Queen Elizabeth will be the subject of an upcoming documentary from ITV. The show, titled Our Queen at War, will explore how a young Elizabeth Windsor's war experiences during World War II shaped her reign.
According to Variety, Our Queen at War will open with Queen Elizabeth at 13 years old, who first met her future husband, Philip Mountbatten. It will also delve on then-Princess Elizabeth's radio broadcast for the British people, as well as her experiences when a V-1 bomb targeted the city of London.
Princess Elizabeth didn't flee abroad when the war broke, unlike many aristocratic and privileged family in Britain at that time. She remained at home in Windsor Castle and had to study the constitution with the experts from Eton College. All the while, her parents, King George VI and the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, were at Buckingham Palace overseeing the developments of the war.
At 16, Princess Elizabeth was tasked to inspect the troops and she made sure to be updated with the war by watching news reels every week. By the time she was 18 years old, Princess Elizabeth signed up with the British Army as the first female royal to be of service to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).
It wasn't until seven years later when Princess Elizabeth would ascend to the throne as Queen Elizabeth, after the death of her father due to an illness. However, the previous worldwide conflict immensely prepared her for monarchy.
BBC Studios will produce Our Queen At War alongside ITV. The show's airing date has not yet been confirmed.
At 93, the Queen is fighting yet another war against the coronavirus public health crisis. In her televised addressed to the British people last April 5, Queen Elizabeth reflected on a similar address she and her sister did during World War II.
"We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety," the monarch said in her speech, which earned over 24 million viewers across Britain. "Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones."
Queen Elizabeth closed her address to assure the Britons that they will see each other again amid the isolation and stay-at-home orders to stop the spread of the virus. In another public address for Easter, the Queen told her subjects that they will not let the coronavirus overcome them.
