You are pretty well completely incorrect. As a former protocol officer of the Royal Australian Navy, and a military historian and history teacher since then I have studied her military career, and those of other members of the Royal family, in quite a lot of detail. I have also had the opportunity to discuss this with Her Majesty, personally, through a friendship with two of her sons.
Her Majesty - as Princess Elizabeth - was on active service as a driver from March until the end of July 1945. She was a driver and she was driving military vehicles as assigned all over south east England, and occasionally into the northern areas as well. There was relatively little press coverage of this active service, although there was during her training period in February which, as I said, the article describes reasonably accurately. You are correct she was not a soldier - she was, as the name of the service she was part of says, an 'Auxiliary'. Further it was an Auxiliary of the Territorials (Army Reserve) rather than the army. Members of various Auxiliary services served during the war sometimes in conditions of danger, other times in positions that were not particularly dangerous, but which were considered to be both active service and war service.
So you have the future Queen of England leaving Windsor Castle every morning and leaving her security people and the intense security of the Royal family’s residence, to go drive a truck around England during the daytime, and then drive back to the castle after the WWII work day so that she could sleep under high security at night.
It was quite common for ATS people to 'live at home' rather than in barracks when it was possible for them to do so. This was normal practice. It saved money on food and accomodation, both of which were in short supply. The Princess did do this, as did most of the people she served alongside - yes, her home was extremely secure in comparison to others, but she was doing what others did.
All that so that she could serve in the last weeks of the war leaving all that daytime truck driving with the rank of Captain.
Not quite. While she was on active service, she was a Second Subaltern and then a Subaltern (equivalent to Second Lieutenant and Lieutenant). She was not promoted to Junior Commander (Captain) until her active service ended. And, yes, she was serving in the last few weeks of the war, but at the time she began her training the war was still predicted to last for as much as another eighteen months - nobody knew when the end would come - anywhere between two and eighteen months were the general estimates.
How many truck drivers enter military service, attend school, attain the rank of Captain and then are discharged, all in five months, all the time living under security, having little contact with normal soldiers, and spending her nights sleeping in the most protected residence of England in WWII for security reasons?
Her service was basically identical to that of the other girls who trained with her. They all became Second Subalterns at the completion of their training, they were mostly promoted to Subaltern after three months, and were mostly demobbed between May and August of 1945, as she was. Once the war in Europe was over, the British forces began to rapidly demobilise - the process began on June 18th 1945 - and those stationed in the UK were generally among the first to be demobbed for purely practical reasons. The Princess was demobilised on 27th July 1945.
Any ideas why she waited until almost her 19th birthday to do all this, just as the war was ending and Germany was totally collapsing?
Yes, as it happens, I do know the reason. Her father would not give permission for her to join the ATS until she finished her schooling. Specifically he would not give permission until she achieved Matriculation standard for Oxford. She did that shortly before Christmas, 1944, when she was still about eighteen and a half - an entirely normal age for somebody to matriculate at that time (some did it at 17, some did at 18, some did at 19). British law at the time 'called up' men at 18, but women were not 'called up' until 20 (and then only if they were unmarried). She was actually fairly young in joining before her 19th birthday.
Only a subject would try to sell the Princess living at Windsor Castle under totally controlled security conditions and attending a theatrical 3 week course down the street as doing military service.
Less than five months even enrolled in service although always stationed at Windsor Castle for her residence, and she leaves as a Captain.
About the only thing you say that I don’t is that you keep making the unsubstantiated claim that while she was largely separated from other people, lived in ultra high security and isolation as the future Queen of England living with the King at Windsor castle, that she inexplicably got to drive around England driving a military truck (during the day, going back to the castle at night, ‘to save money on food’) without security for a number of weeks or a couple of months to earn those promotions all the way to Captain that was normal for all the girls.
“In keeping with her power and status of high birth, on her 16th birthday she was appointed Colonel of the Grenadier Guards during WWII (during 1942).
The Grenadier Guards training element was stationed at her home, Windsor Castle as security and personal escorts for her.”
“”She was enlisted as 230873 Second Subaltern Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the ATS, [March, 1945] and sent to train as a transport officer at Camberley. The course was three weeks and Princess Elizabeth did not associate too closely with her fellow trainees.
She lunched in the officers’ mess and slept the night at Windsor; 50 years later, her grandsons would eat cadet food, iron their own uniforms, polish their own boots and be shouted at on the drill square.
Despite her kid-glove treatment, Princess Elizabeth greatly appreciated her spell in the ATS, believing it gave her a confidence she had previously lacked
The war in Europe was now drawing to a close and on May 8, 1945, the two princesses were allowed out of the Palace with their Guards officer friends to mingle with the crowds in the Mall and join in the shouts of “We want the King” “”