Figure 1.--All children loved to dress up in fancy costumes. Children from wealthy families can often endulge their fanatasies. The little girl here is one of the most famous people in the world--Britain's beloved Queen mum. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002), future Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI, wears a Renaissance fancy-dress costume with her brother, Lord David Bowes-Lyon at Glamis Castle, Angus, their Scottish home. The photograph was taken in 1909. The Lady Elizabeth reportedly loved to dress up as a Princess.

Elizabeth was the 9th of 10 children. One might suspect that a little girl might be rather lost in a family of five older brothers and three older sisters, but the young Lady Elizabeth pursued life with a passdion. Elizabeth was especially close to her little brother David, about 2 years younger. the two developed a well-deserved reputation for playing pranks. Unexpecting often high-class guests dressed in their best clothes were sometimes doused with a bucket filled with icy water that the two michievious childen would tip over and send cascading down a 90ft tower above the entrance to the castle. I'm not sure how many times the two were allowed to get away with that little prank. Elizabeth was also close to an older sister--Mary Frances, known as May. As an adult May lived in Carberry Tower, with her husband, Lord Elphinstone. Canberry Tower is near Musselburgh outsoide of Edinburgh. Elizabeth would often visit when her husband had official duties in Edinburgh.

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Created: April 2, 2002
Last updated: 12:40 AM 6/24/2004