On May 8, 1945, Princess Elizabeth joined the crowds in London to celebrate VE Day – an evening she later called ‘one of the most memorable nights of my life’.
After becoming the heir presumptive to the English throne aged just 10 after the abdication of her uncle Edward VIII, her life path quickly changed.
However, a few years after Britain entered the Second World War in 1939, she put her hand up for public service, marking a life-long commitment to serving others.
The teenager did her part for war efforts, helping support the Queen’s Wool Fund, which bought yarn to knit into military garments and offering messages of support to other children evacuated from cities in radio broadcasts.
She later trained as a driver and a mechanic, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. At the time it made her the first female member of the royal family to join the military.
When the end of the war was announced later that year, the Princess, then aged 19, and her younger sister Margaret begged their parents – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – to allow them and join the celebrations in the capital.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Their night out was the subject of the 2015 film A Royal Night Out, which starred Sarah Gadon as the teenage Princess Elizabeth and Bel Powley as Princess Margaret, as they ventured out of Buckingham Palace to enjoy the VE Day celebrations.
Although some details of the story were fictionalised on screen, it was largely well received by critics and audiences.
The movie, which is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, was called ‘sweet’, ‘charming’ and ‘heartwarming’.
How much of A Royal Night Out is true?
After five years of war, the streets of London erupted into a massive celebration, with parades, thanksgiving services and street parties.
An estimated 50,000 people were crowded around Piccadilly Circus by midnight, with music playing on gramophones and bands setting up too, while dance halls stayed open until midnight.
In the 1985 interview with the BBC, Queen Elizabeth recalled asking her parents if she and her sister, then aged 14, could ‘go out and see for ourselves’ after victory was declared.
‘I remember we were terrified of being recognised…I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief,’ she said.
After a day spent waving to crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, around 8pm the pair were accompanied by a group of 16 members of the royal household.
One of them was the princess’s cousin Margaret Rhodes, who once said: ‘I don’t think they’d ever been out among millions of people. It was just freedom – to be an ordinary person.’
To blend in with the crowds, the future Queen wore her Auxiliary Transport Service uniform.
After making their way into the centre of London they eventually ended up at The Ritz, where they took part in a lively conga, an act that left some older ladies ‘looking faintly shocked’ as they also witnessed a group of drunk young people at the famous hotel.
Staying out until 1am, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret ended up in the Royal Parks on their way back to the palace.
By midnight, an estimated 50,000 people had gathered around The Mall, with the King and Queen deciding to make another surprise appearance from the balcony.
Years later Queen Elizabeth recalled watching her parents on the balcony.
‘After crossing Green Park, we stood outside and shouted, “We want the King” and were successful in seeing my parents on the balcony, having cheated slightly because we sent a message into the house to say we were waiting outside. I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life.’
A Royal Night Out is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.