Elizabeth II, the apprenticeship of a princess (part 1)

When she was born on April 21, 1926 in London, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was not supposed to one day ascend the throne.

In this new episode of the Europe 1 Studio podcast "At the heart of history", Jean des Cars tells you about the pampered and carefree childhood of one who does not yet know that she will be queen of the United Kingdom. 

At age 9, the princess participates in her grandfather's silver jubilee

The year 1935 for Princess Elizabeth, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of York, is exceptional.

His grandfather, King George V, will lavishly celebrate his Silver Jubilee, that is to say his twenty-five years of reign at the head of the British Empire.

The sovereign had succeeded his father, the very popular Edward VII, in 1910. With his empire, he was one of the victors of the First World War, but at what price!

Four years of unprecedented, appalling conflict, with terrible loss of life. 

He understood the need for him and the reigning family to change the name of the dynasty in 1917: the patronymic of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, too German, was replaced by that of Windsor.

Public opinion approves it wholeheartedly.

George V trembled because all European empires were swept away by this war: the Russian Empire, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and even the Ottoman Empire.

Only the British Empire was maintained. 

But the economic difficulties following the war made George V fear a rise in communism which, among other things, led to the fall of the Romanov dynasty.

He is worried about the popularity of the royal family.

According to him, this Silver Jubilee is a test ... 

Her granddaughters, the children of her second son, the Duke of York, Elizabeth, 9, and her little sister Margaret Rose, 5, are very excited to be part of this important and rare event.

They will both be dressed in pink, hats included. 

On May 6, 1935, under a bright sun, they took their place with their parents in an uncovered pram which will be part of the procession going from Buckingham Palace to Saint Paul's Cathedral where a thanksgiving ceremony will be celebrated for the twenty-five years of reign of their grandfather.

It's a huge procession.

There are the coaches of the Prime Ministers of the Dominions, these territories associated with the empire like Canada and Australia, that of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Ramsay MacDonald, and then those of uncles and cousins: Uncle Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Uncle George, Duke of Kent, and his lovely wife Marina, and especially Uncle David, Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. 

The last coach is that of the sovereign, George V, in full uniform, and his wife, Queen Mary, sparkling with diamonds.

But the most important thing is that on the way there and back, throughout the journey, including in the poor districts of the East End, the King and Queen were acclaimed by the population.

George V was shocked.

He is reassured about the stability of the British monarchy.

The same evening, he will address the population, during a radio speech: "I can only say to you, my very dear people, that the Queen and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your loyalty and, dare I say it, for the love you have surrounded us on this day. "

As for the two little princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, they were dazzled by the procession, by the splendor of the ceremony at Saint-Paul and by the ritual appearance of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in front of the enthusiastic crowd.

Elizabeth is already used to this use: she had made her first "royal wave", the salute with her right hand, in her mother's arms, at the age of one ... She has already had a long practice !

Edouard and Albert two brothers who oppose everything

Princess Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926 in London, in the house of her maternal grandparents, Lord and Lady Strathmore, at 17 Bruton Street, in the very elegant district of Mayfair.

Her father is the Duke of York.

His name is Albert, but everyone nicknames him Bertie.

He is the second son of King George V and Queen Mary, he is 31 years old.

Her 18-month-old brother, Edward, is the Prince of Wales.

He has two other brothers, Henry, Duke of Gloucester and George, Duke of Kent.

He also has a sister, Mary.

Another brother, John, died in 1919 at the age of 14. 

The four brothers and their sister did not have a very warm childhood.

Their parents probably loved them but had some difficulty showing them their affection.

George V, very authoritarian, led them to the wand, for example advancing the clocks to put them late and be able to admonish them… Albert had a particularly perverse nurse who pinched him just before the opening of the living room door where he was going to find his parents.

He arrived in tears and was immediately sent back to the nursery!

Their parents took a long time to notice it ... 

Albert and his brother Edouard got along very well but there was a huge difference between them.

Edward, charming, attractive, was the heir to the throne and unquestionably the darling of Queen Mary, his mother.

His younger brother, shy, uncomfortable, had difficulty speaking.

And for several years, he suffered the torture of gutters to straighten his legs.

In short, Albert had a traumatic childhood.

During the war of 14, Edouard shines on the French front with great courage and undoubtedly unconsciousness.

He served in the Grenadiers de la Garde corps.

Albert served in the Navy and took part in the Battle of Jutland in 1917.

After the war, the Prince of Wales began to collect adventures, preferably with married women.

Albert, he met in 1920, during a ball, a Scottish aristocrat, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

He falls head over heels in love with her.

Elizabeth is brunette, petite, with very expressive blue eyes and above all a charm, a cheerfulness, a joie de vivre that makes her the queen of the London season.

All the young people of good society dream of marrying her.

Daughter of Lord and Lady Strathmore, she was born in Scotland, in the beautiful castle of Glamis, haunted, of course, by many ghosts including that, very Shakespearean, of Lady Macbeth ... 

It took perseverance for Bertie to win the one he was sure was the woman of his life.

She twice refused her marriage proposal and ended up accepting the third.

True, she loved him, but she had always led a happy, carefree and free life.

Also, she feared, by marrying a member of the royal family, to be locked in "a golden cage". 

Albert and Elizabeth were married on April 26, 1923 at Westminster Abbey.

This union does not arouse great popular enthusiasm.

There was still the inevitable appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

But the wedding the British are waiting for is that of the Prince of Wales, Edward, their future king. 

Three years after the wedding, the birth of Elizabeth fills them with joy.

Moreover, if she has this first name, it is not at all in tribute to Queen Elizabeth I, but to her mother.

At this time, little Elizabeth has very little chance of ever ascending the British throne ... 

The York family moved to 145 Piccadilly, in a large mansion overlooking Green Park.

The little princess is barely 9 months old when her parents have to be away on an official six-month trip to Australia and New Zealand.

The baby is in the care of his maternal grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary.

And there, a sort of miracle will occur: the sovereign, so distant with his own children, will literally melt with tenderness for his granddaughter.

He gets excited at the appearance of each new tooth and informs his son and daughter-in-law of every detail of his existence while they are away!

It was in June 1927, on the return of her parents, that Elizabeth made her first appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and made her first "royal wave" there.

On August 21, 1930, her mother gave birth to a second daughter, Margaret Rose, at Glamis Castle, Scotland.

George V is a little disappointed with the arrival of a new girl because the behavior of the heir to the crown worries him.

Edward then saw an almost official affair with Lady Furness, a rich American heiress, married to an English aristocrat.

For Him, still no marriage on the horizon, and therefore no possibility of heir.

The king begins to think that Elizabeth could have a royal destiny.

The little princess is obviously very far from these concerns.

Delighted to have a sister, she will immediately love her deeply and feel responsible for it.

An attitude that will never be denied, no matter what we have said or supposed much later ...

A childhood that structures the future queen 

The terrible crisis of 1929 pushes King George V to halve his civil list and that of all his children.

The Prince of Wales takes these restrictions very badly.

He is furious.

He has a habit of wasting a lot of money with his mistresses, his nightlife and his travels.

On the other hand, the Duke of York, passionate about hunting, gives up several estates he used to rent, and therefore his favorite sport. 

To thank his son for this sacrifice, and also for the York family to have a country house of their own, George V gives them the enjoyment of Royal Lodge, a neo-Gothic building in the grounds of Windsor Castle, close to that of the Prince of Wales, called Fort Belvédère.

Albert and his wife go there often, almost every weekend.

The Duchess decorates the house very tastefully and her daughter Elizabeth, whom everyone now calls Lilibeth (a little name given to her by her grandfather the king), is given a miniature cottage, a gift from Wales.

This little construction will be much more fun for Elizabeth and Margaret than a dollhouse.

They love it!

Lilibeth also discovered a sport that would quickly become her favorite: horse riding.

Her first pony, Peggy, is a gift from her grandfather.

It was King George V who passed on the passion for horses to his granddaughter.

When she was very young he would already take her for a walk in Sandringham Gardens and visit the stables where he introduced her to his favorite horses, Scuttle and Limelight.

We know that in Elizabeth II this passion, sealed from an early age, will be final.

She is a remarkable and recognized expert, owner of racing stables and even today, at the age of 94, the queen sometimes walks, calmly on horseback, accompanied by a squire, in the park of Windsor.

Another passion will be born at Royal Lodge, that of dogs.

Until 1933, Labrador was the favorite.

But that year, the Duke of York gave his daughter her first corgi.

A breed then very little known and not at all in fashion.

The princess is so interested in her "Dookie" that a female, Jane, will follow.

Another dynasty will be born: that of the dogs!

Until today, Elizabeth II has a passion for corgis.

This time, it was therefore her father who transmitted it to her.

He loves nature and animals.

Like him, Lilibeth will become a "countrywoman at heart".

Other traditions will punctuate the life of the princess: weekends at Royal Lodge, Easter holidays in Windsor with the king and queen, stays in Scotland, at Balmoral, from the beginning of August for the grouse hunt in early October, Christmas and New Years at the private residence in Sandringham.

Her parents' agenda is still that of the queen today, except this year, due to the restrictions imposed by the health situation linked to covid 19. 

Education under Queen Mary's control 

In the spring of 1932, a new character entered Lilibeth's life.

Her name is Marion Crawford.

She will be the governess of the two princesses until the end of the Second World War.

She is Scottish and an experienced and motivated educator.

Yet their daughters' studies were not the Duke and Duchess of York's primary concern.

He had hated this apprenticeship so much that he didn't want to inflict this nightmare on his daughters.

As for his wife, raised very freely by her mother, she was convinced that her daughters did not need too much intellectual education.

Marion Crawford, immediately christened Crawfie by the princesses, does her best to educate them, without upsetting their mother.

She decides to introduce them to the real life of the British people.

She organizes tours of London and its main monuments, takes them on the underground, a delicate exercise because the faces of the princesses are very well known, but they are always accompanied by security guards. 

Another person - and not the least - will also be concerned about their education: it is Queen Mary, their grandmother who teaches them the history of the United Kingdom, its dynasties and the empire, in particular of its geography.

She will have a great influence on her eldest granddaughter.

Lilibeth is very impressed by this corseted grandmother who hasn't changed her pre-war dress habits. The queen never shows her emotions publicly.

This behavior, Lilibeth will make of it a rule that she will apply all her life. 

This does not prevent the York family life from being fused.

Albert, his wife and two daughters share as much time as possible: lunch, walk, games.

Parents and their daughters adore each other and call each other "Us Four", "Us Four".

But this quartet will soon face a cataclysm ... 

Bibliographic resources: 

Sarah Bradford,

(Penguin Books new edition 2002)

William Shawcross,

(Pan Books, 2009)

Sarah Bradford,

(Penguins Books, 1989)

Jean des Cars,

(Perrin, 2018)

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"At the heart of history" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast

Author and presentation: Jean des Cars

Production, distribution and edition: Timothée Magot

Director: Matthieu Blaise

Graphics: Karelle Villais