The sheer span of Elizabeth II’s reign and the enormous changes that happened during it defy easy descriptions
When Elizabeth II came to the throne, in 1952, charming country houses that would now be worth several million could be picked up for under £10,000. Sweets, tea, butter, margarine and meat were among the foods still rationed. Only a small minority had fridges, washing machines or telephones. Outside toilets were common, cars aspirational, televisions a novelty item, central heating barely a rumour. Outside, the cities were smoky from the ubiquitous coal fires. Inside, houses were smoky because most adults’ lips held cigarettes.
Children began playing unsupervised shortly after they could walk. Crime rates were low, and front doors often unlocked. Hangings were common enough to be hardly worth reporting except in the most sensational cases. National service for young men was hard to avoid, and some conscripts were sent to fight and die in Korea.
Matthew Engel’s book The Reign – Life in Elizabeth’s Britain, Part 1: The Way It Was, 1952-1979, will be published next month
