Queen Elizabeth II: A Childhood Life in Photos

By Stephen Castle and Mona Boshnaq 

LONDON – Born in 1926, eight years after the end of World War I, Elizabeth took her first steps in a world we know only from sepia photographs, in a country that had yet to see its first public television broadcast and that was in some ways still better. like 19th century than 21st.

More than nine decades later, she died as Britain's longest-serving monarch, leaving behind a very different nation to the one she inherited the throne at the age of 25 in 1952.

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Britain lost the last part of its empire, underwent a dizzying social transformation, experienced extraordinary technological progress and confusing political changes.

Only Britons well into their 70s remember the time before the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who remained a unique symbol of continuity and duty in a period of extraordinary upheaval. As head of state, her mainly ceremonial duties also included foreign tours and regular meetings with prime ministers from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss.

Respect for her kept the royal family in constant support despite its many problems. It also supported the unity of the United Kingdom at a time of growing pressure for Scottish independence and Irish reunification.

Here is a selection of images from this remarkable life.

Princess Elizabeth sleeping in royal christening robes in 1926 with her father, then Duke of York, and mother, then Elizabeth, Duchess of York.

On a platform at King's Cross Station, London, leaving for the Christmas holidays at Sandringham in 1929.

Riding at Windsor in 1936. Elizabeth's father was the second son of King George V; she was not in line for the throne until her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 and her father became King George VI.

Sitting on a garden bench with two dogs in 1936.