DRUGS 48
5-4 Elizabeth II
5-4a Queen Elizabeth II
Queen of the United Kingdom and the other
Commonwealth realms
Reign 6 February 1952 – present
Coronation 2 June 1953
Predecessor George VI
Heir apparent Charles, Prince of Wales
Prime Ministers
Born 21 April 1926 (age 90)
17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, UK
Spouse Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (m. 1947)
Charles, Prince of Wales
Anne, Princess Royal
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Full name
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
House Windsor
Father George VI
Mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Religion
Church of England
Church of Scotland
Signature
Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other
Commonwealth realms
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is, and has been since her accession in 1952,
Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Head of the Commonwealth.
She is also queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession: Jamaica, Barbados,
the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Elizabeth was born in London as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth. She was educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne on the abdication
of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake
public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In 1947, she married
the Duke of Edinburgh, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she has four children: Charles,
Anne, Andrew, and Edward.
Elizabeth’s many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or
from five Popes. She has seen major constitutional changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom,
Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa. She has also reigned through various wars and conflicts
involving many of her realms. She is the world’s oldest reigning monarch as well as Britain’s longest-lived.
In 2015, she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, to become the longest-
reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history.
In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch and head of state following the death
of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand.
Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children, grandchildren and
great grandchildren, her coronation in 1953, and the celebration of milestones such as her Silver, Golden and
Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012, respectively. Moments of sadness for her include the death of her
father, aged 56; the assassination of Prince Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten; the breakdown of her children’s
marriages in 1992 (her annus horribilis); the death in 1997 of her son’s ex-wife, Diana, Princess of Wales;
and the deaths of her mother and sister in 2002. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and
severe press criticism of the royal family, but support for the monarchy remains high, as does her personal
popularity.
5-4b Early life
Elizabeth was born at 02:40 (GMT) on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather,
King George V. Her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the
King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth), was the youngest daughter of Scottish
aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was delivered by Caesarean
section at her maternal grandfather’s London house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. She was baptised by the
Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May,
and named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V’s mother, who had died six months earlier,
and Mary after her paternal grandmother. Called “Lilibet” by her close family, based on what she called herself
at first, she was cherished by her grandfather George V, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular
visits were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.
Elizabeth’s only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930. The two princesses were educated at home
under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as
“Crawfie”. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music. Crawford published a biography
of Elizabeth and Margaret’s childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the
royal family. The book describes Elizabeth’s love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, and her attitude of
responsibility. Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as
“a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.” Her cousin Margaret
Rhodes described her as “a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved”.
5-4c Heir presumptive
During her grandfather’s reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle
Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she
was not expected to become queen, as the Prince of Wales was still young. Many people believed that he
would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as
Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, after her father. Later that year Edward abdicated, after
his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently,
Elizabeth’s father became king, and she became heir presumptive. If her parents had had a later son, she would
have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of
succession.
Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College, and
learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses. A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham
Palace Company, was formed specifically so that she could socialise with girls her own age. Later, she was
enrolled as a Sea Ranger.
In 1939, Elizabeth’s parents toured Canada and the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured
Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain, since her father thought her too young to undertake
public tours. Elizabeth “looked tearful” as her parents departed. They corresponded regularly, and she and her
parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call on 18 May.
5-4d Second World War
In September 1939, Britain entered the Second World War, which lasted until 1945. During the war, many of
London’s children were evacuated to avoid the frequent aerial bombing. The suggestion by senior politician
Lord Hailsham that the two princesses should be evacuated to Canada was rejected by Elizabeth’s mother, who
declared, “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave without the King. And the King will never leave.”
Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved
to Sandringham House, Norfolk. From February to May 1940, they lived at Royal Lodge, Windsor, until moving to
Windsor Castle, where they lived for most of the next five years. At Windsor, the princesses staged pantomimes
at Christmas in aid of the Queen’s Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments. In 1940, the
14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC’s Children’s Hour, addressing other children
who had been evacuated from the cities. She stated: “We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors,
soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every
one of us, that in the end all will be well.”
In 1943, at the age of 16, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the Grenadier Guards,
of which she had been appointed colonel the previous year. As she approached her 18th birthday, parliament
changed the law so that she could act as one of five Counsellors of State in the event of her father’s incapacity or
absence abroad, such as his visit to Italy in July 1944. In February 1945, she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial
Service as an honorary second subaltern with the service number of 230873. She trained as a driver and mechanic
and was promoted to honorary junior commander five months later.
At the end of the war in Europe, on Victory in Europe Day, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret mingled anonymously
with the celebratory crowds in the streets of London. Elizabeth later said in a rare interview, “We asked my parents
if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised ... I remember lines of
unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief.”
During the war, plans were drawn up to quell Welsh nationalism by affiliating Elizabeth more closely with Wales.
Proposals, such as appointing her Constable of Caernarfon Castle or a patron of Urdd Gobaith Cymru (the Welsh
League of Youth), were abandoned for various reasons, which included a fear of associating Elizabeth with
conscientious objectors in the Urdd, at a time when Britain was at war. Welsh politicians suggested that she be made
Princess of Wales on her 18th birthday. Home Secretary, Herbert Morrison supported the idea, but the King rejected
it because he felt such a title belonged solely to the wife of a Prince of Wales and the Prince of Wales had always
been the heir apparent. In 1946, she was inducted into the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod of
Wales.
In 1947, Princess Elizabeth went on her first overseas tour, accompanying her parents through southern Africa.
During the tour, in a broadcast to the British Commonwealth on her 21st birthday, she made the following pledge:
“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.”
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