She was never meant to be Queen, yet she has gone onto become our longest reigning monarch and, at the age of 90, remains universally loved and admired.
The Queen belongs to all of us. This is her life from her birth in 1926 to the present day.
1926 - Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary is born on April 21 at 2.40am at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London.
Her parents are the former Elizabeth Bowes Lyon and her husband Prince Albert (Bertie). also known then as the Duke and Duchess of York. It is almost impossible now to imagine history turning out any differently, but Elizabeth wasn’t born to be Queen. However, when the young ‘Lilibet’ was two, Winston Churchill was said to have remarked of her: ‘She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.’
1930 - Margaret Rose, a sister to Princess Elizabeth, was born on August 21. The group ‘Us Four’, as Elizabeth’s father always referred to their little family, was complete. They lived at 145 Piccadilly when in London and at the Royal Lodge, Windsor.
1936 - Elizabeth was 10 when her Uncle David (Edward VIII) abdicated for the love the American divorcee Wallis Simpson and changed the course of her life forever. Her father became King and she the heir to the throne. Elizabeth was educated at home with her sister by Scottish governess Marion Crawford, who later wrote a book about her time with the princesses, much to the Royal Family’s chagrin.
The ‘revelations’ it contained were tame to say the least by today’s standards. Of the abdication, Crawfie wrote: “Though sad to leave 145 Piccadilly, the little girls, like children the world over, were excited over the move. They spent a lot of time getting their fine stud of horses ready.
“The saddles all had to be strapped on, the grooming brushes and polishing cloths packed up into their big basket. I began to wonder if the little girls would want to wheel them all the way over to the Palace themselves, but in the end they went with other treasures in a furniture van. There they took up their stand in a long row down the corridor in the Palace outside the children’s rooms.
“They were still there on Lilibet’s wedding morning.”
1939-45 - After war broke out in 1939, there were suggestions that the princesses should be evacuated to Canada. Elizabeth’s mother said: “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave without the King. And the King will never leave.” In 1940, the 14-year-old Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC’s Children’s Hour. “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,” she said.
Elizabeth joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service as an honorary second subaltern with the service number of 230873.[31] She trained as a driver and mechanic and was promoted to honorary junior commander. On VE Day, Elizabeth and Margaret were allowed by the parents to mingle with the crowds outside Buckingham Palace. History does not record whether the Queen has ever had the opportunity to be ‘normal’ again.
1947 - The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were married on November 20, 1947, in Westminster Abbey. Princess Elizabeth collected clothing coupons for her dress, like any other young bride. Their son, Charles, was born on November 14, 1948. Their daughter Anne, was born on August 15, 1950.
1952 - Elizabeth was in Kenya with her husband when she got word that her father had died. Unlike her father who had taken the regnal name George to become George VI, Elizabeth chose to keep her own name, of course.
1953 - The coronation was watched on televsion by around 20.4 million people. Many people brought a television set especially to see it and those who did not have them crowded round their neighbours to watch the spectacle. The same year the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on a seven-month round-the-world tour, visiting 13 countries and covering more than 40,000 miles. She became the first reigning monarch of Australia and New Zealand to visit them setting the tone for the future - she is by far the most widely travelled head of state. Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, whom she appointed following the Suez crisis of 1957 said of her, “She has indeed ‘the heart and stomach of a man’ ... She loves her duty and means to be a Queen.” She has worked with 12 Prime Ministers all told, including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and David Cameron.
1960 - In February 1960, Prince Andrew was born, said to be her favourite child.
1964 - In 1964, Prince Edward completed the family.
1977 - The Queen’s silver jubilee was a national celebration with street parties and union jacks flying everywhere. Jubilee Day, June 7, 1977, was marked by a bonfire chain, a public holiday, and a thanksgiving service in St. Paul’s Cathedral. The same year the punk rock band The Sex Pistols released their controversial God Save the Queen single. The BBC refused to play it.
1981 -The Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer launched a thousand tea towels, indeed, when Diana expressed doubts, her sisters Sarah and Jane told her, “Too late, Duch, your face is on the tea towels.” In spite of what was to come, it was a happy day for everyone.
Just five months previously, shots had been fired at the Queen as she rode down the Mall on her horse Burmese. The shots turned out to be blanks. In 1982, Prince Andrew set sail for the Falklands, a stressful time for the Queen. The same year, Michael Fagan broke into the Palace and ended up having a conversation with the Queen in her bedroom. Tabloid interest in the lives of the Royal family increased over the decade. As the Observer editor, Donald Trelford noted in 1986: “The royal soap opera has now reached such a pitch of public interest that the boundary between fact and fiction has been lost.”
1992 - This was Elizabeth’s annus horribilis. Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson separated as did Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips. Then, in November, fire broke out at Windsor Castle. The monarchy came under increased criticism and the Queen was required to pay income tax for the first time. In 1993, Prince Charles and his wife, Diana, also separated. Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris in August 1997, after which the Queen was again criticised for not immediately returning to London from Balmoral. In an unprecedented step, the Queen then addressed the nation and spoke of her feelings ‘as a grandmother’. After that, the hostility was forgotten.
In 1999, Prince Edward married Sophie Rhys Jones. She and the Queen are said to get on famously.
2002 The Queen marked her Golden Jubilee, a happy occasion, although this was also the year her sister Margaret and the Queen Mother died. The Queen Mother was 101, Margaret was 71. The Queen turned 80 in 2006 and she and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary the following year. The Queen has referred to him as her “constant strength and guide”. In 2005, Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles at Windsor.
2011 - In 2011, Prince WIlliam married Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.
2012 - In 2012, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was marked with a spectacular party, a series of regional tours throughout the United Kingdom by Her Majesty, and Commonwealth visits undertaken by other members of the Royal family in support of The Queen.
2015 - On September 9th, 2015, the Queen overtook Queen Victoria to become Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Today, April 21st, 2016, she turns 90.
The Queen has four children, eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Prince William said of her recently: “As she turns 90, she is a remarkably energetic and dedicated guiding force for her family.”
And he echoed the thoughts of a nation when he added: : “I am incredibly lucky to have my grandmother in my life.”
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