Heiress presumptive

Early life

Elizabeth was the first child of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth. Her father was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Her mother was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. She was born by Caesarean section at 2.40 am (GMT) on 21 April 1926 at her maternal grandfather's London house: 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair.[1] She was baptised by the Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May,[2][note 2] and named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after George V's mother, who had died six months earlier, and Mary after her paternal grandmother.[3] Her close family called her "Lilibet".[4] George V cherished his granddaughter, and during his serious illness in 1929 her regular visits were credited in the popular press and by later biographers with raising his spirits and aiding his recovery.[5]

Elizabeth's only sibling, Princess Margaret, was four years younger. The two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as "Crawfie".[6] Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music.[7] To the dismay of the royal family,[8] in 1950 Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margaret's childhood years entitled The Little Princesses. The book describes Elizabeth's love of horses and dogs, her orderliness and her attitude of responsibility.[9] Others echoed such observations: Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as "a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant."[10] Her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as "a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved".[11]

Heiress presumptive

As a granddaughter of the monarch in the male line, Elizabeth's full style at birth was Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of York. She was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle, Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, as the Prince of Wales was still young and many assumed he would marry and have children of his own.[12] In 1936, when her grandfather, George V, died and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second in line to the throne after her father. Later that year, Edward abdicated after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis.[13] Elizabeth's father became king and she became heiress presumptive, with the style Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth.[14] If her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as heiress presumptive as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession.[15]

Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College,[16] and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses.[17] A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age.[18] Later she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.[17]

In 1939, Elizabeth's parents toured Canada and visited the United States. As in 1927, when her parents had toured Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth remained in Britain, as her father thought her too young to undertake public tours.[19] Elizabeth "looked tearful" as her parents departed.[20] They corresponded regularly and,[20] on 18 May, she and her parents made the first royal transatlantic telephone call.[19]

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