Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s enduring royal romance

Queen Elizabeth died peacefully in her sleep at Balmoral Citadel at age 96 on Thursday — just a bit over a yr after her beloved husband handed on April 9, 2021.

Lasting greater than seven many years, the romance between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip was a love story that captivated followers for generations.

The legendary pairing — which was the longest marriage within the historical past of the British royal household — started in 1939, when a 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth of England formally met, and was immediately charmed by, the dashing younger Prince Philip of Greece.

All of 18 on the time, Philip Mountbatten was getting ready for a profession within the Royal Navy, attending Britannia Royal Naval Faculty in Dartmouth, England, the place Elizabeth’s father King George VI had additionally attended.

Regardless of the pair having met at royal occasions earlier than, the third cousins — each of them shared a great-grandmother in Queen Victoria — weren’t correctly launched till younger Elizabeth was touring the Naval Faculty.

In line with these near the household, it was love at first sight.

Black and white photo of Princess Elizabeth with Philip Mountbatten on their wedding day in 1947.
Princess Elizabeth with Philip Mountbatten on their wedding ceremony day in 1947.
Getty Pictures

Prince Philip was all the time ‘the precise man for the job’

Queen Elizabeth’s nanny Marion Crawford wrote in her e-book “The Little Princesses” that the teenager would “flip pink” at any time when she noticed Philip, including she “by no means took her eyes off him.”

Her curiosity within the younger prince was additionally acknowledged by her cousin Margaret Rhodes, who wrote that the princess “was really in love from the very starting” in her autobiography “The Remaining Curtsey: A Royal Memoir by the Queen’s Cousin.”

Queen Elizabeth in an official photos with Philip following her coronation
The Queen and Philip’s lives modified dramatically after she turned queen in 1953.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Imaegs

Elizabeth wasn’t the one one taken with the good-looking prince. King George VI reportedly felt Philip to be “the precise man for the job” of the soon-to-be queen’s consort.

The younger lovers spent years protecting in contact by exchanging letters with one another throughout World Struggle II. Their engagement was lastly introduced in July 1947, simply after Elizabeth turned 21. Philip renounced his rights to the Greek and Danish thrones, and the couple was married in November 1947.


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The royal newlyweds spent the primary couple of years of their marriage in Malta, the place Prince Philip was stationed with the Royal Navy. Nevertheless, the relocation proved to be short-lived, with King George unexpectedly passing away in 1952 after a number of years of sickness.

Photograph of Prince Philip holding a young Andrew and Princess Elizabeth holding Anne.
The couple had two kids when King George VI died and Elizabeth turned queen.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Imaegs

He gave up all the things for his queen

Simply six years into their marriage, Elizabeth, then 27, turned the Queen of England in 1953. Along with her assuming the throne, Philip was compelled to surrender his naval profession. In line with a number of experiences, the Duke of Edinburgh initially struggled with the change, together with different quirks that got here with being married to the queen. For instance, their kids (Prince Charles born in 1948 and Princess Anne born in 1950) weren't given his surname on account of their mom’s title.

Nonetheless, his allegiance by no means appeared to waver: On the coronation in 1953, Prince Philip knelt down in entrance of his spouse, the queen, swearing: “I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do turn into your liege, man of life and limb and of earthly worship.”

Photo of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip sitting on a couch.
In line with folks near the couple, it was “love at first sight.”
Bettmann Archive/Getty Imaegs

Lodging had been made, through the years. In 1960, earlier than their third baby Andrew was born, the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh determined the Queen’s kids, once they wanted a surname, could be given the title Mountbatten-Windsor to replicate Philip’s surname. The Queen gave beginning to her fourth baby, Edward, in 1964.

Though the monarch by no means publicly “gushed” over her husband, she notably referred to as him her “fixed power and information” throughout her 2012 Jubilee speech.

“He's somebody who doesn’t take simply to compliments, however he has, fairly merely, been my power and keep all these years,” the monarch stated throughout a speech on her fiftieth wedding ceremony anniversary in 1997.

The royal couple was photographed simply earlier than Philip’s 99th birthday in 2020.
PA Pictures by way of Getty Pictures

She continued: “And I, and his complete household, and this and lots of different nations owe him a debt better than he would ever declare, or we will ever know.”

Philip credited “tolerance” for his or her profitable marriage.

“I feel the principle lesson that we have now discovered is that tolerance is the one important ingredient of any blissful marriage,” he stated whereas celebrating their fiftieth wedding ceremony anniversary. “It is probably not fairly so vital when issues are going effectively, however it's completely very important when the going will get troublesome. You'll be able to take it from me that the queen has the standard of tolerance in abundance.”

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the State Opening of Parliament sitting on thrones.
The couple supported one another all through their years of marriage.
Popperfoto by way of Getty Pictures

Queen Elizabeth paid tribute to her husband in her 2021 Christmas speech

After Philip’s loss of life at age 99 in 2021, grandson Prince William spoke of his dedication to his spouse and household.

“My grandfather’s century of life was outlined by service,” he wrote on the Kensington Royal Instagram web page. “To his nation and Commonwealth, to his spouse and Queen, and to our household.”

Queen Elizabeth wearing black and a mask sitting in a pew by herself at Prince Philip's funeral.
Queen Elizabeth mourning the lack of her beloved husband in 2021.
AP

in 2021, through the queen’s annual Christmas speech, she spoke of her longtime husband, talking of his “sense of service, mental curiosity and capability to squeeze enjoyable out of any scenario,”

“That mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as brilliant on the finish as once I first set eyes on him,” she stated throughout her speech. “However life, after all, consists of ultimate partings in addition to first conferences; and as a lot as I and my household miss him, I do know he would need us to take pleasure in Christmas.”

Like several couple within the public eye, the royal romance suffered rumors of infidelity, notably on Philip’s half. Nevertheless, none have been confirmed.

In the end, the epic relationship between the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh was a long-lasting inspiration for the love of service.

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