She had a happy, carefree childhood
Her young life was a very special time for Princess Elizabeth
Princes Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was not born to be Queen, but as a member of the royal family she was born with incredible privilege. The little girl lived in a five-storey London mansion, which boasted its own elevator – a rarity back in the ’30s – as well as a ballroom and an impressive 25 bedrooms. Yet despite such luxuries, her early years were refreshingly normal.
The Duke and Duchess of York clearly adored their first-born child. After her arrival by Caesarean section at 2.40am on 21 April 1926, her father wrote that she was, “a darling with a lovely complexion”.
When her little sister Margaret Rose came along four years later, the royal couple made it clear they wanted their daughters to have a “happy childhood with lots of pleasant memories” – and that’s exactly what seemed to happen. The young girls enjoyed parties and playdates with friends in the beautiful private garden of their lovely home, 145 Piccadilly, near Hyde Park.
The family also spent time at Royal Lodge, Windsor. For her sixth birthday, Princess Elizabeth was given a very special present, a magnificent Wendy house from the people of Wales.
The Little House – a life-sized cottage with 5ft-high rooms – even had its own doorbell and doormat. It was erected in the grounds of the Royal Lodge and was soon a firm favourite with both the princesses who spent hours playing in it – Princess Elizabeth was often seen pushing her doll ’s pram outside the house.
The Queen Mother played a bigger part in her daughter’s childhood than was the custom back then, teaching Princess
Elizabeth to read by the time she was five. But when she was seven, her parents appointed a governess, Marion Crawford, though neither of them considered academia a priority. The duke in particular had hated school and had only one request for his daughter’s schooling, “Teach Lilibet [his affectionate name for her] and Margaret a decent hand.”
Elizabeth was a studious child who loved reading and history, but she only received lessons from her governess from 9.30am until 11am, the rest of the day was devoted to playing outdoors,
dancing and singing. In fact, the young princess became so fond of the outdoor life that she declared she wanted to marry a farmer when she grew up so she could have lots of “cows, horses and dogs”.
Then on 10 December 1936, Elizabeth’s Uncle David – King Edward VIII – abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Her father was now King, which meant ten-year-old Elizabeth would one day be Queen. She seemed to take the tumultuous news quite calmly, apparently writing simply “abdication day” in her diary that evening. However, the implications only started to dawn when she was told the family would have to leave their lovely home and move permanently to nearby Buckingham Palace.
A horrified Elizabeth reportedly exclaimed, “What? You mean forever?” The 775-room draughty palace, which was plagued by mice, was a world away from everything she knew.
“I felt a glass curtain had come down between us and the outer world,” Marion Crawford later wrote. The future Queen’s carefree childhood was swiftly over.