1936 Life Magazine: The Future Queen

Taking an occasional trip down memory lane can be a refreshing and nostalgic experience. I enjoy reminiscing on times when I only worried about if I could play with my best friend or not. At the age of ten, my life was simplistic, fun, and easy. I left the worry of growing up for future Kara. For some, growing up came at an early age.

In 1936, Princess Elizabeth of York became the tentative heir of the British throne. Her picture was found in almost every British and American magazine, including the newly founded Life. The weight of the throne became heavy on her father, Albert the Duke of York, as he became next in line for the throne with the abdication of King Edward VIII. 

The whirlwind and gossip of the time could not be lost on Princess Elizabeth. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin forbade King Edward VIII to marry the infamous Mrs. Simpson if he wanted to remain king. The king abdicated. The royal family and advisers considered Mrs. Simpson ineligible for marriage for many reasons. The largest being her divorcee status and being married to another man during her affair with then Prince Edward. 

The Duke of York, Albert, became coronated early in 1937 as King George VI. Young Elizabeth started making decisions based on the responsibilities she could inherit at any moment. Life in the first issues kept continual tabs on the young girl. From that moment on, every move she made Life and other magazines documented, such as her first royal appearance as an heir. Laws were changed all throughout her lifetime to allow her more responsibility as a female heir.

Through the past decades, the royal family has received heat for being strict on moral codes. One can only assume this stemmed from Queen Elizabeth’s early coming-of-age story. Due to her uncle’s “scandal” and poor decision-making, the respect by some of the empires subjects became lost. Living such a high profile life from an early age must have shaped most of Queen Elizabeth’s habits and beliefs.

An ironic correlation between Life and Elizabeth is that they both began to grow-up at the same time. Life was first published in November 1936. Elizabeth became an heir in December of that same year. The irony is that Life was one of the few magazines to publish about the royal family scandals happening in Britain. British magazines refused to even print Mrs. Simpson's name unless it was next to her husbands. Life acted as a leech to the royal trouble, being brought to life by their trouble by printing gossip most magazines would not touch. 

From December 1936 and on, Queen Elizabeth continued to be a person of interest in Life. An issue of Life almost always had stories on the new princess. She began growing up at the end of 1936, but by the time of WWII at age 18 she was acting as Counselor of State. She continued to be groomed to accede the throne all starting with one man’s abdication of the British throne. Life has become a staple magazine in American culture. Both came "of age" in the tumultuous year of 1936.