Page 8 - Great Elizabethans

HM Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning monarch in British history – but when she was born, nobody thought she would ever become Queen!
CAREFREE CHILDHOOD
On 21st April 1926, in a handsome house in Mayfair, London, a baby girl, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, was born to Prince Albert, Duke of York, and his wife, who was also called Elizabeth. This new princess was third in line to the throne, but no one thought she would ever grow up to be Queen. Her uncle, Edward, was going to be the next King – and if he had children, they would rule after him.
This meant that little Lilibet (as she was called) enjoyed a carefree childhood. She and
her younger sister Princess Margaret were taught at home by a governess. They had lessons in the morning and then games, singing and dancing in the afternoons. She liked to play in her nursery with toy horses, as well as riding real ones, and she loved dogs and other animals too – especially cows!
Princess Elizabeth was one of the few people in the Royal Family who wasn’t afraid of her stern, grumpy grandfather, King George V. She called him “Grandpa England”, and he adored her.
But when Princess Elizabeth was 10, her uncle, who was now King Edward VIII, decided he wanted to stop being King, and her father became King George VI in his place. It was a sudden and unexpected change for the whole family. They moved into Buckingham Palace, and Princess Elizabeth immediately began to have more lessons that would prepare her to become the Queen one day, after her father. She learned about law, royal etiquette and manners, and the history of government.
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