 | Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom: Encyclopedia II - Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Early life
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Early life
- HM The Queen
- HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
- HRH The Prince of Wales
- HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
- HRH Prince William of Wales
- HRH Prince Henry of Wales
- HRH The Duke of York
- HRH Princess Beatrice of York
- HRH Princess Eugenie of York
- HRH The Earl of Wessex
- HRH The Countess of Wessex
- Lady Louise Windsor
- HRH The Princess Royal
- HRH The Duke of Gloucester
- HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
- HRH The Duke of Kent
- HRH The Duchess of Kent
- HRH Prince Michael of Kent
- HRH Princess Michael of Kent
- HRH Princess Alexandra
Elizabeth was born at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. Her father was The Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), the second eldest son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was The Duchess of York (née Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), the daughter of Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his wife, the Countess of Strathmore.
She was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace by Cosmo Lang, the then Archbishop of York and her godparents were King George and Queen Mary, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Connaught, the Earl of Strathmore and Lady Elphinstone.
Elizabeth was named after her mother, while her two middle names are those of her paternal great-grandmother Queen Alexandra and grandmother Queen Mary respectively. As a child she was known as 'Lilibet' by her close family.
As a granddaughter of the British sovereign in the male line, she held the title of a British princess with the style Her Royal Highness. Her full style was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession to the crown, behind her father and her uncle, The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII). Although her birth generated public interest, no one could have predicted that she would become Queen. It was widely assumed that her uncle, the Prince of Wales, would marry and have children in due course.
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Education
The young Princess Elizabeth was educated at home, as was her younger sister, Princess Margaret, under the supervision of her mother, then the Duchess of York. Her governess was Marion Crawford, better known as "Crawfie". She studied history with C. H. K. Marten, Provost of Eton, and also learned modern languages. She now speaks fluent French, as she has shown on several occasions, most recently during her 2004 state visit to France to commemorate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale but also on numerous visits to Canada. She was instructed in religion by the Archbishop of Canterbury and has always been a strong believer in the Church of England.
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Heiress Presumptive
When her father became King in 1936 upon her uncle King Edward VIII's abdication, she became heiress presumptive and was henceforth known as Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth. There was some demand in Wales for her to be created The Princess of Wales but the King was advised that this was the title of the wife of the Prince of Wales and not a title in its own right. Some feel the King missed the opportunity to make an innovation in Royal practice. She was thirteen years old when World War II broke out. She and her younger sister Princess Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle, Berkshire. There was some suggestion that the princesses be sent to Canada, but their mother the Queen refused to consider this, saying, "The children could not possibly go without me, I wouldn't leave without the King, and the King won't leave under any circumstances". In 1940 Princess Elizabeth made her first broadcast, addressing other children who had been evacuated.
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Military service
In 1945 Princess Elizabeth convinced her father that she should be allowed to contribute directly to the war effort. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (the ATS) where she was known as No 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor, and was trained as a driver. This training was the first time she had been taught together with other students. It is said that she greatly enjoyed this and that this experience led her to send her own children to school rather than have them educated at home. She was the first (and as of 2006 the only) female member of the royal family to actually serve in the military, though other royal women have been given honorary ranks. During the V-E Day celebrations in London, she and her sister dressed as ordinary subjects and slipped into the crowd secretly in order to celebrate with everyone without being recognised.
Elizabeth made her first official visit overseas in 1947, when she accompanied her parents to South Africa. On her 21st birthday she made a broadcast to the British Commonwealth and Empire, pledging to devote her life to the service of the people of the Commonwealth and Empire.
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Marriage and motherhood
Elizabeth married The Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947. The Duke is Queen Elizabeth's third cousin; they share Queen Victoria as a great-great-grandmother. They are also both descended from Christian IX of Denmark (she being a great-great granddaughter through Alexandra of Denmark, and the Duke is a great-grandson through George I of Greece). Prince Philip had renounced his claim to the Greek throne and was simply referred to as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten before being created Duke of Edinburgh before their marriage. This marriage, although not arranged as such, was eminently suitable for a female heir to the throne, as Philip had been trained for royal responsibilities.
After their wedding Philip and Elizabeth took up residence at Clarence House, London. On 14 November 1948 she gave birth to her first child Prince Charles of Edinburgh. Several weeks earlier letters patent had been issued so that her children would enjoy a royal and prince status they would not otherwise have been entitled to. Otherwise they would have been styled merely as children of a duke. They had four children (see below) in all. Though the Royal House is named Windsor, it was decreed via a 1960 Order-in-Council that the descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip should have the personal surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Children and grandchildren
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom - Succession
King George's health declined during 1951 and Elizabeth frequently stood in for him at public events. She visited Greece, Italy and Malta (where Philip was then stationed) during the year. In October she toured Canada and visited President Harry S. Truman in Washington, DC. In January 1952 Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand. They had reached Kenya when word arrived of the death of her father, on 6 February 1952, from lung cancer.
At the moment she became aware she was now queen, she was in a treetop hotel – a unique circumstance for any such event. She was the first British monarch since the Act of Union in 1801 to be out of the country at the moment of succession, and also the first in modern times not to know the exact time of her accession (because George VI had died in his sleep at an unknown time). The Treetops Hotel, where she went up a princess and came down a queen, is now a very popular tourist retreat in Kenya. Elizabeth's coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Early life", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
