In the days before beginning her historic 70-year reign as Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, or Princess Elizabeth as she was then, experienced a quiet childhood with her close-knit family.
Both her and her sister, Princess Margaret, were home-schooled, and Her Royal Highness learned everything from constitutional history and law to French. Elizabeth also studied art and music, learned to ride a horse, and became a strong swimmer. In fact, she became so skilled in the pool that she even received great acclaim during one particular meet.
When she was 13, shortly after her father had acceded to the throne as King George VI, she won the Children's Challenge Shield at London's Bath Club. This was a proud moment for the young royal, and she duly liked to show off her achievement every time she donned her swimming costume.
Read more: The sandwich that the Queen has eaten every day since she was a young girl
Elizabeth’s life would change forever following the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936, leading to her father coming to the throne as King George VI. This suddenly promoted Elizabeth to first in line and she would come into hotter focus from the media as a result, marking an end to the relatively normal childhood she experienced with her sister and parents.
Prior to this line in the sand, she had freedom at 145 Piccadilly and was able to enjoy country walks, horse riding and birthday parties. One hobby she continued to partake in after moving into the royal residence at Buckingham Palace was swimming.
As the Telegraph reported, the Queen recently reminisced about the pre-World War Two days when both her and Margaret were taken to swimming lessons at a Mayfair gentlemen's club. By 1941, Princess Elizabeth had honed her swimming skills to the point where she became the first person in the Commonwealth to receive a Junior Respiration Award.
Her Majesty recalled the work ethic it took for her to reach that moment and was incredibly proud to claim this achievement. So proud that she even admitted to wearing the badge on the front of her swimming suit.
Lady Myra Butter also attended these lessons having been one of a number of girls to be enlisted by Buckingham Palace to join Elizabeth in typical childhood activities. She told The Telegraph that their swimming teacher, Miss Daly, adopted a strange “YITX” coaching technique, which clearly worked to perfection for the Princess.
“[You had to] lie flat on your face, and then stretch your arms out in front of you and use your arms and your legs only. Y, you open your legs and your arms stiff. Close your legs which makes an I. Then T, you spread your arms out and then X, you double up and push.”
Princess Elizabeth's love for all things water was further illustrated when she later become a Sea Ranger. She had previously enrolled as a Girl Guide when she was 11.
