Podpora rozvoje cizích jazyků pro Evropu 21. stol. INVESTICE DO ROZVOJE VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním rozpočtem České republiky.

THE QUEEN Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926 in London, England. Her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of King George V. Her mother, the former Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was the daughter of a Scottish earl. Princess Elizabeth was their first child. Her only sibling, Margaret Rose, was born in 1930.

In 1936, when Elizabeth was nine years old, her grandfather George V died and her father's older brother became King Edward VIII. But Edward didn't stay king for long. Determined to marry a woman who was considered "unsuitable," he abdicated his throne after a reign of just 327 days. Suddenly Elizabeth's shy, stammering father was King George VI.

In 1939, when Elizabeth was 13, she met her third cousin Prince Philip of Greece, who was five years her senior. It was love at first sight, at least on Elizabeth's part. According to Marion Crawford, Philip "showed off a good deal" while playing tennis, impressing Elizabeth, who "never took her eyes off him." Throughout her teens, Elizabeth remained devoted to the good-looking young man she called "my Viking prince."

The Second World War started later that year. Fearing a Nazi invasion, the king sent his daughters to live at Windsor Castle, which was just 30 miles from London, but safer than Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth and Margaret lived there until the war ended five years later.

At age 16, Elizabeth registered at a labor exchange like all other girls her age. She wanted to volunteer as a nurse in bombed- out areas of London, but her father felt it was too dangerous. Finally, in 1945, when she was almost 19, the king let her join the Auxiliary Territorial Service. She learned to drive and repair heavy vehicles. Soon after she finished her training, the war ended.

In 1946, Elizabeth became secretly engaged to Prince Philip, who had served in Britain's Royal Navy during World War II and was now a lieutenant.

Philip gave up his Greek citizenship and title, becoming a British subject and assuming the surname Mountbatten (an English version of his mother's family name, Battenberg). Before the wedding, Elizabeth's father gave Philip the British titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich, but Philip was no longer called "prince."

Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, Charles Philip Arthur George, at Buckingham Palace on November 14, Her only daughter, Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, was born on August 15, 1950 at Clarence House.

INVESTICE DO ROZVOJE VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním rozpočtem České republiky. Tato výuková prezentace byla pořízena z finančních prostředků hrazených Evropským sociálním fondem a rozpočtem České republiky.