Queen Elizabeth II: Her family life, Princess Diana and a new generation of Windsor children

She and Philip appeared likeable, sensible parents and their children, Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, seemed to be happy and well-adjusted.

It was only as the children came to adulthood that the tensions and realities of growing up in the royal household became apparent. There was never any doubt that the Queen was a devoted and loving mother, but the demands of her role meant that she was never able to spend as much time with her children as she would have liked.

Their childhoods were spent in boarding schools and in the care of nannies, and their relationships with the Queen were occasionally strained and distant.

The expression of emotion had been frowned upon within the House of Windsor since George V’s time, and the Queen was not a tactile mother who would hug her children when they were upset.

Courtiers spoke of her withdrawing from the arguments and friction that are part of every family’s life, leaving Philip to sort out problems.

And yet, as she grew older and it became apparent that the Royal Family was not a shining example of perfection, but a family beset by troubles and heartaches, its problems won the Queen considerable public sympathy.

Here was a woman who was not only sovereign, but a mother too, struggling to cope with the antics of her children, just like countless other mothers across the land.

Families throughout Britain shared in the Queen’s happiness, too. The birth of Charles in 1948 was the cause of national rejoicing, as was the arrival of Anne in 1950. Then, 10 years later, the Queen became the first reigning monarch since Victoria to give birth, with the arrival of Andrew. Her fourth child, Edward, was born in 1964.

Charles was a sensitive child, and his mother’s emotional aloofness in his early years made for an uneasy relationship between them at times.

She was more comfortable with Anne, a robust character who shared her passion for horses.

By the time her two younger sons arrived, the Queen had struck a better balance between her duties and family life, and found time to spend with them.

Andrew, an uncomplicated, rumbustious child, was her favourite, and Edward, another sensitive boy, Philip’s favourite. When he was born, his mother told a friend: “Goodness what fun it is to have a baby in the house again.

“He’s a great joy to us all, especially Andrew who is completely fascinated by him. In fact he considers him his own property, even telling Charles and Anne to ‘come and see my baby’.”

She worried about them all, especially Andrew when he flew combat missions as a Royal Navy pilot during the Falklands War in 1982. And they gave her much to worry about.

Charles, Anne and Andrew all married amid massive publicity and public goodwill, and all divorced in acrimonious circumstances which exposed the entire Royal Family to stinging criticism which disturbed the Queen deeply.

Edward exposed the family to derision, first by staging a tawdry televised It’s a Royal Knockout tournament, and then by invading the privacy of young Prince William in order to prop up his ailing television company.

As the Queen reached 70, in 1996, the actions of her two elder sons and their spouses had laid siege to the House of Windsor.

Royal status was being debased by the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York, who appeared to see it as no more than a passport to parties. Their behaviour angered the public, which questioned why it was paying for jet-set lifestyles via the Civil List in the midst of the worst recession for generations.

A yawning chasm had opened up between the Queen and her children, who appeared to lack the sense of duty and responsibility that had driven her since the day in 1936 when she became heir to the throne.

It was the death of Diana in 1997 that spurred the Queen to take firmer control of her family.

The shock of losing William and Harry’s mother aged only 36 and the huge public outpouring of grief at her death jolted the Queen into rethinking the way the family went about its business.

Diana’s death also marked the beginning of a new closeness between the Queen and her children and grandchildren. Her first reaction when informed of the tragic events in Paris was to comfort William and Harry, who were kept away from the public gaze at Balmoral.

By the time of her hugely successful Golden Jubilee, in 2002, she had steered the Royal Family into calmer waters.

Charles, who had often clashed with his mother, paid her a warm tribute at the end of a unique pop concert in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, and the affection between them was plain to see.

Her tacit acknowledgement of his long-term relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, and approval of their marriage, had eased the tensions between them.

Anne had also remarried, to Commander Timothy Laurence, and grew ever closer to her mother, especially after the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, when she became the Queen’s closest female confidante.

Andrew and Edward, though, continued to be sources of concern. The Duke of York was photographed partying whilst supposedly on missions to promote British trade.

Edward and his wife, Sophie, had already been reprimanded for persisting in using their royal status to promote business ventures, and the Queen was forced to intervene forcefully after Sophie was caught by a newspaper blatantly boasting that she would use her position to gain clients of her public relations firm access to powerful people.

She ordered Edward and Sophie to terminate their business interests and concentrate on royal duties.

Yet she was nothing if not forgiving. As the years passed, Sophie grew closer to the Queen, and after Philip’s death was reportedly the source of great comfort to her.

The Queen derived much pleasure from the company of her grandchildren. She was close to William and Harry, and exceptionally fond of Anne’s children, Peter and Zara Phillips. There was also a special place in her heart for Princess Margaret’s children, Viscount Linley and Lady Sara Chatto.

Increasingly, the grandchildren took a prominent place alongside her on public occasions.

In her 90s, the younger royals were a great source of pride and comfort as they married, started families, and forged an energetic and affectionate bond with the public. This was yet another reinvention of royalty, and the Queen’s pride and approval was plain to see.

The marriage of William to Kate Middleton in 2011, and the birth of their children, George, Charlotte and Louis, helped give the Royal Family a new surge of popularity.

That was boosted further when Harry married the American actress Meghan Markle in May 2018, and their first child, Archie, was born the following year. The couple had a daughter in June 2021, naming her Lilibet, the affectionate family name for the young Princess Elizabeth.