Elizabeth II

== Heir presumptive ==

During her grandfather's reign, Elizabeth was third in the [[line of succession to the British throne]], behind her uncle [[Edward VIII|Edward, Prince of Wales]], and her father. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as Edward was still young and likely to marry and have children of his own, who would precede Elizabeth in the line of succession.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Bond|2006|1p=8|Lacey|2002|2p=76|Pimlott|2001|3p=3}} When [[Death and state funeral of George V|her grandfather died]] in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward&nbsp;VIII, she became second in line to the throne, after her father. Later that year, [[Abdication of Edward VIII|Edward abdicated]], after his proposed marriage to divorced American socialite [[Wallis Simpson]] provoked a [[constitutional crisis]].{{Sfn|ps=none|Lacey|2002|pp=97–98}} Consequently, Elizabeth's father became king, taking the [[regnal name]] George&nbsp;VI. Since Elizabeth had no brothers, she became [[heir presumptive]]. If her parents had subsequently had a son, he would have been [[heir apparent]] and above her in the line of succession, which was determined by the [[male-preference primogeniture]] in effect at the time.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Marr|2011|1pp=78, 85|Pimlott|2001|2pp=71–73}}

Elizabeth received private tuition in [[constitutional history]] from [[Henry Marten (educator)|Henry Marten]], [[List of provosts of Eton College|Vice-Provost]] of [[Eton College]],{{Sfnm|ps=none|Brandreth|2004|1p=124|Crawford|1950|2p=85|Lacey|2002|3p=112|Marr|2011|4p=88|Pimlott|2001|5p=51|Shawcross|2002|6p=25}} and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses.<ref name="Edu">{{Cite web |date=29 December 2015 |title=Her Majesty The Queen: Early life and education |url=https://www.royal.uk/her-majesty-the-queen?ch=5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507231247/https://www.royal.uk/her-majesty-the-queen?ch=5 |archive-date=7 May 2016 |access-date=18 April 2016 |publisher=Royal Household |mode=cs2}}</ref> A [[Girl Guides]] company, the [[1st Buckingham Palace Company]], was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her age.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Marr|2011|1p=84|Pimlott|2001|2p=47}} Later, she was enrolled as a [[Ranger (Girl Guide)|Sea Ranger]].<ref name="Edu" />

In 1939, Elizabeth's parents [[1939 royal tour of Canada|toured Canada]] and the United States. As in 1927, when they had [[Royal tours of Australia|toured Australia]] and [[Royal visits to New Zealand#1951–2000|New Zealand]], Elizabeth remained in Britain since her father thought she was too young to undertake public tours.{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|p=54}} She "looked tearful" as her parents departed.{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|p=55}} They corresponded regularly,{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|p=55}} and she and her parents made the first royal [[transatlantic telephone]] call on 18&nbsp;May.{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|p=54}}

=== Second World War ===
[[File:Hrh Princess Elizabeth in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, April 1945 TR2832.jpg|thumb|right|In [[Auxiliary Territorial Service]] uniform, April 1945]]
In September 1939, [[United Kingdom declaration of war on Germany (1939)|Britain entered the Second World War]]. [[Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham|Lord Hailsham]] suggested that Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret should be [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated]] to Canada to avoid the frequent [[Aerial bombing of cities|aerial bombings]] of London by the ''[[Luftwaffe]]''.{{Sfn|ps=none|Warwick|2002|page=102}} This was rejected by their mother, who declared, "The children won't go without me. I won't leave without the King. And the King will never leave."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodey |first=Emma |date=21 December 2015 |title=Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother |url=https://www.royal.uk/queen-elizabeth-queen-mother |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507183311/https://www.royal.uk/queen-elizabeth-queen-mother |archive-date=7 May 2016 |access-date=18 April 2016 |work=The Royal Family |publisher=Royal Household |mode=cs2}}</ref> The princesses stayed at [[Balmoral Castle]], Scotland, until Christmas 1939, when they moved to [[Sandringham House]], Norfolk.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Crawford|1950|1pp=104–114|Pimlott|2001|2pp=56–57}} 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.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Crawford|1950|1pp=114–119|Pimlott|2001|2p=57}} At Windsor, the princesses staged [[pantomime]]s at Christmas in aid of the Queen's Wool Fund, which bought [[yarn]] to knit into military garments.{{Sfn|ps=none|Crawford|1950|pp=137–141}} 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.<ref name="CH">{{Cite web |date=13 October 1940 |title=Children's Hour: Princess Elizabeth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/childrens-hour--princess-elizabeth/z7wm92p |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127053143/https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/childrens-hour--princess-elizabeth/z7wm92p |archive-date=27 November 2019 |access-date=22 July 2009 |website=BBC Archive |mode=cs2}}</ref> 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."<ref name="CH" />

In 1943, Elizabeth undertook her first solo public appearance on a visit to the [[Grenadier Guards]], of which she had been appointed [[colonel]] the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Early public life |url=https://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/Publiclife/EarlyPublicLife/Earlypubliclife.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328170101/https://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/Publiclife/EarlyPublicLife/Earlypubliclife.aspx |archive-date=28 March 2010 |access-date=20 April 2010 |publisher=Royal Household |mode=cs2}}</ref> 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.{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|p=71}} In February 1945, she was appointed an honorary [[Auxiliary Territorial Service#Ranks|second subaltern]] in the Auxiliary Territorial Service with the [[service number]] 230873.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=36973 |date=6 March 1945 |page=1315 |supp=y |nolink=y |mode=cs2}}</ref> She trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander (female equivalent of [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] at the time) five months later.<ref>{{Multiref|{{Harvnb|Bradford|2012|p=45}}; {{Harvnb|Lacey|2002|pp=136–137}}; {{Harvnb|Marr|2011|p=100}}; {{Harvnb|Pimlott|2001|p=75}}; | {{London Gazette |issue=37205 |date=31 July 1945 |page=3972 |supp=y |nolink=y |mode=cs2 |ref=none}} }}</ref>

[[File:Special Film Project 186 - Buckingham Palace 2.jpg|thumb|Elizabeth (far left) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with her family and Winston Churchill, [[8&nbsp;May 1945]]]]
At the end of the war in Europe, on [[Victory in Europe Day]], Elizabeth and Margaret mingled incognito with the celebrating crowds in the streets of London. In 1985 Elizabeth recalled in a rare interview, "...&nbsp;we asked my parents if we could go out and see for ourselves. I remember we were terrified of being recognised&nbsp;... 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."{{Sfnm|ps=none|Bond|2006|1p=10|Pimlott|2001|2p=79}}<ref>{{Multiref|{{Cite interview |interviewer=[[Godfrey Talbot]] |title=The Queen Remembers VE Day 1945 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2rAYE7K-o |access-date=4 April 2024 |work=The Way We Were |publisher=[[BBC Radio 4]] |via=YouTube |date=8 May 1985 |mode=cs2}}; | {{BBC Genome prog|50ae7646017f471ab1dd365d82bc35fa|The Way We Were}} }}</ref>

During the war, plans were drawn 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 several reasons, including fear of associating Elizabeth with [[conscientious objector]]s in the Urdd at a time when Britain was at war.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 March 2005 |title=Royal plans to beat nationalism |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4329001.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208181209/https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4329001.stm |archive-date=8 February 2012 |access-date=15 June 2010 |work=BBC News |mode=cs2}}</ref> Welsh politicians suggested 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.{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|pp=71–73}} In 1946, she was inducted into [[Gorsedd Cymru|the Gorsedd of Bards]] at the [[National Eisteddfod of Wales]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gorsedd of the Bards |url=https://www.museumwales.ac.uk/911 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518203811/https://www.museumwales.ac.uk/911 |archive-date=18 May 2014 |access-date=17 December 2009 |publisher=National Museum of Wales |mode=cs2}}</ref>

Elizabeth went on her first overseas tour in 1947, accompanying her parents through southern Africa. During the tour, in [[21st birthday speech of Princess Elizabeth|a broadcast]] to the [[British Commonwealth]] on her 21st birthday, she made the following pledge: 

{{blockquote|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. But I shall not have strength to carry out this resolution alone unless you join in it with me, as I now invite you to do: I know that your support will be unfailingly given. God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fisher |first=Connie |date=20 April 1947 |title=A speech by the Queen on her 21st birthday |url=https://www.royal.uk/21st-birthday-speech-21-april-1947 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103191402/https://www.royal.uk/21st-birthday-speech-21-april-1947 |archive-date=3 January 2017 |access-date=18 April 2016 |work=The Royal Family |publisher=Royal Household |mode=cs2}}</ref>{{Efn|The oft-quoted speech was written by [[Dermot Morrah]], a journalist for ''[[The Times]]''.<ref name="Oldie">{{Cite web |last=Utley |first=Charles |date=June 2017 |title=My grandfather wrote the Princess's speech |url=https://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/my-grandfather-wrote-the-princesss-speech |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531074419/https://www.theoldie.co.uk/article/my-grandfather-wrote-the-princesss-speech |archive-date=31 May 2022 |access-date=8 September 2022 |website=The Oldie |mode=cs2}}</ref>}}}}

=== Marriage ===
{{Main|Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten}}
Elizabeth met her future husband, [[Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark]], in 1934 and again in 1937.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Brandreth|2004|1pp=132–139|Lacey|2002|2pp=124–125|Pimlott|2001|3p=86}} They were [[Cousin#Cousin chart|second cousins once removed]] through [[King Christian&nbsp;IX of Denmark]] and third cousins through [[Queen Victoria]]. After meeting for the third time at the [[Britannia Royal Naval College|Royal Naval College]] in [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]] in July 1939, Elizabeth—though only 13 years old—said she fell in love with Philip, who was 18, and they began to exchange letters.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Bond|2006|1p=10|Brandreth|2004|2pp=132–136, 166–169|Lacey|2002|3pp=119, 126, 135}} She was 21 when their engagement was officially announced on 9&nbsp;July 1947.{{Sfn|ps=none|Heald|2007|p=77}}

The engagement attracted some controversy. Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a [[British subject]] who had served in the [[Royal Navy]] throughout the Second World War), and had sisters who had married German noblemen with [[Nazi]] links.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Phil |date=31 October 2000 |title=The Real Prince Philip |url=https://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/prince_philip_t.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209095416/https://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/prince_philip_t.html |archive-date=9 February 2010 |access-date=23 September 2009 |publisher=[[Channel 4]] |mode=cs2}}</ref> Marion Crawford wrote, "Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin."{{Sfn|ps=none|Crawford|1950|p=180}} Later biographies reported that Elizabeth's mother had reservations about the union initially and teased Philip as "[[Hun (pejorative)|the Hun]]".<ref>{{Multiref|{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Caroline |date=20 April 2006 |title=Philip, the one constant through her life |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1400208/Philip-the-one-constant-through-her-life.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220109050110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1400208/Philip-the-one-constant-through-her-life.html |archive-date=9 January 2022 |access-date=23 September 2009 |work=The Telegraph |location=London |ref=none |mode=cs2}};{{Cbignore}} | {{Harvnb|Brandreth|2004|p=314}}}}</ref> In later life, however, she told the biographer [[Tim Heald]] that Philip was "an English gentleman".{{Sfn|ps=none|Heald|2007|p=xviii}}

[[File:Huwelijk Prinses Elisabeth, Bestanddeelnr 902-4693 (cropped).jpg|thumb|At Buckingham Palace with Philip after their wedding, 1947]]
Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, officially converted from [[Greek Orthodoxy]] to [[Anglicanism]], and adopted the style ''Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten'', taking [[Mountbatten family|the surname of his mother's British family]].{{Sfnm|ps=none|Hoey|2002|1pp=55–56|Pimlott|2001|2pp=101, 137}} Shortly before the wedding, he was created [[Duke of Edinburgh]] and granted the style ''His Royal Highness''.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=38128 |date=21 November 1947 |page=5495 |nolink=y |mode=cs2}}</ref> Elizabeth and Philip were married on 20&nbsp;November 1947 at [[Westminster Abbey]]. They received 2,500 wedding gifts from around the world.<ref name="news1">{{Cite web |date=18 November 2007 |title=60 Diamond Wedding anniversary facts |url=https://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Factfiles/60diamondweddinganniversaryfacts.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203033258/https://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Factfiles/60diamondweddinganniversaryfacts.aspx |archive-date=3 December 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |publisher=Royal Household |mode=cs2}}</ref> Elizabeth required [[Rationing in the United Kingdom|ration coupons]] to buy the material for [[Wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom|her gown]] (which was designed by [[Norman Hartnell]]) because Britain had not yet completely recovered from the devastation of the war.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Hoey|2002|1p=58|Pimlott|2001|2pp=133–134}} In [[Post-war Britain (1945–1979)|post-war Britain]], it was not acceptable for Philip's German relations, including his three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Hoey|2002|1p=59|Petropoulos|2006|2p=363}} Neither was an invitation extended to the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward&nbsp;VIII.{{Sfn|ps=none|Bradford|2012|p=61}}

Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, [[Prince Charles]], in November 1948. One month earlier, the King had issued [[Letters patent (United Kingdom)|letters patent]] allowing her children to use the style and title of a royal prince or princess, to which they otherwise would not have been entitled as their father was no longer a royal prince.<ref>{{Multiref|Letters Patent, 22&nbsp;October 1948; | {{Harvnb|Hoey|2002|pp=69–70}}; {{Harvnb|Pimlott|2001|pp=155–156}}}}</ref> A second child, [[Princess Anne]], was born in August 1950.{{Sfn|ps=none|Pimlott|2001|p=163}}

Following their wedding, the couple leased [[Windlesham Moor]], near Windsor Castle, until July 1949,<ref name="news1" /> when they took up residence at [[Clarence House]] in London. At various times between 1949 and 1951, Philip was stationed in the British [[Crown Colony of Malta]] as a serving Royal Navy officer. He and Elizabeth lived intermittently in Malta for several months at a time in the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of [[Gwardamanġa]], at [[Villa Guardamangia]], the rented home of Philip's uncle [[Lord Mountbatten]]. Their two children remained in Britain.{{Sfnm|ps=none|Brandreth|2004|1pp=226–238|Pimlott|2001|2pp=145, 159–163, 167}}