Princess Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret make a broadcast to children of the Commonwealth on 10 October 1940, more than a year into the Second World War. “When peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place,” said Elizabeth, in what was her first public speech.
Princess Elizabeth makes her first public appearance following the announcement of her engagement to Philip Mountbatten at Buckingham Palace on 10 July 1947. The couple first met in 1934 when Elizabeth was eight and Philip 13, at the wedding of the Duke of Kent. They met again in 1939 when Elizabeth was smitten by the 18-year-old Philip.
The Queen and Prince Philip visit a farm on the Balmoral estate in Scotland to mark their silver wedding anniversary in September 1972. “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know,” said the Queen about her husband in 1997.
The Queen and her then daughter-in-law Diana, the Princess of Wales, attend the opening of Parliament in November 1982. After Diana’s death in 1997, the Queen described her as “an exceptional and gifted human being” who “never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness”.
The Queen shares a giggle with her granddaughter-in-law Meghan Markle during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on 14 June 2018 in Cheshire, England. This was Markle’s first engagement with the Queen, which took place one month after the American actress married Prince Harry in Windsor.
