In January 1936, King George V of Great Britain died after a long illness. Under the rules of succession, his eldest son, then called Prince Edward, became King Edward VIII. Edward was 25 and unmarried. He was perhaps the world’s most eligible bachelor, and any son he had would be his heir apparent.
In case Edward didn’t have any children, his brother Albert was next in line to be king, and any son of Albert’s would follow him. So at that time, Albert’s ten-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was second in line to the throne. But it was a long shot. For her to be queen, her 25-year-old uncle could not have any sons, and she could not have any new brothers. She was groomed for a life in a royal family, but few thought she would be queen.
And then, an American woman changed everything.
Lesson summary
Hi there, I’m Jeff and this is Plain English, where we use current events and trending topics to help you improve your skills in English. Every Monday and Thursday, we talk about what’s going on in the world, and I show you how to use an English expression.
Today, it’s the story of how Elizabeth II became queen. And in the second half of today’s lesson, I’ll show you how we use the expression, “open the door” to a possibility.
JR is the producer and he has uploaded this full lesson to PlainEnglish.com/507. We’ve got a lot to cover today, so let’s get going.
The princess who never expected to rule
When King Edward III took the throne in January 1936, he was 25 and single. For centuries , royals married other royals. Marriage, in that time and in those circles, was about power, not love. But times were changing, and the door was open to royals marrying regular citizens, commoners.
But times weren’t changing fast enough for Edward, who, as prince, had a series of affairs with married women from Britain, France, and America. In 1930, still six years away from being king, he met a socialite named Wallis Simpson. They began an affair.
When he became king, Edward III was resolved to marry Wallis Simpson. There were just two problems: she was American and, worse, she was divorced. The king’s advisors, the British Parliament, and the parliaments of other commonwealth countries would not accept a king marrying a divorcee. At that time, marriage after divorce was not accepted by the Church of England. And the king is the leader of the Church of England
So King Edward VIII, less than a year into his reign, in his mid-20s, and without any children, abdicated the throne. He quit and left England.
Since Edward had no children, his brother Albert became king, taking the name King George VI in December 1936. The new king had no sons, but he did have two daughters—Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret. After her uncle’s stunning abdication, the eleven-year-old Elizabeth was next in line to be monarch.
Even then, it was not guaranteed she would become queen. Her mother was still of childbearing age. If her mother had given birth to a son, then the son would have jumped the line. But the marriage did not produce any other children.
Young Elizabeth’s education went into high gear. Previously, she spent less than ten hours a week on her education. Now, her tutors arranged lessons on government, constitutional history, French, literature, and world affairs. She learned the rituals of the monarchy. And when she was older, Elizabeth followed in the tradition of princes and princesses before her, serving in the military. She learned to drive and to maintain military vehicles.
As Princess Elizabeth grew into adulthood, it was clear that she would, someday, be queen.
That day came on February 6, 1952. King George VI died in his sleep; he was only 56. On a cold and wet London morning, the BBC reported that the king had died. But Elizabeth, now the queen, still didn’t know.
She was in Kenya, a British colony, with her husband, Prince Philip, whom she had married five years earlier. The couple had spent the previous night watching wild animals at a game reserve. They were touring the countryside when a newspaper reporter asked the prince’s private secretary about the news from London.
It was the first anyone there had heard. The secretary quickly informed Prince Philip, who broke the news to Elizabeth next to a trout stream in east Africa: she was now the Queen of England at age 25. It was 2:45 in the afternoon; she had been queen for most of a day without even knowing it.
Elizabeth and Philip immediately flew to London. The British empire mourned its king, but ached for better times. Just six years removed from World War II, Britain still suffered shortages and rationing brought on during wartime. A young queen could, perhaps, lead Britain toward better days.
New monarchs, as you learned on Monday , have the option to choose their name. When asked what name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary would take, the new queen responded—“my own name, of course—what else.”
She would be the second Queen Elizabeth. The first Queen Elizabeth also took the throne at age 25. She ruled four hundred years earlier and presided over a golden age in English history. During the “Elizabethan Age,” as it is commonly known, Shakespeare wrote plays; people embraced Protestantism; and the English navy explored the new world.
Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime hero, was prime minister for a second time when King George VI died. He was quick to announce “a new Elizabethan age.” The term was a stretch : it captured the optimism, but not necessarily the reality, of the day.
When Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne, Britain’s economy was threadbare; its people used rationing coupons to buy their limited meat allowance; its colonies clamored for independence; and it was clearer than ever that Britain, once the world’s military superpower, was taking a backseat to America.
So for all the optimism over a young queen, it was not at all clear what this “second Elizabethan age” would be like. It seemed improbable at the time, but one BBC journalist got it exactly right when he said this about the new queen: “No more devoted or courageous person could carry on the monarchy, which is the lasting strength of Britain and the wonder and envy of a large part of the world.”
Not a royalist, but…
I mentioned back during the Platinum Jubilee that we Americans, who have never lived under a monarchy, at least as an independent country, we don’t quite know what to think about countries that have kings and queens. We enjoy the pageantry, the ceremony, the family dramas. But I don’t think many of us think about what a king or a queen of a constitutional monarchy can actually do, can actually contribute, in the year 2022.
I’m not a royalist, but I can honestly say that I am starting to have a greater appreciation of a constitutional monarchy, the more I have learned about Queen Elizabeth II and how she exerted influence. I repeat myself; I am not a royalist. But. If I were going to live under a king or a queen, I would want to live under Queen Elizabeth II.
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