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Children's Hour: Princess Elizabeth

PRINCESS ELIZABETH | The Making of a Queen

Children's Hour | Princess Elizabeth

A message from Princess Elizabeth on 'Children's Hour'.

CHANNEL | Home Service

FIRST BROADCAST | 13 October 1940

DURATION | 4 minutes 18 seconds

FIRSTBROADCAST

1940

Synopsis

The 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth sends her best wishes to the children who have been evacuated from Britain to America, Canada and elsewhere. Princess Margaret joins her to wish all children goodnight. This is the earliest recording of the future Queen in the BBC archives.

The picture above shows HRH Princess Elizabeth, and other members of the Royal Family, visiting the BBC studios at Broadcasting House in 1939.

Did you know?

Evacuation of children in Britain from the cities to the countryside started in September 1939. In 1940, the British government began evacuating children to dominion countries such as Canada, but only about 13,000 were evacuated abroad altogether due to the increasing threat of ships being torpedoed.

Contributors

Derek McCulloch
Presenter
HRH Princess Elizabeth
Contributor
HRH Princess Margaret
Contributor

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