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People Online Are Loving These 30 Rarely Seen Shots Of Queen Elizabeth II As A Young Woman
Now, the 8th of September, 2022 will go down in history as the day the world lost one of the most influential people - Queen Elizabeth II. Having in mind the number of people all around the world who were touched by this sad loss, there is no doubt that the 96-year-old monarch led an interesting and successful life. Even those who didn’t quite follow the Royal family know how important the Queen was not only because of her power, but also because of who she was as an individual. Soon after the news of her passing spread, tons of news segments, articles, and social media posts filled all realms of media in order to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s life. For most of us, Her Majesty is associated with colorful and modern royal attire that is often finished with an interesting-looking hat, a sincere smile, and a strong posture. To remember what the Queen looked like in her younger years, here is a list of photos that capture her over the course of time.
Which one of these pictures is your favorite? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
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This elegant photo is the first official photograph of Elizabeth after she became queen. She was 25. Her tiara was originally a wedding present from the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" to the woman who would later become Queen Mary. It was one of Elizabeth's favorites.
Those shoulder pads! This picture was taken in 1947 during a three-day break from official duties at Royal Natal National Park in South Africa.
This cheerful throwback photo appeared on the official Palace twitter account in 2015. Charles is about seven here, and Anne is about four. The Queen apparently had the comic timing we saw in the Paddington video even then, because the kids find her hilarious.
No identifying info here, so here goes: this is Elizabeth and her father, King George VI, in 1946. She's 20 years old here.
Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled the United Kingdom from the 6th of February,1952, is known as the longest reigning monarch in British history. She became the queen at the age of 25 and served her country for 70 years, celebrating her “Platinum Jubilee” in June 2022. Throughout her reign, 15 prime ministers have been appointed, the last one becoming Liz Truss, with whom she met a few days before her death. Her Majesty was known to be very interested in government life besides her traditional royal duties.
This was taken during a tour to Fiji in 1963. The little girl with the bare feet and the bouquet is Adi Kaunilotuma, a Fijian princess.
Princess Elizabeth and her young fiancé, Philip. She was absolutely smitten with him.
Here Elizabeth is visiting Balmoral, her family's vacation home. She's 20 years old and delighted with her new engagement ring, which was designed by Philip. This was a very low-stress time for her, because the public didn't know about the engagement yet.
What were some of her personal hobbies? It is shared that the Queen loved horses, and her passion for them made her a skillful rider and breeder. Horses weren’t the only animals that she adored and owned. During her long life, she owned more than 30 dogs, with Corgis and Dorgis as her favorite breed. Also, an interesting fact about Queen Elizabeth II is that during World War II, she was a driver and a mechanic, so she was also known as a person who enjoyed sitting behind the wheel and did it well.
This is her official coronation photo, taken June 2nd, 1953. Elizabeth must have still been grieving her father's death at this time, but her public face was one of calm, dignity, and duty. The man who took the picture, Cecil Beaton, was previously a fashion photographer for Vogue, and you can see this in his work. The picture was taken at Buckingham Palace, but he had her pose in front of a backdrop depicting the inside of Westminster Abbey, where the coronation took place.
Prince Philip, Jackie Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth, and American President John F. Kennedy. This visit took place in 1961, two years before the president was assassinated.
The importance of Queen Elizabeth II is also proved by the way things were handled after the news about her death reached the public. The public, together with the Royal Family, went into mourning. Now the social life of the United Kingdom has been stopped as various events were canceled, church bells ringing and gun salutes fired, and different organizations looking for ways to honor Her Majesty and express their sadness over this loss. Someone on Reddit was curious to know “How will the UK cope with the Queen’s passing?” and soon a discussion with almost 10k comments started. This question that was posed before the death of the Queen showed that some of the people had a hard time believing in her loss. The community members were fast to shift on the topic of King Charles III finally taking the throne at the age of 73.
Dorothy Wilding took the first photographs of the 25-year-old Queen after her coronation in 1952. This is one of them. Wilding was appointed as Official Royal Photographer at a time when most of her colleagues were men. Her work was incredibly popular and ended up on British postage stamps.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill. When he retired, she wrote him a note saying that no other prime pinister would "ever for me be able to hold the place of my first prime minister, to whom both my husband and I owe so much and for whose wise guidance during the early years of my reign I shall always be so profoundly grateful".
This was taken on a visit to South Africa in 1947. She was twenty years old, engaged to Prince Philip, and in a wonderful mood. She and Philip would get married later that year.
Here are Queen Elizabeth and her sister Margaret in 1947. They both have their Dad's nose. Elizabeth was a responsible introvert, while Margaret was glamorous and outgoing. Their affectionate father once summed up the two by saying, "Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy."
Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth at Balmoral, 1939. Elizabeth is about 13 here, and Margaret is about 8. Elizabeth enjoyed her little sister's mischievous antics. "It's so much easier when Margaret's there," she said. "Everybody laughs at what Margaret says."
This is Elizabeth with her grandmother, Queen Mary. They were very close.
This photograph of the bright-eyed, smiling 17-year-old princess was taken by the Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh in 1943. It's owned by the National Portrait Gallery. Within a year, she'd be working as a mechanic in the British Army.
Four-year-old Elizabeth and her Dad, the Duke of York, in the garden of their home at 145 Piccadilly. At this point, nobody could have predicted that Elizabeth would become queen. When she was 10, her uncle, King Edward VIII would leave the throne to marry an American divorcee, and Elizabeth's Dad would unexpectedly become king.
Here Elizabeth is about 12 years old. She's visiting Balmoral in Scotland. The jumble of arms and legs on the right belong to her little sister, Princess Margaret.
Princess Elizabeth and doggo, Balmoral, 1946. Although she was famous for her love of Corgis, she had a secret fondness for Labradors, which she bred. She liked one particular Labrador so much that she took it with her to Windsor Castle. When the dog became homesick for its dog friends back at Sandringham, she felt bad for it and had it sent home.
Every day, the queen would receive a red box full of documents for her to read and/or sign. This picture was taken when she was about 33.
Here the Queen is rubbing elbows with excited members of public. It's June 1977, and she's just come from a service to celebrate her silver jubilee at St. Paul's Cathedral.
Here Queen Elizabeth is showing Prince Charles how to take a picture of his toddler sister outside Balmoral Castle. Charles is about 4, and curly-haired Anne is about 2.
The Queen made 22 official visits to Canada. This photograph marks the time that the 31-year-old queen attended a state dinner in Ottawa after opening the Canadian parliament.
Can we all thank Pirates of Zen Pants for adding a description of what's happening in each of these photos?? You should be paid!
Thank you, Ginger! I enjoyed doing it. It gave me a chance to process my unexpected sadness at her passing -- not even kidding.
Load More Replies...I'm from the U.S., and I'm about as far from a monarchist as you can get. And yet, I find myself missing Queen Elizabeth. She faced so many constraints on her behavior from such a young age. She wasn't originally expected to be queen, but she ended up serving her country for over 70 years. She had dignity, integrity, and a dedication to her people that I can't help but respect. I don't love the history of Britain as a bloody imperialist power, and I don't love the way the British royal family has a tendency to eat its own. (For example, how was it fair that Princess Margaret was unable to marry the man she loved due to antiquated ideas about commoners and divorce?) Still, I recognize that Elizabeth took her job seriously and was a calm, steady, uniting force in times of trouble. Plus her comic timing, as showcased in the Paddington video, was spot-on. I wonder if the monarchy will be less popular now that she's no longer queen.
Thank you for adding info about so many of the pictures! I really enjoyed your input.
Load More Replies...As someone originally from the United Kingdom and with family still living there, I was quite surprised how sad I felt upon hearing the news of Queen Elizabeth II's passing. Like many other people, I believe that the monarchy is an antiquated concept, however, there is no denying the fact that Queen Elizabeth was a constant force and symbol of resilience, growth, and change in the UK. Many people in the United Kingdom have grown up knowing nobody but her and she become a touchstone of perseverance. I think that her presence will be deeply missed by quite a lot of people.
Can we all thank Pirates of Zen Pants for adding a description of what's happening in each of these photos?? You should be paid!
Thank you, Ginger! I enjoyed doing it. It gave me a chance to process my unexpected sadness at her passing -- not even kidding.
Load More Replies...I'm from the U.S., and I'm about as far from a monarchist as you can get. And yet, I find myself missing Queen Elizabeth. She faced so many constraints on her behavior from such a young age. She wasn't originally expected to be queen, but she ended up serving her country for over 70 years. She had dignity, integrity, and a dedication to her people that I can't help but respect. I don't love the history of Britain as a bloody imperialist power, and I don't love the way the British royal family has a tendency to eat its own. (For example, how was it fair that Princess Margaret was unable to marry the man she loved due to antiquated ideas about commoners and divorce?) Still, I recognize that Elizabeth took her job seriously and was a calm, steady, uniting force in times of trouble. Plus her comic timing, as showcased in the Paddington video, was spot-on. I wonder if the monarchy will be less popular now that she's no longer queen.
Thank you for adding info about so many of the pictures! I really enjoyed your input.
Load More Replies...As someone originally from the United Kingdom and with family still living there, I was quite surprised how sad I felt upon hearing the news of Queen Elizabeth II's passing. Like many other people, I believe that the monarchy is an antiquated concept, however, there is no denying the fact that Queen Elizabeth was a constant force and symbol of resilience, growth, and change in the UK. Many people in the United Kingdom have grown up knowing nobody but her and she become a touchstone of perseverance. I think that her presence will be deeply missed by quite a lot of people.