Fighting On All Fronts: Women At War exhibition article - Princess At War

Princess at War: The future Queen Elizabeth II

Princess Elizabeth was 13 years old at the start of World War Two, and her younger sister Margaret was 8. Their mother, Queen Elizabeth, refused to evacuate her daughters to Canada, so most of the girls' wartime was spent at Windsor Castle.

The royal family shared the hardships of war with their people. Like many other residential buildings in London, Buckingham Palace was bombed during the Blitz; the worst of the palace’s nine bombings occurred in 1940 when King George VI and his wife were in residence.

In the same year, Elizabeth took part in the BBC Children's Hour radio programme to boost morale. She addressed the children evacuated from cities to the countryside and small towns in the UK, and from Britain to the USA, Canada and other countries, sending them best wishes and thanking those who opened their homes to evacuees. In 1943, the young princess took part in the Dig For Victory campaign, working on allotments at the castle.

When she was 16 years old, Elizabeth applied for military service and enrolled as a Sea Ranger to contribute to the war effort. As soon as she turned 18 in 1944, Princess Elizabeth insisted that she must join the women’s branch of the army; a year later she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) where she trained as a driver and mechanic for military vehicles. By the end of the war, Elizabeth had finished her course at the ATS No. 1 Mechanical Training Centre in Camberley, Surrey and had been appointed to the rank of Hon. Junior Commander.

At the end of the war, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret joined the crowds in the streets of London, without being noticed, to enjoy the VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) celebrations.

Now celebrating her Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II is the only female member of the royal family to join the armed forces and is the last remaining head of state to officially serve during World War Two.