“Though just 14 during the difficult summer of 1940, Elizabeth would go on to boost morale on the home front, take up the official mantle of royal duties, and work alongside female soldiers who refused to be bystanders in the ongoing conflict.”

By George Yagi

SINCE ANCIENT times, British rulers have rallied their people.

When Roman troops tried to subjugate the Iceni in 60 AD, the tribe followed Queen Boudica into battle. As the Spanish Armada sailed for England in 1588, Elizabeth I rallied her forces at Tilbury.

“I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all,” she famously said to the assembled men.

At the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, King George II’s horse bolted at the sound of the muskets and fled to the rear. Determined not to let his mount make him appear cowardly, the monarch forced the animal back to the front. When approached by an officer begging him to remain out of harm’s way, the king replied, “Why do you think I am here for – to be a poltroon?”

With their sovereign back at their head, British forces won the battle.

The dark days of the Second World War were little different.

As bombs fell on Buckingham Palace in 1940, the royal family refused to go into hiding.

“I am glad we have been bombed,” Queen Elizabeth remarked. “Now we can look the East End in the eye.”

With the threat of a German invasion looming, pressure mounted to evacuate the royals to Canada. Instead, George VI and his wife vowed to remain in the capital.

The young Princess Elizabeth felt the same strong sense of duty to serve her people. Though just 14 during the difficult summer of 1940, Elizabeth would go on to boost morale on the home front, take up the official mantle of royal duties, and work alongside female soldiers who refused to be bystanders in the ongoing conflict. Although it had been centuries since a princess from the British Isles fought in a battle, Elizabeth still managed to make her mark on Britain’s war effort.

While sending the princesses to Canada to preserve the line of succession was considered and then rejected, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were taken to Windsor Castle, which was serving as a royal fortress, complete with a detachment of guards and a transport service at the ready in case the Germans invaded England.

However, much like other child evacuees in Britain who were separated from their parents during the Blitz, the young royals soon found themselves whisked out of harm’s way. Yet Elizabeth still found a way to contribute.

In an attempt to provide support and comfort to the 3.5 million youngsters evacuated under Operation Pied Piper, the 14-year-old princess made her first radio broadcast on Oct. 13, 1940 during the BBC’s Children’s Hour. Transmitted across the airwaves, she gave listeners a message of hope:

I am sure that you, too, are often thinking of the Old Country. I know you won’t forget us; it is just because we are not forgetting you that I want, on behalf of all the children at home, to send you our love and best wishes – to you and to your kind hosts as well. Before I finish I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, everyone of us, that in the end all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace. And when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.

Signing off from the broadcast with her sister, the speech was quickly a hit.

In America, requests to re-air the program skyrocketed, and the BBC quickly turned it into one of their best-selling recordings.

In addition to her broadcast, Elizabeth further helped the war effort. She lent her support to such initiatives as the “Dig for Victory” program to increase food production, a campaign to knit socks for soldiers, and various wartime scrap metal drives. She also made personal contributions to the Red Cross. Images of Elizabeth and her sister working in a vegetable garden accompanied by a royal corgi appeared, providing a shot in the arm for the war effort.

As the fighting continued, the young princess soon found herself assuming an increasing number of royal duties. Inside Windsor Castle, as the senior royal present until weekends when her parents arrived, Elizabeth regularly hosted luncheons for the Guards officers. In addition to deciding who would sit beside her at these gatherings, she also had to conduct herself as an adult in both composure and conversation during these engagements.

In April 1942, on her 16th birthday, George VI appointed Elizabeth as honorary colonel of the Grenadier Guards. That morning she conducted her first inspection of the regiment at Windsor Castle. She was now officially involved in Britain’s military war effort.

On reaching the age of 18 in 1944, Elizabeth’s duties grew. Prior to his departure for Italy to visit troops in the field, George VI appointed Elizabeth as a counselor of state, a senior member of the royal family who could represent the sovereign.

“Before leaving England, King George signed a warrant commanding five counsellors of state to act in his absence,” The Border Watch reported on July 25, 1944. “Princess Elizabeth is acting for the first time with the Queen, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Gloucester and Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught.”

Towards the end of the year in November, Elizabeth even found herself undertaking royal duties in Scotland, launching the HMS Vanguard, a 45,000-ton battleship. However, while George VI was content to have his daughter serve the war effort through ceremonial roles, Elizabeth would have other ideas.

While the war continued into 1945, the princess was determined to play an active part in the conflict. Starting in 1941, young unmarried women between the ages of 20 to 30 were eligible for conscription into war service. Due to increasing calls for additional manpower, the age limit was expanded further as women were needed to work in agriculture, assist in keeping up industrial production, and join the ranks of one of the military auxiliary services, the largest among them being the Auxiliary Territorial Service or ATS. On learning of her desire to take on roles outside of her official duties, George VI remarked, “Betts’ should not join any of the women’s auxiliaries, nor work in a factory.” However, Elizabeth would have her way, and in February, she succeeded in convincing her father to allow her to join the ATS. Given an honorary commission as second subaltern, she began her training by taking part in a driving and vehicular maintenance course at Camberley, not far from Windsor Castle.

Placed among a specially chosen group of 11 recruits, she spent three weeks learning about mechanics and transport. Much like her speech during the Battle of Britain, the public was fascinated about the first female royal serving as a full-time active soldier. Newspapers quickly dubbed her “Princess Auto Mechanic.”

At the end of her course, as her final test, Elizabeth was tasked with driving a heavy army truck unescorted from Camberley to Central London. She completed this mission with little trouble and looked forward to assisting transport operations in the summer. However, less than a month after her course was complete, Germany surrendered.

Despite her youth, Princess Elizabeth did much to support the war effort. Her attempts to boost morale as a child during the early days of the conflict inspired many to persevere. In assuming royal duties, she quickly became a unifying symbol of the monarchy. By joining the ATS, she played an active part in war as a member of the armed forces, following in the footsteps of her ancestors who had faced foes in the past.

During these formative years, the experience of those dark days played a great role in developing her sense of duty, which would remain with her throughout her life. On her 21st birthday, while on a tour of South Africa with her parents, the young princess made an appearance on radio once again. Speaking to the public, she reflected on the conflict, “I am thinking especially today of all the young men and women who were born about the same time as myself and have grown up like me in terrible and glorious years of the Second World War.”

As she continued with her broadcast, she turned her attention to “the anxieties and hardships that the war has left behind” and the rebuilding process that lay ahead, to make the Commonwealth “more free, more prosperous, more happy and a more powerful influence for good in the world.” Before she ended her speech, Elizabeth made a solemn vow, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.”

It was a promise that, upon ascending the throne, Queen Elizabeth II would honour to the end. Her life of public service began at a very early age and continued until her death on September 8, 2022. She was a monarch devoted to her people, and her sense of duty stood on a strong foundation that was firmly established during the struggles of World War II.

Dr. George Yagi Jr. is an award winning author and historian at the University of the Pacific. Follow him on X.