Lilibet. It’s a name that became a bit of a lightning rod in recent years, but back in the late 1920s, it was just the sound of a toddler who couldn't quite wrap her tongue around "Elizabeth." Most people picture the late Queen as this eternal grandmother figure, a stoic fixture of the 20th century. But Queen Elizabeth as a child wasn't actually supposed to be the Queen. That’s the thing people forget. She was the "spare" to the spare, basically living a relatively quiet life in a big house at 145 Piccadilly.
No one was bowing to her in the cradle.
Her early years were defined by a weird mix of extreme privilege and a surprisingly "middle-class" royal upbringing—if you can even call it that. Her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, wasn't a fan of the stuffy, rigid Victorian parenting that had messed up her husband, the future George VI. She wanted her girls to be happy. Normal-ish. She was a blonde, curly-haired kid who loved dogs and ponies more than most people love their own relatives.
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The "Accidental" Heir and the 145 Piccadilly Days
She was born by C-section at 2:40 AM on April 21, 1926. It wasn't at a palace. It was at her maternal grandparents' house in Mayfair. Think about that for a second. If you walked past that spot today, there’s a plaque, but back then it was just a high-end townhouse.
The Duke and Duchess of York were the "B-list" royals at the time. Her uncle David (Edward VIII) was the superstar. He was the one everyone expected to marry and have kids. Elizabeth was just a niece. Because of that, her childhood was remarkably private for a few years. She played in Hamilton Gardens. She had a nanny, Clara Knight—affectionately called "Alla"—who was a total stickler for routine.
Everything was scheduled.
Everything had its place.
This is where that famous "orderliness" started. There’s a story from her governess, Marion Crawford (the famous "Crawfie"), about how Elizabeth would get out of bed in the middle of the night just to make sure her shoes were lined up perfectly. Or how she’d obsessively fold her clothes. It wasn't just "being a good kid." It was a deep-seated need for control and order that stayed with her for 96 years.
A Curriculum of History and Horses
Let’s talk about her education because it was, frankly, a bit thin by modern standards. She didn't go to school. No classrooms, no bullying, no lunch trays. She was homeschooled by Crawfie and various tutors. Her mother didn't really care about her being an academic. The Duchess of York wanted her daughters to have "happy, short lives" (meaning, basically, getting married and being socialites).
They focused on:
- Reading and writing (lots of it).
- French (she became fluent).
- Bible studies.
- Music and dancing.
But once the Abdication Crisis hit in 1936, the vibe shifted. Suddenly, she was the heir presumptive. Her father was King, and she was the next in line. Her education got a serious upgrade. She started taking lessons in Constitutional History from Henry Marten, the Vice-Provost of Eton College. He used to chew on his handkerchief while he taught her. He’d come to the palace, and they’d pore over the nuts and bolts of how the British government actually functions.
It was a massive weight for a ten-year-old. Imagine being ten and having a professor from Eton tell you that one day, you’ll be the "fount of justice."
Why the Corgis Weren't Just a "Phase"
You can't talk about Queen Elizabeth as a child without mentioning the dogs. It started with Dookie. Her father brought home a Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgi in 1933. She was seven. Most kids want a puppy, but for Elizabeth, these dogs were her primary social circle. Since she wasn't around other kids much, the dogs were her peers.
She treated them like people. Honestly, she probably preferred them to most people.
By the time she was eighteen, she got Susan—the dog that basically started the dynasty of royal corgis. She even took Susan on her honeymoon later in life. But as a kid, the dogs were her escape from the stifling formality of the York household. They were messy, they didn't care about protocols, and they bit the occasional footman. She loved that.
Life at Royal Lodge and the "Girl Guides"
The family moved into Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park when she was five. This was their weekend retreat. This is where the "Y Bwthyn Bach" (The Little Cottage) was. It was a miniature thatched house given to her by the people of Wales for her sixth birthday. It had electricity and running water.
It was a kid’s dream, but it was also a training ground. She’d play "house," but she’d do it with the intensity of a drill sergeant.
Her mother realized the girls were too isolated, so they started a special Girl Guides troop—the 1st Buckingham Palace Company. It wasn't exactly like a normal troop. It was made up of daughters of palace employees and aristocrats. They’d do typical Guide stuff: camping (sort of), tying knots, and learning first aid. It gave her a tiny taste of what it was like to be "one of the girls," even if they all had to call her "Ma'am" or "Princess."
The War That Changed Everything
When World War II broke out in 1939, Elizabeth was 13. This is the period where she really grew up. While other kids were being evacuated to Canada or the US, the King and Queen refused to send Elizabeth and Margaret away. "The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave," her mother famously said.
They spent most of the war at Windsor Castle.
It wasn't glamorous. It was cold. They used the dungeons as air-raid shelters. Elizabeth spent her mid-teens under the constant threat of Nazi bombardment.
The 1940 Radio Broadcast
On October 13, 1940, a 14-year-old Elizabeth sat in front of a microphone for Children's Hour. She was speaking to the thousands of children who had been evacuated. Her voice was high, slightly shaky, but remarkably poised.
"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," she said.
She ended with "Goodnight, and good luck to you all." It was a PR masterstroke, but for her, it was the first time she realized her voice had the power to calm a nation. She wasn't just a child anymore; she was a symbol.
The Mechanic Princess: The ATS Years
By the time she turned 18 in 1944, she was itching to do something. She didn't want to just sit in Windsor and knit socks for soldiers. She joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).
This is where the real "human" Elizabeth comes out. She learned to:
- Drive heavy trucks.
- Change spark plugs.
- Rebuild engines.
- Read maps.
She was "No. 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor." Her parents actually came to visit her at the training center, and she made sure they saw her with grease on her face. She loved the dirt. She loved the manual labor. It was the only time in her entire life she was truly treated (mostly) like everyone else. She’d come home to the palace at night, but during the day, she was just another mechanic under a truck.
Misconceptions: Was She a "Lonely" Child?
Biographers like Ben Pimlott and Robert Lacey have debated this for decades. Was she lonely? Probably. She had Margaret, sure, but they were very different. Margaret was the rebel, the "fun" one. Elizabeth was the "responsible" one.
Crawfie once mentioned that Elizabeth would often watch from the windows as other children played in the park. She was an observer. She was groomed from age ten to be a figurehead, which means she had to learn to suppress her own personality very early. That’s a heavy trade-off for a crown.
But "lonely" doesn't mean "unhappy." She had a very tight-knit family unit—The King called them "We Four." They were obsessed with each other. That domestic bubble protected her, but it also meant she struggled to relate to the "real world" later on.
Actionable Insights: Lessons from a Royal Childhood
Even if you aren't living in a palace, there are a few "Elizabethan" traits from her youth that are actually pretty useful:
- The Power of Routine: Her childhood obsession with order became her greatest strength as a monarch. Routine reduces decision fatigue. If you're overwhelmed, try the "shoes in a row" approach—get the small things in order first.
- Skill Acquisition over Status: She could have just been a figurehead during the war, but she chose to learn a hard skill (auto mechanics). Learning how things work "under the hood" builds genuine confidence that titles can't provide.
- The "Lilibet" Filter: She was famously thrifty, even as a kid. She’d save wrapping paper and ribbons. In a world of "disposable everything," adopting a bit of that wartime frugality can change your perspective on value.
- Controlled Communication: Look at her 1940 broadcast. She spoke to her peers, not at them. Whether you're leading a team or talking to your kids, empathy-led communication wins every time.
If you want to dive deeper into this specific era, I highly recommend tracking down a copy of The Little Princesses by Marion Crawford. It was a huge scandal when it was published in 1950 because it broke the "royal silence," but it's the most intimate look at Queen Elizabeth as a child you’ll ever find. It shows the girl before the crown—the one who just wanted to be a country lady living in a house with lots of dogs.
Next, you might want to look into the archival footage of the 1947 Royal Tour of South Africa. It was her 21st birthday, and you can see the exact moment the child officially became the public servant she would remain for the next seven decades.