Queen Elizabeth reveals one of the only times in her entire life that she was able to be among ‘the people’
It’s been 75 years since a 19-year-old Princess Elizabeth managed to slip away from the Palace and celebrate the end of World War II with the people of London.
Royals
Don't miss out on the headlines from Royals. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Queen has marked the 75th anniversary of the allied Victory in Europe remembering how she sneaked outside Buckingham Palace in 1945 to celebrate with the joyous crowds.
Her Majesty broadcast a message from Windsor Castle, remaining in isolation under the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.
“I vividly remember the jubilant scenes my sister and I witnessed with our parents and Winston Churchill from the balcony of Buckingham Palace,” the Queen said.
“The sense of joy in the crowds who gathered outside and across the country was profound.”
The Queen delivered her address to the nation alongside a cap that she wore to cover her face when she escaped from the palace to join in the wild celebrations with her sister Princess Margaret. Pictures in The Sun show the young Queen in waiting.
The cap was from her military uniform which she received for joining the ATS and was registered as No. 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.
She had taken a driving and vehicle maintenance course at Aldershot, England, qualifying as a driver.
The Queen said she had been terrified of being recognised on the streets “so I pulled my uniform cap well down over my eyes”.
But she was told off for being out of uniform by a fellow officer.
“A Grenadier officer among our party of about 16 people said he refused to be seen in the company of another officer improperly dressed, so I had to put my cap on normally,” she said during an archive radio interview in 1985 shared by Buckingham Palace.
There had been plans for significant public celebrations across the UK for the 75th anniversary of VE Day, which had been a public holiday.
Pubs had been due to stay open until 1am, with an address from Winston Churchill to be played to patriotic revellers.
Some of the wild scenes of 1945 were expected to be recalled, but the streets of London were empty.
The UK remains in lockdown as it battles coronavirus, which has taken more than 30,000 lives, including a six-week old baby believed to be the nation’s youngest victim.
The Queen held the rank of Second Subaltern on joining the ATS.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 8, 2020
Five months later, she was later promoted to Junior Commander, the equivalent of Captain.
📷 These images shows Princess Elizabeth at the No. 1 Mechanical Training Centre of the ATS, in Camberley, Surrey. pic.twitter.com/p8gWuNTEVh
There was a Royal Air Force flyover of London, and thousands of defiant Brits had parties in the streets outside their homes, although they remained two metres apart.
Parks were full to overflowing across the capital, with some drinking champagne, and others having quiet beers as the nation reflected on the strange circumstances surrounding the historic occasion.
The Queen’s speech was broadcast at 9pm local time which was the same time as her father, King George, spoke 75 years ago.
“The wartime generation knew that the best way to honour those who did not come back from the war, was to ensure that it didn’t happen again,” she said.
“The greatest tribute to their sacrifice is that countries who were once sworn enemies are now friends, working side-by-side for the peace, health and prosperity of us all.
The Queen acknowledged the difficulties of the coronavirus lockdown in her address.
“Today it may seem hard that we cannot mark this special anniversary as we would wish. Instead we remember from our homes and our doorsteps,” she said.
MORE
COVID-19 restrictions lifted: what it means for you
Trump questions tests as virus hits the White House
“But our streets are not empty; they are filled with the love and the care that we have for each other.
“And when I look at our country today, and see what we are willing to do to protect and support one another, I say with pride that we are still a nation those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognise and admire.”
There was a stoic and defiant mood across the country as people flocked to the streets after her speech to sing Dame Vera Lynn’s wartime anthem “We’ll Meet Again.”
The Queen had mentioned the song during a rallying speech last month as she stepped up with another message when the nation felt leaderless with Boris Johnson then in hospital with coronavirus.
The Queen wore the precious jewellery she donned during her Diamond Jubilee televised speech in 2012 - her only other televised address marking an anniversary.
The Queen, 94, has been staying in Windsor Castle with Prince Philip, 98, which was where she retreated during World War Two for her protection.
She also made her first radio broadcast from Windsor Castle, aged 14, to offer hope to children who were evacuated from London because of the German bombing blitz.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the nation in two minutes’ silence.
Prince Charles laid a wreath at a memorial near Balmoral Scotland, where he was staying with his wife Camilla.
A note on the wreath said: “In memory of my darling father, and all the officers and men of the 12th Lancers, who fought so bravely to give us peace. Camilla.”
The couple has been separated from the Queen and Prince William and Kate, who were in Norfolk, to protect the line to the throne in case of coronavirus.
Prince Charles contracted the illness after attending a fundraiser for Australian bushfire relief but has recovered from the illness.
Meanwhile, Flight Lieutenant Terry Clark, 101, died on the eve of VE day - he was one of the last pilots from the Battle of Britain, which defended the UK from a German invasion in 1940.
Winston Churchill said at the time: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Germany surrendered the Second World War on May 8, 1945, a week after Adolf Hitler cowardly committed suicide in a Berlin bunker as the Allies stormed the capital.
stephen.drill@news.co.uk