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came up to the Castle to tutor the Princess, arriving in a dog-cart with a Gladstone bag
loaded with books, which weighed a ton, according to the footman deputed to carry it,
just as if Queen Victoria (whom he greatly admired, passing his enthusiasm for her on to
Elizabeth) was still alive. Marten taught her Walter Bagehot on the British constitution,
the bible of the British monarchy, which even George V and George VI (who were
neither of them scholastically inclined) mastered word for word. He was, as one of his
pupils, Lord Home, described him, a racy and enthusiastic teacher to whom history and
historical personalities were very much alive. Elizabeth was also fascinated by the
stories of Queen Victoria told her by Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Marie Louise.
Reminiscing one Christmas at Windsor about conversations with the old Queen, Princess
Marie Louise stopped and said to Elizabeth that it must be boring for her to hear old
people talking about things that happened long ago. ‘But, Cousin Louie,’ Elizabeth said,
‘it’s history and therefore so thrilling…’
From 1942 Antoinette de Bellaigue joined the Princesses’ intimate circle. A Belgian
aristocrat who had escaped from Belgium just before the German invasion, she had been
introduced to the Queen by the Hardinges and asked to join the household to teach the
Princesses French. Antoinette de Bellaigue, ‘Toni’ to the Princesses, was able to give
them a more cosmopolitan education than either Crawfie or Mrs Montaudon-Smith had
been capable of providing. Her idea was to give them, in their isolated, somewhat
narrow life, an idea of European culture and civilization through French language and
literature. At Sir Henry Marten’s suggestion, she gave them lessons in continental
history; he would set essays on the topics Mme de Bellaigue had taught them, which they
would have to return to him written in French. Marten emphasized to her that dates
were not important in themselves; the point about education was to teach a person to
appraise a situation from all sides and develop their judgement. ‘Elizabeth II has always
had from the beginning a positive good judgement,’ Mme de Bellaigue told the royal
biographer, Elizabeth Longford. ‘She had an instinct for the right thing. She was her
simple self, très naturelle. And there was always a strong sense of duty mixed with joie de
vivre in her character.’ Mme de Bellaigue remained a lifelong friend of Elizabeth’s; her
son, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, worked for the Queen at Windsor as Director of the Royal
Collection and Surveyor of the Queen’s Works of Art.
None the less, apart from Elizabeth’s sessions with Sir Henry, hers was an essentially
old-fashioned, somewhat limited education and Margaret’s even more so (later in life
she often complained about how bitter she felt at being comparatively uneducated).
There were dancing classes on Saturday mornings given by the famous Miss Vacani,
who taught all the upper-class children in London, and drawing lessons on Thursday
afternoons with Elizabeth’s friend, Alathea Fitzalan-Howard, and the two Hardinge
girls, Elizabeth and Winifred. Both Elizabeth and Margaret went for twice-weekly riding
lessons which included jumping, while Elizabeth had progressed to the difficult but
elegant art of riding side-saddle. They still had a Guide company and Elizabeth had
become a patrol leader, but the novelty was wearing off; ‘we’re always teaching them
things and do not learn anything new,’ she complained.