Colour images of the Queen during her younger years have come to light ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.

The images of Elizabeth II, who is now 96, span more than 25 years – from her birth in 1926 to 1953, just before her coronation.

The rarely seen shots were rediscovered in the TopFoto archives and mostly show the monarch when she was known as Princess Elizabeth.

One recently colourised picture shows the future Queen recording her first radio broadcast with her sister Princess Margaret from Windsor in 1940 – aired during Children’s Hour for BBC radio.

There are other wartime shots of the siblings, who refused to be evacuated to Canada and instead stayed in the UK over the course of the war, living in Scotland, Norfolk and Windsor over.

As well as putting on pantomimes to raise money for the war effort, Elizabeth trained as a driver and mechanic and was given the rank of honorary junior commander with the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Over the course of the war, Elizabeth had been exchanging letters with Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, and in 1947 the two announced their engagement, marrying later that year.

They are seen at a rehearsal for her coronation in 1953.

The couple welcomed their first child – Prince Charles – in 1948, followed by Princess Anne in 1950. A decade later, they would have their second son, Prince Andrew, and in 1964, their third, Prince Edward.

In 1952, the news reached Elizabeth that her father had died, making her Queen with immediate effect. Coronated in June 1953, Queen Elizabeth began the reign that has so far lasted 70 years, bringing her to her Platinum Jubilee this weekend, with events expected across the nation.

Another picture shows Elizabeth as a baby with her mother in 1926.

Queen Elizabeth was born on 21 April that year and became first in line for the throne after Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 and her father, George VI, became King.

Few expected Elizabeth to ever take the throne, since Edward was young and expected to have plenty of heirs, who would overtake Elizabeth’s place in line.

However, less than a year after the death of Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, Edward gave up the throne in order to marry Wallace Simpson, an American divorcee.

The images come as portraits of the Queen throughout her 70-year reign were projected on to Stonehenge.

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