London, February. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Princess of York began to be educated about the duties and responsibilities of the throne even before she became its potential heir, thanks to the recovery of her father, the then Duke of York, as King George VI in December 1936. .

Elizabeth has been the most likely heir to the throne since her birth on April 21, 1926, when her grandfather George V was king. Edward’s uncle, then the Prince of Wales and now the Duke of Windsor, was first in line to the throne. He was then unmarried, and the entire royal family, as well as court circles, knew that he had no chance of becoming a father.

Thus, Princess Elizabeth was third in line to the throne after her father. When her sister, Princess Margaret Rose, was born in 1930, the chances of her one day becoming queen increased because her sister could not overtake her in the line of succession as a brother could. When, over the years, her parents had no children left, the future heiress became, according to popular belief, the true heiress.

These matters were of course not discussed publicly during Princess Elizabeth of York’s childhood, but she was apparently so high in the line of succession that they automatically became an official trait from the moment she was born. The prospect of England getting another Queen Elizabeth before she was strong enough to be mentioned in public excited friends of English tradition. Even the name of Queen Victoria, whom many modern English people knew during her lifetime, does not evoke as many memories of greatness, glory and legends as the name of Elizabeth. The princess’s mother, Elizabeth, also the Duchess of Kent, also became Queen Elizabeth in 1936, but it wasn’t exactly the same. She was a royal wife, consort of a king. Princess Elizabeth will become a real queen, with the same glory and the same majesty as the Elizabeth of the past, although without the political power of the queen of the days of Raleigh, Essex and Shakespeare.

From the moment her birth was announced by 41 cannon shots in Hyde Park and the Tower of London, and the relevant details were made public by the Home Office as the official birth witness, Princess Elizabeth has become the “favorite” of the nation.

Her mother, Queen Mother Mary, paid special attention to her upbringing. The little princess was taught to recite a French poem from the age of five. She also learned the secrets of the art of conversing with aristocratic courtesy with the guests of the court and always seem pleased with it, even when she was bored. The Queen Mother Mary accompanied her to the Royal Mint, the Bank of England, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the South Kensington Physics Museum, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the National Gallery.

Her mother also taught her the secrets of royal behavior during her public appearances. In other words, when does the royal person of Great Britain have to be majestic and democratic at the same time, maintain the kind of royal greatness that the British people want to see, and at the same time share the concerns and interests of the people without being overly indulgent? and condescendingly. These lessons began early and were combined with lessons in general conduct, temperance, and other virtues required of a man who must be both an immortal symbol and a human being.

Among the many anecdotes circulating about the princess and her mother is one about a theatrical performance during which the little princess insisted on looking straight from the royal gallery as if she were a normal child. The Queen Mother Mary threatened to send her home unless she sat down in her seat and behaved like a little lady. Princess Elizabeth put forward her position, I remarked:

I don’t want you to send me home!

Think that the whole world is waiting for me!

Queen Mary then asserted her superiority and immediately sent the child home.

When her father became king, Princess Elizabeth became the center of incessant publicity. Many magazines published her photo, entire books were written about her, and the little princess became the “spoiled child” of the public. The nickname “Lillibet”, which she was called as a child, gradually fell into disuse, as unsuitable for a future reborn. Her upbringing has now become a matter of state, like many of her other problems. But she didn’t always do what she was told.

The king, with the approval of the government, decided not to send her to school, but to entrust her education especially for her to a staff of teachers. Marion Crawford, a teacher from the age of 6, was her main teacher, but when the princess turned 12, other teachers were assigned to teach her history (her favorite subject), mathematics (not a very favorite), French (in which he excelled), literature and the complicated British Constitution.

During the Second World War, the king and the government considered the upbringing of the princess more interesting than the lack of military forces, but the princess had a different opinion. At the age of 18, she signed up for the national service, as all British citizens were then required to do, and soon persuaded her father to give her the honorary rank of non-commissioned officer in the auxiliary service.

Despite her status, the young princess went through the stage of royal training, like other recruits, and learned how to disassemble and assemble a hospital car engine, as well as drive a car. Upon graduation, she drove her car to London, where she arrived immediately after being notified of the government’s preventive decision.

Her marriage to Prince Philip on 20 November 1947 was, like everything else in the life of an English monarch, a public affair. For a whole month before the wedding, the British guy wondered if she loved him, if she wanted to marry him and if she would be allowed to do it. Prince Philip was sixth in line to the throne of Greece, an embarrassing situation as the government’s policy towards Greece at the time was the subject of intense political debate in Parliament.

No involvement of the royal family in anything related to politics was allowed. An old British tradition for monarchs and heirs is that they must marry royalty, but in modern times politics and a shortage of foreign thrones have made this impossible. Prince Philip eased the situation by formally abdicating the throne of Greece and becoming a British citizen. The princess’s father also contributed to the marriage, he named Philip the Duke of Edinburgh. The London press suggested that the two young people were in love with each other and that is why they got married.

The marriage ceremony brought some joy to Britain during its post-war poverty, and 300,000 people paid 1,500,000,000 drachmas to see the newlyweds’ gifts. This money was allocated for charitable purposes. The Duke of Edinburgh worked diligently to become popular, learned to wear a bowler hat, although he did not want to, and became an excellent public speaker.

Their first child, Prince Charles Arthur George of Edinburgh, was born on 14 November 1948 and is the first heir to the English throne after his mother. The second child, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise of Edinburgh, known as Princess Anne, was born on 15 August 1950 and follows her brother in the line of succession. Immediately after the two children comes Princess Margaret, Elizabeth’s younger sister.

April 1942. Princess Elizabeth speaks with her father, King George VI, in an office at Windsor Castle.

July 1946. Princess Elizabeth looks through her stamp collection at Buckingham Palace.

The article was published in a special issue of Kathimerini.