Within a year of marriage, Princess Elizabeth thrilled the nation and secured the royal line with a baby son. Prince Charles Philip Arthur George was born at 9.14pm on November 14, 1948. On hearing the news, Prince Philip reportedly uttered, “Thank God”, and popped the cork on a bottle of champagne.
With a new husband and a son, Princess Elizabeth was the perfect role model for her generation.
“The couple of years that followed were perhaps the happiest of the Queen’s life,” writes Andrew Marr in The Diamond Queen.
On August 15, 1950, her only daughter, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, was born and domestic life with two royal toddlers took over in earnest.
Yet, just two years later, their cosy family existence changed forever when the Princess’ beloved father George VI died and she was catapulted into a new world as Queen Elizabeth II.
After her coronation, the royal family took up traditional residence in the famously austere Buckingham Palace.
Here on February 19, 1960, Elizabeth’s third child, Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward, was born, with the couple’s final child, Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis, following on March 10, 1964.
Despite the overwhelming burden of official duties, the Queen was a hands-on mother and raised her four children with her own values.
“Like all families, we went through the full range of the pleasure and tribulations of bringing up children,” Prince Philip recently shared with a reporter, adding proudly,
“I am, naturally, somewhat biased, but I think our children have all done rather well under very difficult and demanding circumstances, and I hope I can be forgiven for feeling proud of them.”
Princess Elizabeth with her one-month-old son, Charles. Despite being a new mother, the Princess had to carry out an impressive rota of official engagements to support her father, King George VI. Philip was still rising in the naval ranks, so at home the couple received welcome help from nannies.
A barefoot Prince Charles poses with his mother for his official christening portrait, in December 1948. In a private ceremony held in the Music Room in Buckingham Palace and officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, the baby Prince was christened in the royal robe worn previously by all of Queen Victoria’s children and was initiated into the faith of the Church of England.
An enchanted Elizabeth gives son Charles an early taste of vintage motoring, which would become a future passion of his, in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, Scotland, in 1952.
In this stunning portrait, baby Princess Anne is seen as the new recipient of the precious coral and pearl necklace that belonged to her mother as a baby, as she smiles in the arms of her very happy mother.
An idyllic picture of young parenthood shows a relaxed Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh cherishing childhood moments with Charles and baby Anne on a summer picnic in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, in 1951.
Queen Elizabeth back at Balmoral with Prince Charles and Princess Anne, in 1952.
In between official duties, Queen Elizabeth II spends some precious time playing with her children, Charles and Anne, on a break at Balmoral, in September 1952, during the interim period between her accession and her coronation the following year.
Prince Charles and Princess Anne at their mother’s coronation.
Prince Andrew, in the arms of his mother, in a touching photograph taken by Cecil Beaton when Andrew was just one month old. This portrait represented a significant change in style, moving away from the formal regal shot to show a more intimate and accessible side to Her Majesty.
Princess Anne, the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince Philip gather around baby Prince Andrew for his official christening portrait in April 1960. Andrew was the first child to be born to a reigning monarch in 103 years.
Queen Elizabeth II with the newly christened Prince Edward and a four-year-old Prince Andrew, in the new-style, relaxed Cecil Beaton portrait.
The royal family in 1965, strolling in the verdant gardens of Buckingham Palace (left to right), Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, the Queen and Princess Anne. Prince Edward – the latest addition to the family – is sitting in the pram.
The Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward in the grounds of Windsor Castle, in April 1976. The Queen is wearing The Duchess of Cambridge pendant brooch, which belonged to Queen Mary’s grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, and features a glorious baroque pearl.
Smiles all round for Her Majesty the Queen with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, photographed in their library in 1987 with grandchildren (from left) Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips (at back) and Zara Phillips.
The royal family comes together to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II and husband Prince Philip’s diamond wedding anniversary in 2007.
Prince Harry greets his grandmother with a kiss at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
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