queen speech ww2

Listen to 14-Year-Old Elizabeth Deliver Her First Speech to the British People During World War II

After being thrust onto the throne at the young age of 26, Queen Elizabeth II faithfully served her country for 70 years. During this time, she established herself as a stable head of the royal family. Even before she was crowned as monarch, however, Elizabeth displayed an inordinate amount of courage. In October 1940, when the U.K. was facing the Blitz in World War II, the 14-year-old princess delivered her very first heartfelt speech to the British people—13 years before she became queen. The recording of this momentous occasion can still be listened to today.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill was the one who initially urged the young Elizabeth to give the speech. At a time when so many British children were evacuated from cities and placed across the countryside and in distant countries for safety, he thought that hearing words from someone of similar age would provide comfort, and potentially inspire Americans to also join the war. However, before Elizabeth could approach the microphone, she underwent weeks of preparation, including numerous rehearsals and breathing exercises. Then, on October 13, 1940, during the BBC's Children's Hour , she spoke from a room in Windsor Castle. “Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes and be separated from your fathers and mothers. My sister Margaret Rose and I feel so much for you as we know from experience what it means to be away from those we love most of all,” Elizabeth said . “To you, living in new surroundings, we send a message of true sympathy and at the same time we would like to thank the kind people who have welcomed you to their homes in the country.”

Although her youth is undeniable, Elizabeth delivered the speech with a familiar sense of calm and dignity that eventually defined her reign as queen. Her speech is intended to reach out to all of the displaced children, but especially those that were sent to Canada, New Zealand, the U.S., and other faraway destinations. “But I am sure that you, too, are often thinking of the Old Country. I know you won't forget us; it is just because we are not forgetting you that I want, on behalf of all the children at home, to send you our love and best wishes—to you and to your kind hosts as well,” she continues. “We know, everyone of us, that in the end all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace. And when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.”

Scroll down to watch the video of Queen Elizabeth II's first speech.

In 1940, Queen Elizabeth II—at that point, a 14-year-old princess—delivered her first speech to the British people during the Blitz of World War II.

h/t: [ Open Culture ]

All images via YouTube.

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Princess Elizabeth's First Speech in Wartime 1940

A Beacon of Hope during Wartime and a Pillar of British Heritage.

A Radiant Youth in a Time of Shadows

Words that echoed through the ages, the voice of monarchy: a tradition enshrined in british heritage, a royal legacy, you might also like.

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A princess at war: queen elizabeth ii during world war ii.

During the Second World War, life changed dramatically for the people of Britain, including the Royal Family.

Top Image: Princess Elizabeth, pictured in her ATS uniform, April 1945. Image from the Imperial War Museum collection, TR 2832.

On September 13, 1940, shortly after the start of Germany’s bombing campaign on the towns and cities of Britain, five high explosive bombs were dropped on Buckingham Palace. The Royal Chapel, inner quadrangle and Palace gates were hit, and several workmen were injured. Rather than flee the city under attack, King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth, remained at Buckingham Palace in solidarity with those living through the Blitz. This was a highly symbolic decision and received much attention in the press. The royal couple visited areas of London which had been devastated by air raids, speaking to residents and members of the local emergency services. The Queen took a keen interest in what was being done to help people who had lost their homes. After Buckingham Palace was bombed, she is reported to have said: 

'I am glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye.'

Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old when war broke out on September 3, 1939. Like many children living in London, Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were evacuated to avoid the dangers of bombing raids. They were sent to Windsor Castle, approximately 20 miles outside of London. The young princesses were two of over three million people—mainly children—who left cities for the safety of small towns and the countryside over the course of the war. The government’s Children’s Overseas Reception Board also evacuated over 2,600 children to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. On October 13, 1940, in response to this mass movement of people, Princess Elizabeth gave her first address from the drawing room of Windsor Castle as part of the BBC’s Children’s Hour  in an attempt to boost public morale. She spoke directly to the children who had been separated from their families as part of the evacuation scheme.

“Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes and be separated from your fathers and mothers. My sister Margaret Rose and I feel so much for you, as we know from experience what it means to be away from those you love most of all. To you living in new surroundings, we send a message of true sympathy and at the same time we would like to thank the kind people who have welcomed you to their homes in the country.”

Hear Princess Elizabeth’s address to the children of the United Kingdom in this Smithsonian Magazine video .

Public responses to this broadcast varied. Interviewers from the social research project Mass Observation took to the streets to ask people what they thought in an effort to gauge the reaction of the British public. Out of 57 people surveyed, 38 had heard the broadcast. More than 20 people positively commented how “charming,” “sweet,” “beautiful,” or “lovely” Princess Elizabeth sounded, but also that she spoke “very clearly,” was “wonderful,” and “did very well.” Most people assumed that the speech had been written for her and suggested it was “propaganda” or “a way to ‘keep the population quiet.’” However, several newspapers reported positively on the speech and included a photograph of the two princesses at the microphone.

As the war progressed, Princess Elizabeth championed more aspects of wartime life and resilience. In 1943, she was photographed tending her allotments at Windsor Castle as part of the government’s “Dig for Victory” campaign, in which people were urged to use gardens and every spare piece of land to grow vegetables to help combat food shortages. Before the Second World War, Britain had relied on food imports from across the world, but when the war started, shipping was threatened by enemy submarines and warships. This resulted in food shortages and led to rationing of foods such as meat, butter cheese, eggs, and sugar.

On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Princess Elizabeth undertook her first inspection of a military regiment during a parade at Windsor Castle. She had been given the role of honorary colonel of the Grenadier Guards, which symbolized her military involvement in the war effort. When Princess Elizabeth turned 18 in 1944, she insisted upon joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women’s branch of the British Army. For several years during the war, Britain had conscripted women to join the war effort. Unmarried women under 30 had to join the armed forces or work on the land or in industry. King George made sure that his daughter was not given a special rank in the Army. She started as a second subaltern in the ATS and was later promoted to Junior Commander, the equivalent of Captain.

Princess Elizabeth began her training as a mechanic in March 1945. She undertook a driving and vehicle maintenance course at Aldershot, qualifying on April 14. Newspapers at the time dubbed her “Princess Auto Mechanic.” There were a wide range of jobs available to female soldiers in the ATS as cooks, telephonists, drivers, postal workers, searchlight operators, and ammunition inspectors. Some women served as part of anti-aircraft units, although they were not allowed to fire the guns. The jobs were dangerous, and during the course of the war, 335 ATS women were killed and many more injured. By June 1945, there were around 200,000 members of the ATS from across the British Empire serving on the home front and in many overseas theaters of war.

While Princess Elizabeth spent the majority of her days at the training facility, it was close enough to Windsor Castle that the princess would return there each evening rather than sleep at the camp with her fellow ATS members. The King and Queen and Princess Margaret visited Princess Elizabeth at the Mechanical Transport Training Section in Camberley, Surrey, and watched her learn about engine maintenance. When describing the visit to LIFE Magazine , the Princess commented “I never knew there was quite so much advance preparation [for a royal visit] ...I’ll know another time.”

Princess Elizabeth (leaning over the vehicle) shows her father the King and Princess Margaret her work on a car engine. Image from the Imperial War Museum collection, H 41641.

As part of her ATS training, Princess Elizabeth underwent a course in driving instruction. Image from the Imperial War Museum collection, H 41661.

On May 8, 1945, the war in Europe ended . In London, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate, flooding Trafalgar Square and the Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace where the King and Queen greeted them from the balcony. As the light began to fade and the celebrations looked to continue into the night, Princess Elizabeth, dressed in her ATS uniform, slipped into the crowds with her sister to enjoy the festivities. In 1985, the now Queen spoke to the BBC about how she tried to avoid being spotted, “I remember we were terrified of being recognized so I pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes.” She described the “lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, and all of us were swept along by tides of happiness and relief.” There are even reports that the princesses joined a conga dance through the Ritz Hotel as they celebrated with the crowds. “I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life.” she recalled.

Celebrating V-E Day on the balcony of Buckingham Palace are (L-R), Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, His Majesty King George VI, and Princess Margaret. Image from the Imperial War Museum collection, MH 21835.

Today, Queen Elizabeth is colonel-in-chief of 16 British Army regiments and corps, and many Commonwealth units. As a member of the ATS, she was the first female of the Royal family to be an active duty member of the British Armed Forces. The Queen is also the last surviving head of state to have served during the Second World War. Now in her 90s,  she is often pictured behind the wheel and has been known to diagnose and repair faulty engines just as she was taught to do during her wartime service in the ATS.

Meet the Author 

Vikki Hawkins has been a curator at the Imperial War Museum in London since 2016. In her current role creating IWM’s new Second World War Galleries, Vikki develops content relating to the British Home Front, the British Empire and the war in Asia and the Pacific. She has published and contributed to various conferences on the topic of Displaying Marginalised Histories in Museums, and is currently developing a research project on the Material Culture of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Vikki holds a master’s degree in the History of Warfare from King’s College London. 

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How World War II Prompted a Teenage Future Queen Elizabeth to Give Her First Address to the Nation

Queen Elizabeth was just 13 years old when World War II began.

Like many British children, the then-Princess had her childhood cut short by the war. She was separated from her parents and sent to the countryside during bombings; her home, Buckingham Palace, was blitzed by the Nazis; she lost family members, such as her uncle George, the Duke of Kent. Her teenage years overlapped nearly exactly with the duration of the conflict, and as she grew so did the experiences that mirrored those of other Britons: when she was old enough, she enrolled in the Women’s Army as a driver and mechanic , and she was separated from her future husband Phillip, a naval officer at the time, just as their romance began.

But unlike other children, Elizabeth was asked by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to give a morale-boost to the country. Early in this period, she was tasked with comforting children who were separated from their families and sent to the countryside to safeguard them against Nazi raids. Over the six years of the war, over two million children were sent to the British countryside, in a program the military called Operation Pied Piper. In 1939, children embarked on trains wearing name tags around their necks and headed to fosters homes where they would stay for six years.

That situation was what led to her first recorded radio broadcast to the United Kingdom — a portion of which can be seen in the clip above, from the new PBS documentary The Queen at War .

“My sister, Margaret Rose and I, feel so much for you as we know from experience what it means to be away from those we love most of all,” a young Elizabeth said on Oct. 13, 1940 in a speech recorded for the BBC’s Children’s Hour from Windsor Castle. “To you living in new surroundings, we send a message of true sympathy.”

All these years later, in a speech she gave on April 5 , the Queen alluded to that first broadcast, noting that the current pandemic is like World War II in that, “today, once again, many people will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones.”

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The Queen at War tells the story of Elizabeth’s transformation from quiet girl to a beacon of hope for the U.K. during the world’s costliest war in terms of human life, a period that producer Chris Granlund says was when the “foundations of her stoicism and her ability to connect with people” were developed.

“In normal times, the royal family had a distant, reified existence,” says Granlund. “But when the war began, Elizabeth found herself in a parallel situation to everyone else.”

It was also during this time that Elizabeth—who went on to become the longest-standing monarch in British history and the only current head of state who served in the military during World War II— began wanting to be an active public figure. She begged her parents to let her serve in the women’s army and recorded her first of many public broadcasts that have come to define her reign.

“Her broadcasts have become a central part of our national life,” says Granlund. “She does not do it very often but when she speaks, it really has an impact. It has a unifying effect.” Aside from her televised Christmas Day messages, since her 68-year-reign began in 1952, Queen Elizabeth has only addressed the nation five times , including her latest address about the COVID-19 crisis.

Unlike the war, however, this pandemic is a moment when “we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor,” Queen Elizabeth said. Because of “our instinctive compassion to heal,” she encouraged people to remain hopeful. And, alluding to Vera Lynn’s 1939 wartime song, the Queen assured the public that “we will meet again.”

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What The Royal Family Did During The Second World War

At 6pm on 3 September 1939, King George VI spoke to the people of Britain and the Empire. In his radio broadcast, he talked of the difficult times ahead and urged his people to stand firm.

The King held the ranks of Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He and Queen Elizabeth inspected troops and visited work places. On these occasions the King always appeared in uniform.

During the Blitz, the King and Queen visited bombed areas to see the damage caused by enemy air raids. On these visits, the Queen took a keen interest in what was being done to help people who had lost their homes. After Buckingham Palace was bombed on 13 September 1940, she said she felt she could 'look the East End in the face'.

A Royal visit

The King and Queen took a real interest in the work that people were doing. This raised morale and gave factory workers a renewed enthusiasm for their work. The Ministry of Supply studied the effects of royal visits and found that, in most cases, production figures dropped on the day of the visit but the weekly production figures invariably rose

Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret spent most of the war years at Windsor Castle and, like many other British children, were often apart from their parents. In October 1940, 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth broadcast a message to evacuees on the radio programme Children's Hour, urging them to have courage.

At the age of 19, Princess Elizabeth joined the  Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) . After joining, she trained as a driver and mechanic with the rank of Second Subaltern. Five months later she was promoted to Junior Commander, which was the equivalent of Captain. Her younger sister Princess Margaret was a Girl Guide and later joined the Sea Rangers.

At 6pm on  VE Day , 8 May 1945, the King again broadcast to the nation. During the afternoon and evening, the King and Royal Family made eight appearances on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to acknowledge the crowds gathered below. The princesses were allowed to leave the palace and secretly take part in the celebrations.

The London Blitz, 1940

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth standing with workmen, while inspecting bomb damage at Buckingham Palace.

Princess Elizabeth joins the ATS

In this video, see newly-discovered footage of the Princess in the ATS, as curator Kate Clements explains why Queen Elizabeth signed up for war work. 

In 1945, Life magazine published an article about Princess Elizabeth. It reported that King George VI had ruled, that “[Elizabeth’s] training as a princess outweighed the nation’s increasing manpower problems and that ‘Betts’ should not join any of the women’s auxiliaries, nor work in a factory”.

But the King would not get his way. In April 1944, the young Princess had turned 18. Her teenage years had been against the backdrop of the Second World War. Elizabeth was determined to ‘do her bit’ for the war effort, as so many of her peers were.

Within a year of turning 18, Elizabeth would sign up for service. It was an unprecedented decision – this would make her the first woman in the Royal Family to become a full-time member of the armed services. And it was a decision that would shape her life and reign.

Newsreel: "Making rapid progress withe her training as an ATS Second Subaltern, Princess Elizabeth has now passed her tests as a fully trained motor driver and mechanic."

At the outset of the war, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth decided that they would not be seen to be hiding away from the war. In September 1940, five high explosive bombs were dropped on Buckingham Palace. Rather than move away from the danger, the King and Queen decided to remain at Buckingham Palace in solidarity with those living through the Blitz. The Queen is reported to have said: 'I am glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye.'

The King and Queen made many visits to areas that had bombed during the Blitz, as well as to serving personnel, to munitions factories, to RAF bases and Royal Naval ships, and to troops training for combat. They wanted to keep people’s spirits up during the war years and took on the role of boosting morale with fervour.

Kate Clements, IWM curator: "The King’s sister, Princess Mary – known as the Princess Royal, was also involved in the war effort. She had been a nurse during the First World War and had started a fund to buy gifts for soldiers at Christmas and now in the Second World War she continued her support – she was the Controller Commandant of the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service and she travelled around the country visiting its units."

Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old when war broke out, and her younger sister Princess Margaret was 9.

Newsreel: "Princess Elizabeth's upbringing has been carefully watched over by her parents. There must be the same thrill to them, as to all parents, in seeing their children growing up."

Kate Clements: "Princess Elizabeth had a fairly sheltered childhood prior to the war – she didn’t attend school with other children but was instead educated at home with her sister by a governess. When war broke out, Elizabeth and Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle as it was felt to be safer than Buckingham Palace in London. And there they were kept safe from the bombing and also had an allotment as part of the national ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign. She saw the work her parents were doing to boost people’s morale and she learned from that the importance of duty during times of national crisis."

Princess Elizabeth carried out her first public duties during the war. She became the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1942 and on the morning of her 16th birthday, she carried out her first official public engagement when she inspected the Guards at Windsor Castle. She also launched her first ship, HMS Vanguard, at Clydebank when she was aged 18. And she even performed some of her father the King’s head of state duties while he was in Italy in 1944. But Elizabeth was determined to contribute more to the war effort.

Women had been volunteering for war work since the start of the war. The conscription of unmarried women between the ages 20 to 30 was introduced in Britain in December 1941 – women could choose between working on the land or in war industry, or joining one of the military auxiliary services. Later, the age limits expanded and more women were mobilised. Eventually Elizabeth got her way and enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, known as the ATS, in February 1945, aged 18.

Kate Clements: "The ATS was an auxiliary service that women could join or be conscripted into during the war. Its members became women soldiers who carried out roles that would free up men for front line duties. The ATS was the largest of the women’s auxiliary services and, by June 1945, it had around 200,000 members who were drawn from across the British Empire."

Women were not allowed combat roles so instead they served as telephonists, clerks, drivers, postal workers, dispatch riders and ammunition inspectors. Around 56,000 members of the ATS also worked with anti-aircraft units, in which they tracked enemy aircraft and aimed anti-aircraft guns – but only men were allowed to fire them. 

Kate Clements: "In 1945 Princess Elizabeth joined the ATS and she wore a uniform just like this one on display here. She enrolled on a driving and vehicle maintenance course. Her classes included mechanics theory and map reading and she learned how to service, maintain and drive heavy army vehicles at the ATS No. 1 Mechanical Transport Training Centre. The princess was treated the same as the rest of her company during their training and was able to mix with young people from different backgrounds.  This was quite unusual for the time and there was great press interest in seeing the young heir to the throne during her military training. Photographers captured her dressed in overalls, working on vehicle engines and changing tyres, and the press even named her ‘Princess Auto Mechanic’." 

Newsreel: "ATS drivers have also got to do their own repairs, and servicing every type of army vehicle is an important part of the training."

Throughout her training Elizabeth worked for seven hours a day, but didn’t stay in the barracks on site – she would return to Windsor Castle each evening. After five months of training as a mechanic and military truck driver in Camberley the future queen was promoted to the rank of honorary Junior Commander. The King and Queen and Princess Margaret visited Princess Elizabeth during her time at the training camp, and watched her in action. The Princess commented to Life Magazine that she “never knew there was quite so much advance preparation [for a royal visit] ...I’ll know another time.” 

Doreen Walden: "It was closing down. I think we were the second last group, and the Queen had learnt to drive there. And the men in the workshops had made a beautiful clock as a presentation to her. We didn't get any driving for about a week because we had to paint the tree trunks white and all the stones white and everything. Then we were all taken up to this big parade ground, and she arrived and was escorted round, and then went off to the officers' mess, I think. She seemed to chat to the CO most of the way round, and of course we all got the instructions that you never looked, you just looked straight ahead."

The young princess graduated as a fully qualified driver, but the war ended before she was able to make practical use of her new skills. To pass her final test, she made a solo journey in a heavy vehicle from Camberley in Surrey into London. 

On VE Day – 8 May 1945 – Princess Elizabeth joined her parents and sister on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, along with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to greet the huge, cheering crowds that had gathered there to celebrate the end of the war in Europe. Later on that day, the young princess was allowed to leave the palace and mingle with the crowds, anonymously. She later spoke about this when she was queen, saying it was one of the most memorable nights of her life. Elizabeth later describer this day saying: ‘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.’

Although the Second World War ended in 1945, restrictions in Britain continued and the Royal Family followed suit. Rationing did not end until 1954 and Princess Elizabeth even saved up ration coupons to buy the material for her wedding dress in 1947.  Just seven years after the end of the war, Elizabeth became Queen. This experience of coming of age during a war would play a pivotal role in shaping how she reigned and who she is. She formed a relationship with Winston Churchill over these years, who would later be her first Prime Minster when Queen. She learned from her father the importance of the monarch being visible and present during times of national crisis. 

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The 'Blitz' – from the German term Blitzkrieg ('lightning war') – was the sustained campaign of aerial bombing attacks on British towns and cities carried out by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) from September 1940 until May 1941.

The Vital Role Of Women In The Second World War

Women were conscripted in December 1941. They were given a choice of working in industry or joining one of the auxiliary services – the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) or the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS).

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A princess at war

Princess Elizabeth, wearing her ATS uniform, stands in front of an ambulance, in April 1945. Photo: Courtesy Imperial War Museum IWM (TR 2835)

In 1947, on her 21st birthday, Queen Elizabeth II, pledged to devote her life, whether it be long or short, to the service of her people.

Like so many of her generation, the then Princess Elizabeth had grown up during the Second World War and volunteered to serve.

Within a year of turning 18, the future Queen had joined the Auxiliary Territory Service, learning to drive and maintain trucks, becoming the first woman in the Royal Family to become a full-time member of the armed services.

It was decision that would shape the rest of her life and reign.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old, and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, was nine.

Their father, King George VI, had addressed the people of Britain and the Empire in a radio broadcast at 6 pm on September 1939, speaking of the difficult times ahead, and urging people to stand firm.

From the beginning, the King and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, were determined they would not be seen to be hiding from the war.

The King and Queen visited areas that had been bombed during the Blitz, speaking to residents and members of the local emergency services. They also visited serving personnel, munitions factories, RAF bases and Royal Navy ships, as well as troops training for combat in a bid to keep people’s spirits up and boost morale during the war.

The Queen wanted to keep the family together at Buckingham Palace. But in 1940, at the height of the Blitz, the two young princesses were evacuated to Windsor Castle to escape the threat of German bombing raids.

The princesses were two of more than three million people – mostly children – who were evacuated from London and other cities across Britain to the safety of smaller towns and the countryside during the war.

There had been suggestions the two young princesses should be evacuated to the United States or Canada, but their mother refused.

“The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the King. And the King will never leave,” she said.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth inspecting bomb damage at Buckingham Palace, September 1940. One member of palace staff was killed in the raid. Photo: Courtesy Imperial War Museum  IWM HU 63234

In September 1940, five high explosive bombs were dropped on the Buckingham Palace. Rather than flee the city, the King and Queen decided to remain at Buckingham Palace in solidarity with those living through the Blitz. The Queen reportedly said, “I’m glad we have been bombed. Now we can look the East End in the eye.”

Buckingham Palace would be bombed nine times during the war, but the princesses and their mother would remain in England for the duration of the war.

The two young princesses spent most of the war years at Windsor Castle, where they were subject to the same rationing as others and were regularly bundled off to underground vaults as bombs rained down on the Windsor Great Park.

It was during the war that Princess Elizabeth carried out her first public duties.

On 13 October 1940, the 14-year-old princess made her first radio broadcast from the drawing room of Windsor Castle, as part of the BBC’s Children’s Hour, urging child evacuees to have courage.

“Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes and be separated from your fathers and mothers,” she said. “My sister Margaret Rose and I feel so much for you, as we know from experience what it means to be away from those you love most of all ... 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 became the Colonel of the Grenadier Guards in 1942, and on the morning of on the morning of her 16th birthday, carried out her first official public engagement, inspecting the guards at Windsor Castle.

In 1943, she was photographed tending allotments at Windsor Castle as part of the government’s “Dig for Victory” campaign, in which people were urged to use gardens and every spare piece of land to grow vegetables to help combat food shortages in Britain.

She also launched her first ship, HMS Vanguard, at Clydebank in Scotland when she was 18, and performed some of her father’s duties as head of state while he was in Italy in 1944.

But the young princess was determined to do more.

Princess Elizabeth, wearing cap and overalls, changes the wheel of a car, during an ATS Vechile Maintenance class in April 1945. The press dubbed her "Princess Auto Mechanic" at the time. Photo: Courtesy Imperial War Museum IWM H 41668

When she turned 18 in April 1944, she decided she wanted to do her bit for the war effort, as so many of her peers were. 

At first, her father, the King, was against the idea of the princess joining the women’s auxiliaries or working in a factory, but eventually Elizabeth got her way.

Within a year, Princess Elizabeth had enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army, known as the ATS.

Known as truck mechanic No. 230873, she began her training in March 1945. She completed a driving and vehicle maintenance course where she learnt how to service, maintain and drive heavy vehicles and was pictured, dressed in overalls, working on engines and changing tyres. She was dubbed “Princess Auto Mechanic” by the newspapers.

Based at the ATS No. 1 Mechanical Transport Training Section in Camberley, Surrey, she worked seven-hour days, but would return to Windsor Castle each night.

The King and Queen visited the training camp with Princess Margaret, where they watched the future Queen learn about engine maintenance.

Describing the visit to  Life Magazine , the then Princess Elizabeth commented, “I never knew there was quite so much advance preparation [for a royal visit] ... I’ll know another time.”

Princess Elizabeth graduated as a qualified driver after five months of training as a mechanic and truck driver at Camberley, and was promoted to the honorary rank of junior commander.

"I began to understand the esprit de corps that flourishes in the face of adversity," she later recalled.

Princess Elizabeth explains to her mother, the Queen, the work she has done on the engine. Photo: Courtesy Imperial War Memorial IWM H 41644

On VE Day – 8 May 1945 – Princess Elizabeth joined her parents and her sister on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, to greet the crowds of people who had gathered on the streets of London to celebrate the end of the war in Europe.

As the celebrations continued into the night, Princess Elizabeth, dressed in her ATS uniform, was allowed to leave the palace with her younger sister and mingle with the crowds, anonymously.

There are even reports that the two young princesses joined a conga dance through the Ritz Hotel as they celebrated with the crowds.

She would later describe it as one of the most memorable nights of her life.

“We asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves,” she said. “I remember we were terrified of being recognised so I pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes … 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.”

Princess Elizabeth appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Photo: Courtesy Imperial War Museum IWM MH 21835

After the war, Princess Elizabeth saved up ration coupons to pay for the material to make her wedding dress, like thousands of other brides. Britain was still recovering from the war when she married Prince Philip in 1947, and materials remained scarce. The princess was so popular, many Britons donated their own clothing coupons to help, but these had to be returned as it was illegal to give them away.

Just seven years after the end of the war, Elizabeth became Queen.

In February 1954, she became the first reigning British monarch to visit Australia. 

During the eight-week Royal Tour of Australia, the Queen and Prince Philip visited the Australian War Memorial, where they toured the Commemorative Area and laid a wreath at the Stone of Remembrance.  

The Queen visited Australia 16 times, returning to the Memorial numerous times.

Her last visit to the Memorial was in 2011, when she toured the Hall of Memory and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

She would go on to become the longest-serving British monarch in history.

The war years had played a major role in shaping her life, and her reign.

Accession Number: 042411

Her Majesty the Queen accompanied by Dr C.E.W (Charles) Bean, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Australian War Memorial, passes along the ranks of the relatives of deceased ex-servicemen and women, after her visit to the Hall of Memory, seen in the background.

Last updated: 21 September 2022

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Hear Queen Elizabeth II Give Her Very First Speech to the British People, During World War II (1940)

in History | September 9th, 2022 1 Comment

“Her Majesty’s a pret­ty nice girl, but she does­n’t have a lot to say,” sings Paul McCart­ney on the Bea­t­les’ “Her Majesty.” That com­ic song clos­es Abbey Road , the last album the band ever record­ed, and thus puts a cap on their brief but won­drous cul­tur­al reign. In 2002 McCart­ney played the song again, in front of Queen Eliz­a­beth II her­self as part of her Gold­en Jubilee cel­e­bra­tions. Ear­li­er this year her Plat­inum Jubilee marked a full 70 years on the throne, but now — 53 years after that cheeky trib­ute on Abbey Road — Her Majesty’s own reign has drawn to a close with her death at the age of 96. She’d been Queen since 1953, but she’d been a British icon since at least the Sec­ond World War.

In Octo­ber 1940, at the height of the Blitz, Prime Min­is­ter Win­ston Churchill asked King George VI to allow his daugh­ter, the four­teen-year-old Princess Eliz­a­beth, to make a morale-boost­ing speech on the radio. Record­ed in Wind­sor Cas­tle after intense prepa­ra­tion and then broad­cast on the BBC’s Chil­dren’s Hour , it was osten­si­bly addressed to the young peo­ple of Britain and its empire.

“Evac­u­a­tion of chil­dren in Britain from the cities to the coun­try­side start­ed in Sep­tem­ber 1939,” says BBC.com , with ulti­mate des­ti­na­tions as far away as Cana­da. “It is not dif­fi­cult for us to pic­ture the sort of life you are all lead­ing, and to think of all the new sights you must be see­ing and the adven­tures you must be hav­ing,” Princess Eliz­a­beth tells them. “But I am sure that you, too, are often think­ing of the old coun­try.”

In the event, mil­lions of young and old around the world heard the broad­cast, which arguably served Churchill’s own goal of encour­ag­ing Amer­i­can par­tic­i­pa­tion in the war. But it also gave Britons a pre­view of the dig­ni­ty and forth­right­ness of the woman who would become their Queen, and remain so for an unprece­dent­ed sev­en decades. As Paul McCart­ney implied, Queen Eliz­a­beth II turned out not to be giv­en to pro­longed flights of rhetoric. But though she may not have had a lot to say, she invari­ably spoke in pub­lic at the prop­er moment, in the prop­er words, and with the prop­er man­ner. Today one won­ders whether this admirable per­son­al qual­i­ty, already in short sup­ply among mod­ern rulers, has­n’t van­ished entire­ly.

Relat­ed con­tent:

Win­ston Churchill Prais­es the Virtue of “Brevi­ty” in Mem­os to His Staff: Con­cise Writ­ing Leads to Clear­er Think­ing

How to Behave in a British Pub: A World War II Train­ing Film from 1943, Fea­tur­ing Burgess Mered­ith

Watch Col­orized 1940s Footage of Lon­don after the Blitz: Scenes from Trafal­gar Square, Pic­cadil­ly Cir­cus, Buck­ing­ham Palace & More

Win­ston Churchill’s List of Tips for Sur­viv­ing a Ger­man Inva­sion: See the Nev­er-Dis­trib­uted Doc­u­ment (1940)

Watch Annie Lei­bovitz Pho­to­graph and Get Scold­ed by Queen Eliz­a­beth: “What Do You Think This Is?”

Based in Seoul,  Col­in Mar­shall  writes and broad­casts on cities, lan­guage, and cul­ture. His projects include the Sub­stack newslet­ter   Books on Cities ,  the book  The State­less City: a Walk through 21st-Cen­tu­ry Los Ange­les  and the video series  The City in Cin­e­ma . Fol­low him on Twit­ter at  @colinmarshall , on  Face­book , or on  Insta­gram .

by Colin Marshall | Permalink | Comments (1) |

Related posts:

Comments (1), 1 comment so far.

Some con­tent around how the Roy­al fam­i­ly have acquired all their finances would be inter­est­ing.

The Queen was exempt­ed from the 2017 Cul­tur­al Prop­er­ty (Armed Con­flicts) Act, a law that seeks to pre­vent the destruc­tion of cul­tur­al her­itage, such as archae­o­log­i­cal sites, works of art and impor­tant books, in future wars. This means police are barred from search­ing the Queen’s pri­vate estates for stolen or loot­ed artefacts.[57]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finances_of_the_British_royal_family

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Read Queen Elizabeth's speech marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day

Her father, the king, addressed the nation exactly 75 years earlier.

The Queen of England is addressing her nation at 9 p.m. local time to commemorate the 75-year anniversary of the allied victory in Europe, better know as VE Day.

It's likely Queen Elizabeth II is the only living European leader, or even world leader, who clearly remembers the day World War II ended in Europe and the ensuing celebrations.

"I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace," she recalled in her prepared remarks. "The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound, though while we celebrated the victory in Europe, we knew there would be further sacrifice. It was not until August that fighting in the Far East ceased and the war finally ended."

Her speech focuses on sacrifices made by the war-time generation.

"Many people laid down their lives in that terrible conflict," she said. "They fought so we could live in peace, at home and abroad."

MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan say they will no longer cooperate with British tabloids

Her Majesty also acknowledged the difficulties in celebrating such an important anniversary amid the current global pandemic.

"Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish," she said. "Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other."

The queen's full remarks:

I speak to you today at the same hour as my father did, exactly 75 years ago. His message then was a salute to the men and women at home and abroad who had sacrificed so much in pursuit of what he rightly called a "great deliverance."

The war had been a total war; it had affected everyone, and no one was immune from its impact. Whether it be the men and women called up to serve; families separated from each other; or people asked to take up new roles and skills to support the war effort, all had a part to play. At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain. But we kept faith that the cause was right -- and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through.

Never give up, never despair -- that was the message of VE Day. I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound, though while we celebrated the victory in Europe, we knew there would be further sacrifice. It was not until August that fighting in the Far East ceased and the war finally ended.

Many people laid down their lives in that terrible conflict. They fought so we could live in peace, at home and abroad. They died so we could live as free people in a world of free nations. They risked all so our families and neighbourhoods could be safe. We should and will remember them.

As I now reflect on my father's words and the joyous celebrations, which some of us experienced first-hand, I am thankful for the strength and courage that the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and all our allies displayed.

The wartime generation knew that the best way to honour those who did not come back from the war, was to ensure that it didn't happen again. The greatest tribute to their sacrifice is that countries who were once sworn enemies are now friends, working side by side for the peace, health and prosperity of us all.

Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other. And when I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.

I send my warmest good wishes to you all.

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'Never give up, never despair': Queen Elizabeth II's speech recalls royal father, WWII victory in 1945

In the midst of a world pandemic , Britain stopped Friday to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII in Europe, tuning in to a televised speech by Queen Elizabeth II that recalled dark days of sacrifice-turned-joyful on Victory in Europe Day in 1945.

At 9 p.m. London time, the 94-year-old queen appeared on the BBC in a video prerecorded at Windsor Castle, where she has been in quarantine since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Her speech opened with dramatic black-and-white news reel of the crowds in London celebrating the war's end, as Big Ben chimed and the announcer intoned: "This is London. His Majesty King George VI." A brief excerpt of his speech played before the camera switched to the queen.  

"I speak to you today at the same hour as my father did exactly 75 years ago. His message then was a salute to the men and women at home and abroad who had sacrificed so much in pursuit of what he rightly called 'a great deliverance,' " she said.

"At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain. But we kept faith that the cause was right and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through: Never give up, never despair. That was the message of VE Day."

As the queen noted, her speech came on the same day and the same time her father spoke on the radio in 1945 to announce to an exhausted but jubilant nation the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the war in Europe. (Besides the BBC, the queen's speech was broadcast on radio, streamed on the royal family's Instagram and Facebook accounts , and posted on Twitter.)

The queen looked well. She wore a light blue dress, her three-strand pearl necklace and two large twin Boucheron brooches pinned to her left shoulder; the glittering aquamarine-and-diamond pins were a birthday gift from her father in 1944 . On the desk on her right stood a framed picture of her father; to the left behind her was a framed picture of the family and then Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the palace balcony. 

Her speech was more than just a pro-forma bow to history: In her usual reserved and unruffled way, the queen served as a bridge between contemporary Britons fearful of an uncertain future and their ancestors who endured terror and deprivation during the war years and emerged victorious amid the dreadful cost. 

It was also a connection between the queen and her beloved father, the accidental king who overcame stammering shyness to serve as an effective leader, encouraging people in radio broadcasts and countless personal encounters.

"Let us remember those who will not come back, their constancy and courage in battle, their sacrifice and endurance in the face of a merciless enemy," the king said in his speech 75 years ago. "We have come to the end of our tribulation, and they are not with us at the moment of our rejoicing."

His daughter learned how to be a monarch from him; seven years later he was dead of lung cancer at age 56, and she was queen at age 25. 

The speech was the second time in just five weeks that the queen has addressed the nation, something she has done only a handful of times during her 68-year reign.

The British look to her, their head-of-state, for reassurance and a steady calm, and she has not disappointed during the longest reign in British history.

"Never give up, never despair - that was the message of VE Day" An address by Her Majesty The Queen on the 75th anniversary of VE Day #VEDay75 pic.twitter.com/prgBXCdRHF — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 8, 2020

In an unprecedented address on April 5, she spoke to the nation about the COVID-19 pandemic, invoking the spirit of war-era Britain in calling on people to rise to the challenge just as their grandparents rose to the challenge of the war.  

Her VE Day speech, however, was long-planned as the centerpiece of a larger (but scaled back) commemoration of the end of a devastating war that killed millions of Europeans and threatened the lives of millions more, including a then teen-age Princess Elizabeth. 

Earlier on Friday, her heir, Prince Charles, and his wife, Duchess Camilla of Cornwall, led the country in a two-minute silence at the war memorial on the grounds of the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland, where  Charles laid a wreath of poppies on behalf of the nation.

The queen is the only British leader left who remembers the delirious joy that took over London on May 8, 1945, because she was there: She, her younger sister Princess Margaret, the king and her mother, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace multiple times to acknowledge the tears and cheers of ecstatic crowds packed in The Mall below. 

"I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony at Buckingham Palace, " she said. "The sense of joy in the crowds outside and across the country was profound. While we celebrated the end of the war in Europe we knew there would be further sacrifice."

Her grandson, Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge, on Friday tweeted an audio of the queen sharing memories of the celebrations on VE day, when she and her sister briefly left the palace to join anonymously in the throngs outside to cheer her parents on the balcony. 

"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," she recalled many years later .

The queen is the last surviving world leader to have served during the war. She and her husband, Prince Philip, 98, spent the war in uniform.

He was a naval officer who saw action and she enlisted in the Women’s Auxiliary Territory Service, the first female member of the royal family to become an active-duty member of the British Armed Forces. (She learned to be a car mechanic.) On the desk next to her as she spoke was her khaki cap from her ATS days. 

🎧 As we mark #VEDay75 , listen to Her Majesty The Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) share her memories of the celebrations that day in 1945 👇 https://t.co/Q9qfRm5sS4 — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 8, 2020

Her speech Friday was to be followed by a national singalong of singer Vera Lynn’s "We’ll Meet Again," led by the 103-year-old Lynn herself.

People are expected to open their doors and join in what was the defining song of the war era for the British. The singalong is the centerpiece of a TV special, "VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration."

The queen has already invoked "We'll Meet Again," concluding her April pandemic speech with some of its lines:

“We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again,” the monarch said.

In an online video posted Friday from his Scottish home, Birkhall, Prince Charles read an extract from his grandfather's war diary from May 8, 1945 , which describes the day's events, including the royal family's iconic palace balcony appearances. 

Other members of the royal family, Prime Minister Boris Johnson (himself a survivor of COVID-19), and other government ministers made video calls with war veterans and those who served on the home front.

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Queen Elizabeth Reminds to 'Never Give Up, Never Despair' on 75th Anniversary of End of WWII

The evening address was followed by a national singalong of the song "We'll Meet Again"

Stephanie Petit is a Royals Editor, Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE.

Queen Elizabeth is leading the U.K. in its remembrance of the end of World War II in Europe by conjuring memories of her own father's speech to the nation.

The monarch, 94, made the address on May 8 at 9 p.m. — the same time her father, King George VI, gave a radio message at the end of the war in 1945.

The broadcast began with footage of King George VI giving his address 75 years ago, then cut to the Queen with a photo of her father on her desk.

"At the start, the outlook seemed bleak, the end distant, the outcome uncertain. But we kept faith that the cause was right — and this belief, as my father noted in his broadcast, carried us through," the monarch said. "Never give up, never despair — that was the message of VE Day."

It echoes her throwback phrase to the wartime spirit that she used in her inspiring address from Windsor Castle amid the coronavirus pandemic in April, which she closed with, "We will meet again." The song "We'll Meet Again" was an anthem of the war, sung by Vera Lynn.

The evening address was followed by a national singalong of the tune, and members of the public opened their front doors to join in with the national moment of celebration.

The Queen also addressed how VE Day would feel different this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish," she said. "Instead, we remember from our homes and our doorsteps. But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other."

The monarch continued, "When I look at our country today and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognize and admire."

Prince Charles also took part in the broadcast, reading an extract from his grandfather's diary from that day in 1945.

Additionally, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall led the nation in two minutes of silence. Charles also laid a wreath while his wife placed flowers at the memorial in remembrance of those who died in World War II.

Camilla also included a handwritten note that read: "In memory of my darling father and all the officers and men of the XII Lancers, who fought so bravely to give us peace." Her father, Bruce Shand, served in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force during the war.

The celebrations at the end of WWII brought "one of the most memorable nights of my life," the Queen said in a 1985 broadcast. Having worked in the war effort in a reserve unit, the then 19-year-old royal wore her uniform that evening and headed out among the crowds around the palace with her sister Princess Margare t to join the party.

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The VE Day address by the Queen is the third since she retired to Windsor Castle amid the COVID-19 crisis. She issued a statement when she relocated to Windsor, 30 miles west of London , with her husband Prince Philip , who turns 99 in June, and then made her rare televised address to the world on April 5. She also gave an Easter message .

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The History Hit Miscellany of Facts, Figures and Fascinating Finds

• 20th Century

What Was Queen Elizabeth II’s Role in World War Two?

Lucy Davidson

11 oct 2022, @lucejuiceluce.

Queen Elizabeth II held the title of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. But before she served her country within her official capacity as Queen, she became the first female British royal to become an active duty member of the British Armed Forces. It took her a year-long battle before she was allowed to take up the role, which primarily involved being trained as a mechanic and driver, fixing and refitting car engines and tyres.

It seems Queen Elizabeth’s time spent as a driver and mechanic left a lasting legacy on her and her family, even after the war ended: the Queen taught her children how to drive, she continued to drive well into her 90s and is said to have occasionally fixed faulty machinery and car engines some years after World War Two.

Queen Elizabeth was the last surviving head of state to have served during World War Two . Here’s exactly what role she played during the conflict.

She was only 13 when the war broke out

When World War Two broke out in 1939, the then Princess Elizabeth was 13 while her younger sister Margaret was 9. Owing to frequent and severe Luftwaffe bombings , it was suggested that the princesses should be evacuated to North America or Canada. However, the then Queen was adamant that they would all remain in London, stating, “the children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the King. And the King will never leave.”

H.M. Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by Matron Agnes C. Neill, talking with personnel of No.15 Canadian General Hospital, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (R.C.A.M.C.), Bramshott, England, 17 March 1941.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

As a result, the children remained in Britain and spent their war years between Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Sandringham House and Windsor Castle , the latter of which they finally settled in for many years.

At that time, Princess Elizabeth was not directly exposed to the war and led a very sheltered life. However, her parents the King and Queen frequently visited ordinary people, with the Ministry of Supply finding that their visits to workplaces such as factories increased productivity and overall morale.

She made a radio broadcast in 1940

At Windsor Castle , the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret staged pantomimes at Christmas to raise money for the Queen’s Wool Fund, which paid for wool to knit into military materials.

In 1940, 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast during the BBC Children’s Hour where she addressed other children in Britain and the British colonies and dominions who had been evacuated because of the war. 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 own share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.”

A gelatin silver photograph of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret starring in a Windsor Castle wartime production of the pantomime Aladdin. Princesses Elizabeth played Principal Boy whilst Princess Margaret played Princess of China. 1943.

She was the first female royal to join the military

Like millions of other Britons, Elizabeth was eager to help with the war effort. However, her parents were protective and refused to allow her to enlist. After a year of strong-willed persuasion, in 1945 Elizabeth’s parents relented and allowed their now 19-year-old daughter to join.

In February of the same year, she joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territory Service (much like the American Women’s Army Corps or WACs) with the service number 230873 under the name Elizabeth Windsor. The Auxiliary Territory Service provided crucial support during the war with its members serving as radio operators, drivers, mechanics and anti-aircraft gunners .

She enjoyed her training

Elizabeth underwent a 6-week auto mechanic training course at Aldershot in Surrey. She was a quick learner, and by July had risen from the rank of Second Subaltern to Junior Commander. Her training taught her how to deconstruct, repair and rebuild engines, change tyres and drive a range of vehicles such as trucks, jeeps and ambulances.

It seems that Elizabeth relished working alongside her fellow Britons and enjoyed the freedom that she had never enjoyed before. The now-defunct Collier’s  magazine noted in 1947: “One of her major joys was to get dirt under her nails and grease stains in her hands, and display these signs of labor [sic] to her friends.”

There were concessions, however: she ate the majority of her meals in the officer’s mess hall, rather than with the other enlistees, and each night was driven home to Windsor Castle rather than living on site.

The press loved her involvement

Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth of Great Britain doing technical repair work during her World War Two military service, 1944.

Image Credit: World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Elizabeth became known as ‘Princess Auto Mechanic’. Her enlistment made headlines across the world, and she was praised for her efforts. Though they had initially been wary of their daughter joining up, Elizabeth’s parents were extremely proud of their daughter and visited her unit in 1945 along with Margaret and a swathe of photographers and journalists.

Elizabeth was still a serving member of the Women’s Auxiliary Territory Service by the time Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945 . Elizabeth and Margaret famously secretly left the palace to join the revellers celebrating in London, and though they were terrified of being recognised, enjoyed being swept away with the joyous crowd.

Her military service ended with Japan’s surrender later that year.

It helped foster her sense of duty and service

The young royal went on her first overseas tour in 1947 with her parents through southern Africa. While on tour, she made a broadcast to the British Commonwealth on her 21st birthday. In her broadcast, she made a speech written by Dermot Morrah, a journalist for The Times , stating, “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.”

This was notable since her father King George VI’s  health was, by then, deteriorating. It was becoming increasingly clear that Elizabeth’s experience in the Auxiliary Territory Service was going to prove useful more quickly than anyone in the family had anticipated, and on 6 February 1952, her father died and a 25-year-old Elizabeth became Queen .

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