Princess Elizabeth, the elder child of the Duke and Duchess of York, was born on 21 April 1926 at No. 17 Bruton Street, the London home of her maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. Following King Edward VIII's abdication and accession of her father as King George VI in December 1936, the Princess became heir presumptive to the throne.

Prince Philip, born on 10 June 1921, was the youngest child and only son of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece. His mother was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Educated in Paris, Germany and Great Britain, Prince Philip commenced his naval studies at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in May 1939. He saw active service in the war, rising from Midshipman to Lieutenant in 1942. In the spring of 1947 Prince Philip renounced his Greek royal title and became a naturalized British subject, taking the surname of his maternal grandfather, Mountbatten.