00:03:00When Princess Elizabeth is born, there is no concept within her family that she will ever one day become monarch. That's just not the way it was planned for her.
00:03:10Her father is the spare, not the heir. The succession is with the glamorous Prince of Wales, her uncle.
00:03:24And she will spend her life as a charming royal accessory.
00:03:31I think there was almost a deliberate attempt not to spoil her. And that she shouldn't be, you know, living in a gilded cage.
00:03:43Her parents are very insistent that this little girl's life should be fun.
00:03:54Elizabeth is four years old when her sister Margaret is born.
00:04:06Her father loved the idea that he wasn't destined to be king.
00:04:21And that he could enjoy with his wife and his wife and his two little daughters, a family life.
00:04:29The Duke of York would play with them every day, play hide and seek, play games outside.
00:04:39There'd be mourning silliness, throwing pillows, giggling.
00:04:51It was a very loving household and a very loving upbringing.
00:04:55There are whispers in the family that things are not going well.
00:05:16Elizabeth's dynamic, attractive uncle, the new educator,
00:05:25who's been married with the Eighth.
00:05:26He's picked up yet another of these divorcees, American, in fact, divorcees.
00:05:32This one is called Mrs. Wallis Simpson.
00:05:35Her husband is still not just alive, but married to her.
00:05:44And he insists on parading her as his partner.
00:05:55C'est ma opinion de la king, c'est qu'il y a un bon chap, c'est de la classe, c'est ma opinion de lui.
00:06:03Le king est un homme comme lui, mais il ne doit pas l'honneur d'un public.
00:06:11Aparte de l'honneur de l'honneur, il n'a jamais été dans le divorce court.
00:06:15Dans ma pensée, elle a reçu de la queen de l'England.
00:06:18In the eyes of 30s, God-fearing, church-going Britain, he's a sinner.
00:06:26Here is the supreme governor of the Church of England, and he's clearly in breach of the teachings of the Church of England.
00:06:32And that's just, that's not on in the 30s.
00:06:43Edward VIII has to choose between love or duty.
00:06:46Confronted by the dilemma of wanting to stay with the woman he loves,
00:06:52or giving up the throne for which he's trained all his life, which is his destiny.
00:06:59A few hours ago,
00:07:16I discharged my last duty
00:07:21as king and emperor.
00:07:23The abdication had an enormously profound impact, both on the nation and the monarchy.
00:07:46It rocked both.
00:07:52This was the first time in British history that any king had abdicated.
00:07:56Elizabeth experiences this through the pain of her parents.
00:08:06Elizabeth experiences this through the pain of her parents.
00:08:10It was something that her father really didn't want.
00:08:14He really didn't want to become king.
00:08:16When he realizes that it's going to happen,
00:08:20he goes and sees his rather formidable mother, Queen Mary,
00:08:24and he cries on her shoulder for half an hour.
00:08:27What Elizabeth's uncle, the king, had done was allow love to take priority over duty.
00:08:36He'd done something in Elizabeth's view which was really immoral.
00:08:41This all matures her.
00:08:52It gives her this gravitas, this weight, that marks her entire life after that.
00:08:59The eyes of the world were focused on London,
00:09:12as George VI rode to Westminster Abbey to be crowned king of England.
00:09:18It was really important to have a king who could restore some of the things
00:09:26that the monarchy had lost as a result of the abdication.
00:09:34I dare pretend that you, King George, you're abducted king.
00:09:39As she sees the crown land on her father's head,
00:09:54she knew that this lay ahead for her as well.
00:10:03This girl, not yet in her teens, is now an heir to the throne.
00:10:09And experiencing the radiation of affection, adoration, curiosity
00:10:19from all those hundreds of thousands of people out there.
00:10:29This is going to be her future life.
00:10:39Then came the war.
00:10:47The king had a sad and weary task to perform.
00:10:51Wherever his people suffered, he came.
00:10:54And by his presence brought comfort and assurance in their ordeal.
00:10:58Bombs fell on Buckingham Palace.
00:11:06Here Buckingham Palace and the swimming pool of the little princesses are shambled.
00:11:10The king's actually in Buckingham Palace with the queen and they see these bombs start to land.
00:11:20They see two bombs come right down below their window and they make a dash for the door.
00:11:25And as he writes, you know, he's just amazed that they weren't both killed.
00:11:28The immediate effect of the war for Elizabeth is the same in one sense as so many other young people living in London.
00:11:45They are evacuated.
00:11:46They spent most of their time at Royal Lodge in Winter Park.
00:11:56I think they were educated with the governess and I don't think they went to London very much at all.
00:12:09It's a great opportunity for her personally to move beyond the schoolroom.
00:12:17To actually do something serious.
00:12:26Princess in overalls, on her 19th birthday, the heiress presumptive to England's throne, learns a few facts about tyres and carburetors.
00:12:35Elizabeth joined up with something called the ATS, the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
00:12:47Well, it was part of the war effort and also part of learning, I think, you know.
00:12:56Learning about the insides of motor cars.
00:13:01Now, visited by her parents and sister Margaret Rose at a training station in southern England,
00:13:07she shows them she knows a fan belt from a spark plug all right and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.
00:13:13And it also provides the first evidence of any rift with her father because her father, the king, wants to keep her at home.
00:13:23And there was a tiff disagreement between them.
00:13:32That really does tell her something about her character, about her really strong sense of duty.
00:13:40If she knows or believes that something she wants to do is right, she will do it. She has great determination.
00:13:45Right at the beginning of the war, she's introduced to young Philip Mountbatten.
00:14:03She met him and really liked him when she was 13, that day at Dartmouth Royal Naval College.
00:14:13He's a naval cadet and he really impresses her.
00:14:16As the Royal Yacht leaves at the end of the day, he's in a little rowing boat following it.
00:14:17And there's a group of them, but he's the last to follow it.
00:14:19And the king says,
00:14:20You're a damned fool.
00:14:22What's this?
00:14:24But she makes a very powerful move.
00:14:30And he says,
00:14:34And there's a group of them, but he's the last to follow it.
00:14:38And the king says, you're a damned fool.
00:14:39à la fin de la fin de la fin, il est en un petit bateau en suivant,
00:14:43et il y a des groupes, mais il est le dernier à suivre.
00:14:46Et le king dit, « Vous êtes un fou ! »
00:14:48Mais il fait une impression très forte sur elle.
00:14:56Elle est un peu starstruck par lui, parce qu'il est différent,
00:14:58et qu'il est inquiré, et qu'il est fun.
00:15:06Et il est incroyable et très bien-looking.
00:15:09Donc, elle est complètement boulée par lui, et c'est un instant.
00:15:18Quand il est, vous savez, à la sea,
00:15:20il y a des correspondents, et il y a des lettres,
00:15:22et il y a des lettres exchanged entre les deux.
00:15:25Il y a cette merveille,
00:15:27une autre chose de courtship,
00:15:30qui commence avec une très forte friendship, et développe.
00:15:33C'est ce qui se passe.
00:15:38Une fois que la guerre s'est terminée,
00:15:40ils commencent à voir un peu beaucoup.
00:15:44Et elle décide qu'elle veut marrer Philippe.
00:15:47Deux, le Crayon, et la Queen,
00:16:03La question de qui Elisabeth va se marrer n'est pas simple.
00:16:09Je veux dire, oui, c'est supposed de involve de l'amour,
00:16:13mais aussi, comme la famille a vu,
00:16:16trop de l'amour peut cause beaucoup de trouble.
00:16:33...
00:16:52C'était très significatif, la tour du Sud.
00:16:54C'était la première fois qu'elle a quitté le pays.
00:16:58Et ce n'était pas vraiment un holiday, mais c'était trois mois,
00:17:01et c'était une période très significative dans sa vie.
00:17:11Elle semble devenir une personne différente sur ce ship.
00:17:20C'est la libération, quelquefois,
00:17:22qui vient de la guerre de la Bretagne, la vie de la palais.
00:17:31Mais c'est aussi sa députée,
00:17:35sa venue, si vous voulez,
00:17:37comme une personne publique.
00:17:39Vous avez un grand territoire,
00:17:41un grand pays waiting pour être développé.
