Elizabeth II

=== 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>}}}}