Comfort for an adoring nation

During the war, the young royal princesses did their bit by knitting socks, rolling bandages and collecting tin foil,

It was never going to be a normal childhood for the young princesses, but the war made it even more extraordinary. Elizabeth and Margaret spent their teenage years at Windsor separated from their family, although the public was not made aware of their location, for their safety. The king and queen stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war – even while it was bombed – and cinemas showed popular newsreels about the royal family mucking in, particularly Elizabeth and Margaret, who rolled bandages, collected tin foil and knitted socks to “do their bit” for the war effort.

“They embodied vulnerable domestic affection and hope for the future,” says biographer Robert Lacey.

But the sisters did have some fun. The princesses joined the Girl Guides and began a Christmas tradition of staging a pantomime with local children; in one year, Elizabeth famously played Prince Charming to Margaret’s Cinderella.

In 1945, just before her 19th birthday, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, learning how to service and maintain army vehicles. She was in uniform during the Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) celebrations on May 8, 1945, when she and Margaret slipped away from Buckingham Palace and joined the crowds looking up at the balcony and cheering for the king and queen. She sang, danced and even confessed later that she had knocked off a policeman’s helmet.

The pair repeated their adventure on Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day), running through The Ritz, wanting to prolong their Cinderella moment in reverse. “The future queen achieved an impossible fantasy – to be just a face in the crowd, like any other,” says Lacey.

They embodied vulnerable domestic affection and hope for the future

ROBERT LACEY

Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth working on paintings in the school room of Buckingham Palace in London in 1940.

Elizabeth, Duchess of York, with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in 1936.

The princesses knitting for the war effort at Windsor in 1940.

Princess Elizabeth (front, far left), with the Challenge Cup swimming team at the Bath Club, London, in June 1939.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in the grounds of the Royal Lodge at Windsor, in 1940.

Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth attend a Girl Guides rally at Windsor Castle in 1938.

This portrait of Elizabeth and Margaret was taken on Elizabeth’s 14th birthday, on April 17, 1940.

The sisters, dressed in uniform, taking part in a Sea Ranger youth parade. Pictures: Getty, AFP