A Brief History of the House of Windsor by Michael Paterson

Author:Michael Paterson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780338040
Publisher: Constable & Robinson

5

ELIZABETH II, 1952–PRESENT

‘Voluntary change is the life-blood of the Crown.’

Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth II is within a few years of becoming the longest-reigning monarch in British history. The daughter of a long-lived mother (who was almost 102 when she died), she may well continue to rule for some time yet. Her presence has dominated almost the entire post-war era in Britain, so that to many of her subjects the notion of the country without Queen Elizabeth at its head is difficult to grasp.

She came to the throne, suddenly and largely unexpectedly, in the late winter of 1952. She was twenty-five, the wife of a serving naval officer and the mother of two very young children. In the decades since then, British society has undergone massive changes, yet she has remained astonishingly consistent in outlook, tastes and habits throughout that time. She may seem like a gentle old lady, and she is, but the firmness of her views is legendary and there are within her qualities of self-discipline, determination and devotion to duty that match any of her predecessors’. Because she has been by far the longest-serving sovereign of the House of Windsor, it may well be her reign, and her personality, that will come to dominate its history.

Christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, she was named after three generations of her female ancestors, not quite in reverse chronological order. Elizabeth was her mother, Alexandra her great-grandmother and Mary her grandmother. Like so many successful monarchs, she came to the throne by accident of circumstances. When she was born, on 21 April 1926, her father was the Duke of York and second in line to the throne. His elder brother was young, athletic, vigorous and widely popular, especially with women. It was unthinkable that he would not marry, and highly likely that he would have children – indeed the pressure to do so would be overwhelming. It looked then as if Elizabeth’s future would go in one of two directions. The first possibility was that she would spend her life as a second-rank royal, a cousin of the immediate royal family. She would perhaps marry a member of the British aristocracy as her aunt had done (Princess Mary, her father’s sister, had become Viscountess Lascelles). Thereafter, if there were enough members of her uncle’s family to cover the necessary range of public duties, she would fade from sight to live a quiet life on her husband’s estates as a duchess or countess. Catching a glimpse of her now and again among the royals at some state event, people might ask: ‘Now, which one’s that?’

Alternatively, she might go abroad. Though as we have seen the age of dynastic marriages had ended, the princess would still have been considered a considerable catch by members of other royal houses. The First World War did not entirely bring an end to the Age of Kings. Parvenu sovereigns would have welcomed an alliance with a dynasty as ancient and prestigious as Britain’s, as would families who had lost their thrones.

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