30 archival childhood photos of the British royal family

This summer, a long-awaited and extremely significant event for the British happened, exactly a month ago, on July 22, Prince William and Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge had a son, Prince George Alexander Louis. The fate of the people of "blue blood" has always been of interest to the public, and now the inhabitants of Great Britain and the whole world are trying to learn new facts about the life of the royal dynasty and predict what George Louis will be like in the future, how the "royal heredity" will affect his life, especially that the prince has every chance to lead the monarchy in the future, because George Louis is the third in line of contenders for the royal throne.

We were interested in old archival photographs, mostly from the first half of the last century, which depict the childhood years of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. We bring to your attention a selection of these rare photographs.

(Total 30 photos)

1. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain (Queen Elizabeth II) was born on April 21, 1926 in London in the family of the Duke and Duchess of York.

2. A newly discovered photograph of the young family of the Duke of York. This casual photo was taken not by a professional royal photographer, but by ordinary tourists traveling through Scotland, whose car suddenly broke down, forcing them to call for help by knocking on the door of a nearby house. They were opened by Elizabeth's parents with a newborn baby in their arms. They were so kind that they not only helped the travelers to fix the car, but also happily took pictures for a memorable shot from Scotland.

3. 1928, Elizabeth 2 years old. In a narrow circle of the family, the little heir to the throne was nicknamed Lilibet, because for a long time she could not learn how to pronounce her full name correctly.

4. 1929, Elizabeth with her father.

5. At birth, Elizabeth became the Duchess of York and was third in the line of succession to the throne after her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales (future King Edward VIII) and father.

6. Because Prince Edward was young enough to be expected to marry and have children, Elizabeth was not initially considered a possible candidate for the throne.

7. Soon she had a younger sister, Margaret. King George VI often said about his daughters: "Lilibet is my pride, and Margaret is my joy."

8. Children's games of Princess Elizabeth.

9. Young Elizabeth with her parents.

10. 1932, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose with their parents at the Boy Scout parade at Windsor Castle, Berkshire. (Photo: / Getty Images)

11. King George and Queen Elizabeth with Princesses Elizabeth (center) and Margaret, as well as members of the royal family in full uniform on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the coronation, May 12, 1937. (Photo: Getty Images). A year earlier, Prince Albert (George VI) became king, and 10-year-old Elizabeth became heir to the throne and moved with her parents from Kensington to Buckingham Palace. At the same time, she remained in the role of "heir presumptive" ("supposed heir"), and if George VI had a son, he would have inherited the throne.

12. The Queen, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose and Royal Archers, 1937 (Photo: Fox Photos/Getty Images)

13. Princess Elizabeth with a pony in Windsor Park, Berkshire, April 1939. (Photo: Central Press / Getty Images). According to the recollections of the teacher Elizabeth, at the age of 12, the girl told her: "If I were not a queen, I would live in the village and would have many horses and dogs for myself."

14. When Elizabeth was 13 years old, the Second World War began. In 1940, at the age of 14, she made her first radio appearance, addressing children affected by the scourge of war. In 1943, Elizabeth appeared in public, paying a visit to the regiment of the Guards Grenadiers. In 1944, she became one of the five "state advisers" - persons entitled to perform the functions of the king in the event of his absence or incapacity. In 1945, the future queen joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (women's self-defense units), where she was trained as an ambulance driver and received the rank of lieutenant.

15. Here, Elizabeth is already captured as a young mother with her first child, Prince Charles. Prince Charles was born on November 14, 1948 at the residence of the royal family - at Buckingham Palace. In the photo, Queen Elizabeth II holds the prince in her arms after the baptism ceremony, which took place on December 15. During the ceremony, the baby was dipped into water taken from the Jordan River.

16. The full name of the Prince of Wales sounded like Charles Philip Arthur George. He became the first contender for the royal throne, born in "violation" of the age-old tradition: this time, the Minister of the Interior of the country did not have the honor to be present at the royal birth. The innovations that accompanied the life of Charles, however, did not end there: he became the first crown prince to be sent to school (before him, young monarchs studied at home) and the first to receive a university degree.

17. The nanny raised the prince, because my mother, according to Charles himself, “played queen” more ...

18. September 1950, Elizabeth with her son Charles.

19. The Royal Family, August 1951 From left to right, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, Duke of Edinburgh, King George and Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II) and little Princess Anne in a pram. The following year, 1952, Princess Elizabeth became Queen of Great Britain.

20. The educators did not spoil the heir to the throne too much: they simply ... flogged him for his misdeeds.

21.

22. Elizabeth with little Charles and Anna.

23. The Queen with her son Charles and daughter Anne, 1954

24. Charles with his sister and parents.

25. Prince Charles

26. At the age of 9, the prince was sent to the chic private school Hill House, where, according to tradition, blue-blooded pupils swept the yard and washed the floors. No exception was made for the king's son either. In the photo, the prince introduces his mother to classmates and teachers.

27. By the way, little Charles didn’t like school very much, he didn’t study well and somehow complained to a friend about his classmates who “beat him with pillows at night.”

28. Charles did not understand his exclusivity for a long time: once he heard how prayers were offered in church services for the queen mother and for him as the heir, the prince said: “I would like them to pray for other boys too.”

29. At the wedding of Princess Margaret, 1960.

30. September 1960, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh with their children, Prince Andrew (center), Princess Anne (left) and Charles, Prince of Wales near Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Queen Victoria's husband purchased Balmoral Castle in 1846. Queen Victoria visited Scotland frequently with her family, especially after the death of her husband in 1861, and Balmoral is still a favorite holiday destination for the royal family. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images).