

Elizabeth's contribution

During World War 2 females were not allowed to fight in the army so instead Elizabeth joined a special part of the army which was just for females. During her time in the army she trained to read maps, became a mechanic and learned how to drive cars.

In 1940 she spoke on the radio to children who had been evacuated.

Children

In 1948, Elizabeth and Philip's first child, Charles was born. Two years later in 1950 Elizabeth and Philip had a second child, Anne. Elizabeth came back to England to give birth to Anne, she was born in Clarence House in London.

Malta

As a family they moved to Malta in 1949 to be closer to Philip who was stationed their with the Royal Navy.

In this hot and quiet country Elizabeth could lead a normal life away from the trappings of the Royal Family and being heir to the throne.

In 1951 she returned with her family back to England.

Religion

Elizabeth was a Christian.

Pets

Elizabeth was very fond of horses and dogs, she had her first dog at four and by the age of seven had her first horse[1].

References

[1] Oak National Academy - Elizabeth's childhood character

[2] Oak National Academy - Elizabeth II - What was her life like