Hobbies and pursuits of a young princess

Princess Elizabeth hugging her corgi. Image from Flickr

Buckingham Palace has its own chapel, post office, swimming pool, staff cafeteria, doctor’s surgery and cinema. Life in the most famous palace in the world is filled with business of state, pomp and ceremony and to cater to the day to the day needs of the British Royal Family, a strong household of over 400 staff is employed.

Since the young Princess Elizabeth did not attend a normal school, it was decided that the 1^st Buckingham Palace Company of Girl Guides should be established to allow her to  meet and play with other children. Of course, these “playmates” were daughters of aristocrats and courtiers, who were still required to curtsey to the princess. A weekly meeting was held by the Guides at the palace gardens, George V’s summerhouse, or the Palace swimming pool. The highlight was weekends spent with Guides in Windsor Great Park, where they went on treks, camped overnight, built campfires and ate grilled sausages.

Family holidays are spent in the faraway royal estates, where the Royal Family could spend their days resting and relaxing far from the prying eyes of the public. The young princess’ first seaside holiday in Eastbourne  was stained by private detectives and curious crowds hounding around. Since then, the future King George VI decided to spend the much-needed annual two-month holiday (August and September) in Balmoral.  Just like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the family fell for the peace and quiet offered by the Scottish estate. The Duke and Duchess of York, in particular, spent their time here shooting and fishing, while the princesses enjoyed the freedom of the outdoors and an household staff also spent their summers there. In fact, Elizabeth and her friends started their own magazines, which they called the Snapdragon. The princess wrote an article for the magazine, describing her experiences of watching the changing of the guard from her window at the Palace.

Elizabeth has nurtured a passion for horses at a young age. In fact, it all began in infancy at 145 Piccadilly, back to the days when she would be riding her toy horses up and down the nursery corridor. At the age of four, she already learned how to ride and it was her grandfather King George V who would had significantly influenced her to love horses. This passion for horses would further develop through her teenage years during her twice-a-week riding lessons at Windsor. It was this time when she learned how to jump, eventually mastering the challenging art riding sidesaddle.

Despite the glitter and the glamour of royal life, the teenage Elizabeth was a country woman at heart. In fact, she once told Marion Crawford that she would marry a farmer and have “lots of cows, horses and dogs and children”.