Born the Hon. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, daughter of Lord Glamis, it is not certain, however, just where she was born, although St. Paul's Waldenbury is credited for the event. She was the ninth and
second-last child in a warm and close family. Being nearest in age, she was closest to her younger brother, David. While other families had more regard for discipline, her parents achieved more with kisses, cuddles and encouragement. When she was three years old, her grandfather died, so that her father became Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and the Hon. Elizabeth was now Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
Every year the family spent three months at Glamis Castle in Forfarshire. They would be accompanied by friends of all ages and even the Shetland pony was taken. The constant stream of visitors
encouraged an early maturity added to a grace, charm and composure well beyond her years so that, even as a toddler, she was called "Princess Elizabeth". Although the names of her sisters Mary and Rose
became May and Rosie, Elizabeth was always Elizabeth. She loved talking and was renowned for being able to talk to "anyone". At the age of five she went to a party for the grandchildren of the Duchess
of Buccleuch and here she met Prince Albert, her future husband.
Her mother influenced her style of dress and as well gave her a lifelong passion for gardening, music and history. Her philosophy for life she expressed with: "Life is for living and working at. If you
find anything or anybody a bore, the fault is in yourself."
Lady Elizabeth was educated at home first by her mother and later by French governesses, so that by the time she was ten she spoke French fluently. Her fourteenth birthday was also the day war was
declared between England and Germany. Her five brothers were in the army and her sister Lady Rose became a nurse in London, while Glamis Castle was transformed into a hospital. Lady Elizabeth performed many tasks for the convalescent soldiers, such as taking photographs of them to be sent to their homes, knitting, and sewing khaki shirts. Many of these soldiers came from Australia and New Zealand and, many years later when visiting these countries, she would recognise an "old boy" in the crowd.
In the summer of 1915 her brother, Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon, was killed in war action. At this time Lady Elizabeth became involved with the Girl Guides, where she met and was befriended by Princess
Mary.
Although this friendship brought her to Buckingham Palace, it was not there that she renewed her acquaintance with Prince Albert but at a dance in London in May 1920 where she made a lasting impression on him. However, their courtship had its ups and downs as Lady Elizabeth was unready to commit herself.
In August 1921 while staying in Scotland, Queen Mary decided to visit Glamis Castle and, as Lady Strathmore was ill, Lady Elizabeth had to play hostess. In February 1922 she was bridesmaid at Princess Mary's wedding. On 13 January 1923 she finally accepted the Duke of York's proposal of marriage and three days later their engagement was formally announced, their marriage taking place on 26 April 1923 in Westminster Abbey.
The Duchess of York, as she now was, tried to help her husband overcome his speech impediment. She also brought him closer to his parents. After their marriage the continual performing of official
duties exhausted her and so they decided to spend the winter in Africa.
In the summer of 1925 they visited the great industrial towns in the North of England. In the same year the Duke's grandmother, Queen Alexandra, died while the Duchess also found herself pregnant. In her
parent's house in Bruton Street on 21 April 1926, the Duchess gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth II. The next day King George V and Queen Mary came from Windsor to see their granddaughter.

In 1926, after having consulted nine speech therapists, they were recommended to the Australian Lionel Logue. Within months the results were sufficient for the Duke to feel confident that he would
be able to give a speech at the official opening of the new Parliament House in Australia.
On 6 January 1927 they sailed for New Zealand and Australia but had to leave their baby daughter behind. Arriving in Auckland Harbour on 22 February, they toured New Zealand before proceeding to Sydney, arriving on March 31. After travelling extensively along Australia's east coast, they were in Canberra for the opening of the new Parliament House on 9 May 1927. On 23 May they left to return home at last.
Over the years she had continued to spend part of each summer at Glamis Castle and here, on 21 August 1930, she gave birth to their second child, Princess Margaret. However, official duties also
continued to press and they visited Paris to open British Week. Their two daughters had a very fond uncle in the Prince of Wales who would often come to visit them. Objecting to the rules and rituals
for royals, he rebelled against the system and, as well, his name became linked mostly with women already married. He had asked his father's permission to marry Lady Rosemary Leveson-Gower but this was apparently refused as Lady Rosemary's mother had just divorced her second husband while a drunken uncle had been through the bankruptcy court. For many years the Prince's name was linked to Mrs. Dudley Ward, and later Viscountess Furness who, in turn, left him in the hands of Mrs. Wallis Simpson.
Other people involved with the little Princesses of York included Margaret MacDonald who was first a nurse, then dresser, and later a confidante to Princess and later Queen Elizabeth II. Another was Marion Crawford who would be a tutor for 17 years. In 1934 another brother of the Duke of York, the newly created Duke of Kent, married Princess Marina of Greece and Princess Elizabeth was a bridesmaid. In 1935 they celebrated the Silver Jubilee of King George V's reign as well as the marriage of the Duke of Gloucester to Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott.
With the exception of the Prince of Wales, all King George V's children were married. The Prince had contrived a meeting between his parents and Mrs Simpson, whom Queen Mary called "the Adventuress". Also the Duke and Duchess of York had met Mrs. Simpson at Fort Belvedere, the home of the Prince of Wales. King George V confided to Prime Minister Baldwin and predicted: "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in 12 months."
On 20 January 1936, King George V died and the Prince of Wales became King Edward VIII. Soon the new king's obsession with Mrs. Simpson became clear to everyone, even though by royal request it was kept out of the British newspapers. However, even this unofficial censorship ended when Mrs. Simpson started divorce proceedings against her husband. On 27 October the divorce became final and, on 16 November King Edward VIII summoned the Prime Minister to announce the coronation date as well as his intended marriage to Mrs. Simpson.
Even though Kings of England "do not abdicate", Edward VIII stated that he intended to do just that if he could not make Wallis Simpson his queen. Consequently, on 10 December 1936, he signed the
instrument of abdication and the Duke and Duchess of York became King and Queen, while, on 12 December 1936, the ex-king left England. After their coronation the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, retired to be succeeded by Neville Chamberlain. The next few years were overshadowed by the emergence of Nazi-Germany and war seemed inevitable, even when Prime Minister Chamberlain returned from Munich with the promise of "Peace in our time".
The continuing aggression of Germany against Czechoslovakia and Poland speeded up the British re-armament. Meanwhile King George VI and Queen Elizabeth went to Canada and the United States, resulting in the friendship between them and President and Mrs. Roosevelt.
From 2 September 1939, Great Britain and France were at war with Germany. Queen Elizabeth became Commandant-in-Chief of the ATS, the WAAF and the Wrens and was actively involved with these units, even though she would never wear uniforms.
Some advisors suggested that the two princesses should be evacuated to Canada. However, the Queen's response was: "They cannot go without me, I will never leave the king, and he will never leave
the country." In 1938 Hitler had lightheartedly called her "the most dangerous woman in Europe", but soon took her more seriously as she encouraged and inspired the nation through the long years of war, as borne by her remark after bombs had fallen on Buckingham Palace: "I'm glad we've been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face."
On 10 May 1940, Prime Minister Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill. Soon after, England became a refuge for Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands, followed by King Haakon of Norway, King
George of The Hellenes and King Peter of Yugoslavia as their countries fell to Germany. Instead of invading England, Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, thus providing Britain with a powerful
ally. Then Japan attacked Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941, bringing the United States into the war.
One nephew, John Patrick Bowes-Lyon, Master of Glamis, was killed in action in 1941 while another, Andrew Elphinstone, became a prisoner of war. Then, on 25 August 1942, the king's brother, the Duke
of Kent, was killed when his aircraft crashed in Scotland. Another brother of the king, the Duke of Gloucester, became Governor-General of Australia while the Duke of Windsor became Governor of The Bahamas.
Although Queen Elizabeth did not leave Britain during the war as she had vowed, King George VI did make five visits to battle zones, including one trip in 1943 to North Africa. Austerity through the
wartime restrictions were observed even by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt when she visited England. However, they also tried to spend as much time as possible with their children, one event not to be missed being the annual Christmas pantomime starring their daughters. In the audience of 1943 was Prince Philip of Greece.
1943 also brought changes to the war action as the Allied forces had taken Sicily while Russia had broken the German offensive and started their counter-offensive. On 6 June 1944, D-Day saw the
invasion of France; on 16 June the king inspected the Normandy beach-head and then, in July, visited the Italian front. However, the Germans still dropped some 600 V-1 bombs on London, killing about
1,600 people, wounding 10,000 and damaging over 200,000 homes. In November 1944 her father died and both the king and queen went to Glamis for the funeral. In April 1945 they lost a friend when
President Roosevelt died suddenly.
On 7 May 1945 the German armies surrendered unconditionally and peace was at last restored in Europe. It would take two atom bombs before Japan also ceased to be at war and sued for peace on 9 August.At the war's end the king was 50 years old and the queen 45, the king confessing himself to be "burned out".
Family life was resumed at Sandringham and even the king's mother, Queen Mary, would take part in dancing parties. The only one to absent himself was the king, preferring to work on his despatch
boxes. Also returned to England was Prince Philip of Greece, who had spent most of his life in England where he had been brought up by his maternal grandmother and uncles. To be able to take a permanent
commission in the Royal Navy, Prince Philip wished to become a British citizen and, as such, dropped his Royal title to become Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
In 1946 plans were made to visit South Africa and the king decided to take their two daughters with them. Amongst the many people accompanying the royal family were two equerries, Lt.Cmdr. Peter
Ashmore and Wing Commander Peter Townsend. Although the sea journey started badly with storms, once these died down, it became one of the happiest times for King George VI in having his children with him on their first overseas trip. And in Capetown they celebrated the 21st birthday of Princess Elizabeth. On 12 May they returned to England and, on 9 July 1947, the engagement of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten was announced. King George VI made his future son-in-law again a Royal Highness as well as Duke of Edinburgh. On 20 November 1947 the wedding
took place and, on 14 November 1948, the birth of Prince Charles made King George VI and Queen Elizabeth grandparents for the first time.
Two days before the birth, doctors had diagnosed King George VI to be suffering from early arteriosclerosis. From now on his health would give concern and, in September 1951, part of his lungs had to be removed. Although the king seemed to be recovering, he decided that his eldest daughter, together with her husband, would take his place in the planned visit to New Zealand and Australia. They were sure that the king was well when he saw his daughter and son-in-law off when they left by plane; but, on 5 February 1952, he went to bed and died in his sleep that night from a coronary thrombosis.
Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, was in Kenya on her way to New Zealand and Australia, but of course had to return to England. On 13 February the widowed Queen Elizabeth announced that
from then on she wished to be known as "Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother" and, on 15 February, King George VI was taken to his final resting place.
Being a widow with no defined role, people were at first concerned that she might slip into retirement; but four months later, while visiting Scotland, she fell in love with the ruined Barrogil Castle. She bought it and restored its former name of Castle of Mey as well as taking three years to restore the building. However, in London she moved from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House. In March 1953 she lost her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, who died at 87.
Shortly before the coronation Princess Margaret announced that she wished to marry the now-divorced Peter Townsend. The Queen Mother was present at her other daughter's coronation and a month later
resumed official duties by going to Southern Rhodesia together with Princess Margaret, but without Peter Townsend who had been removed from the original party. It was to be another two years before
Princess Margaret would meet Peter Townsend again.
After their return from Rhodesia, the Queen Mother was fully occupied as a Counsellor of State as Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh had left for Australia and New Zealand. After Queen
Elizabeth II returned, the Queen Mother made her first unaccompanied visit when she went to visit the United States, where she was entertained by President Eisenhower as well as by her friend, Mrs.
Eleanor Roosevelt.
In 1955 Princess Margaret turned 25, making her eligible to contract a marriage without the monarch's consent. However, this would also result in her losing Royal status and rights of succession. The
consequent newspaper frenzy compelled Princess Margaret to make the public statement that she had decided not to marry Peter Townsend after all. Indeed, it would take another five years before she would marry---to Antony Armstrong-Jones.
Meanwhile, the Queen Mother was taking her horse-racing interest very seriously and by the late 1960's had up to 22 horses in training. Yet official duties still took first place and, in January 1958, she
again toured New Zealand and Australia, but this time by plane instead of the usual ship.

On 26 February 1960 the official engagement of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones was announced, to be followed by their marriage on 6 May at Westminster Abbey. At the wedding the Queen Mother had with her her favourite grandson Prince Charles. In 1961 her eldest sister, Lady Elphinstone, died while it was announced that Princess Margaret was pregnant. In September 1961 her brother Sir David Bowes-Lyon died of a heart attack. In the 1960's the Queen Mother also had her share of illness and had to undergo minor operations. In 1964 two more grandchildren were born while in 1965 she lost two good friends when Sir Winston Churchill and her sister-in-law, the Princess Royal, died. In 1966 she again visited Australia and New Zealand.
In June 1967 a memorial plaque for Queen Mary was to be unveiled and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were invited to attend, the first time the Duchess of Windsor was invited by the Royal family. The Duchess of Windsor curtseyed to Queen Elizabeth II but not to the Queen Mother. They were not to meet again until June 1972 at the funeral of the Duke of Windsor.
Also in 1972 Prince William of Gloucester was killed in a flying accident, and two years later his father died. In 1973 the Queen Mother's grand-daughter, Princess Anne, married Captain Mark Phillips and, in 1977, they made her a great-grandmother. 1978 saw the divorce of Princess Margaret. In 1979 the Queen Mother was installed as Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. Less
than a month afterwards, Lord Mountbatten was killed by Irish terrorists.
In 1981 her adored grandson, Charles, Prince of Wales, married Lady Diana Spencer. In 1983 the Queen Mother had to be rushed to hospital when a fish-bone became lodged in her throat. In 1990 she
celebrated her ninetieth birthday with considerable aplomb and on 12 December 1992, she did after all attend Princess Anne's second marriage to Timothy Lawrence despite her original diffidence towards
divorce in the Anglican church.
At the time of writing she still copes most admirably---one might say almost incredibly so---with the sudden and considerable changes of both standards and attitudes not only in today's world but
even within the mores of the Royal family itself, yet in which she must always be recalled with both admiration and affection as the Queen Mother.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas