43 vintage photos of Queen Elizabeth II before she became Queen

The royal family sat for a more intimate photo, just the four of them.

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The bride-to-be, Princess Elizabeth, emerges from her carriage as King George VI looks on. The wedding day had some hiccups, which includes the “tiara incident” that occurred just before this photo was taken.

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On November 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten were married at Westminster Abbey. To marry Elizabeth, Philip, who was born into the royal families of Greece and Denmark, had to renounce his birth titles (Prince of Greece and Denmark). In return, his father-in-law-to-be created him Duke of Edinburgh, Baron Greenwich, and Earl of Merioneth.

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On November 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth married the Duke of Edinburgh (previously Philip Mountbatten, the former Prince of Greece and Denmark). Here, the future Queen stands between her father, King George VI, and her husband, who is chatting amiably with his new mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth; next to her is the dowager Queen Mary.

During the summer of 1948, Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, are snapped arriving at Ballater Station en route to Balmoral for a family vacation (or “holiday,” as they say in England). At this time, Elizabeth is six months pregnant with her first child, Prince Charles.

HRH Prince Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on November 14, 1948. In this photo, we see four generations of the royal family: the newborn Prince Charles; Prince Charles’s mother, then-Princess Elizabeth (holding Charles); Elizabeth’s father, King George VI; and King George VI’s mother, the dowager Queen Mary.

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King George VI watches as Princess Elizabeth assists baby Prince Charles as he walks in early 1950. Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth stand to the right, gazing at the future Prince of Wales.

In September 1950, Princess Elizabeth is seen with Prince Charles, age 2, on the train on their way to visit her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Balmoral in Scotland.

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In this photo taken on the grounds of Balmoral Castle in Scotland in late summer 1951, King George VI is on the far left and Queen Elizabeth is on the right; in the centre are Princess Elizabeth, her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and young Prince Charles, who is sitting on the deer sculpture. Princess Margaret is in the background.

Princess Anne is the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Born Her Royal Highness Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise of Edinburgh on August 15, 1950, Anne will later become Princess Royal, a title the monarch may bestow on his/her eldest daughter.