The Queen and Prince Philip have been married for more than 70 long and loving years. With The Queen having recently celebrated 65 years on the throne, many people want to know about the man who has long been by her side and their love story. In the 71 years they have been married they have conquered triumph and tragedy by each other’s sides.
The first time Princess Elizabeth met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was in passing at a family function, the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark in 1934 when she was just eight-years-old, and he was 13-years-old. The Queen and Prince Philip are third cousins through Queen Victoria and second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark. It wasn’t until years later when The Queen’s father, King George VI brought a then 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth along with him for a tour of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939 that she fell in love with the 18-year-old Prince Philip and began to exchange letters with him.
In October 1946 they were photographed next to each other at the wedding of their mutual cousin Lady Patricia Mountbatten when Prince Philip took the coats of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. This was one of their first public appearances together, and everyone soon suspected a budding romance between the two. That same year they became secretly engaged, but The Queen’s father insisted they hold off on a formal engagement until the queens 21st birthday. The engagement was officially announced on 9 July 1947.
The announcement didn’t come without controversy; it was considered controversial because Prince Philip was deemed to be unpolished, nearly broke, a foreign royal, and had no fixed address at the time. Before the couple could be married, Prince Philip had to renounce all of his Greek and Danish titles and had to convert from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism as well as change his name to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten – choosing his mother’s British family surname.
The Queen and Prince Philip married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London. The Queen wore a Norman Hartnell wedding gown. The morning of the wedding Prince Philip was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They honeymooned in the Broadlands in Hampshire, where Princes Philip’s uncle, Earl Mountbatten, lived.
Throughout their marriage, they have had four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, along with countless other grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Prince Philip is the longest-serving royal consort in British history. When The Queen succeeded to the throne, she chose not to take Philip’s last name and kept hers as Windsor, but their descendants would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor.
Prince Philip has long been considered The Queen’s constant companion. Having fallen in love and married so young, they have been together for more than 70 years. Leaning on each other when Princess Elizabeth suddenly became Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 25, Prince Philip has stood by The Queen’s side for the 65 years she has been Queen. They lived through World War II together, Philip as a naval officer and The Queen in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. They have remained a strong couple even through the divorces of three of their four children.
They lived through World War II together,
?
WW II 1939-1945
they both lived through the war, but not together
As a GI in WWII I met and married on November 6, 1943 my loving English wife Elsie Sheldon Duncan from Norbury. Elsie lived through the Blitz.We were married for 74 years until she passed last August. We were a classic loving couple maintaining our ties with UK family living and working in London for many years. Ours was a Romeo and Juliet marriage that mirrors their Majesties. God Save the Queen.
What a lovely story. Thank you for being here for us in those times and for sharing your story. I am so sorry for your loss.
I have to tell you that they definitely did not live through WW2 together. She was 14 when war broke out and barely knew him.
They went to different schools together as well….
They definitely did not go to school together because Princess Elizabeth did not go to school. She was tutored at home by a governess and he went to boys’ only schools before entering Naval College.
Look at my sentence again…I was joking.
You certainly know your stuff Kathleen! What sheer ignorance is displayed here. I was given the book by ‘Crawfie’ the Princesses Governess which my Mother bought while on a visit to the UK which I read over and over again . In it was a wonderful pic of Prince Phillip when young whom the Queen met as a Princess aged 13 He looked so blonde and ‘dishy’ No wonder she admired him..They were such a handsome couple on all those wedding photos. Apparently, the Queen Mum was very cross when it was published and they were said to have ‘ignored’ Miss Crawford since that as there was a stipulation that no employee of the Royal household should divulge anything of their ‘service history’. Really irks me about all that’ German’ stuff used to villify the Royal family ,without a clue as to WHY the German Royals were ‘invited; here in the 1st place ,, nor how or why King James Stuart 1st , 6th of Scotland was also. .Shall re-iterate. It was because King George the 1st was an HEIR of the Stuarts ,descended from King James’s daughter, Elizabeth Stuart the Winter Queen. Also, our Queen & Princess Margaret are HALF Scots, the Queen Mum being Elizabeth Bowes Lyon daughter of the Scots , Earl of Glamis.
Been a fan since I was able to look at a newspaper – our only source of information! Then at weekends they would always feature on Pathe News if you were lucky to get to the cinema. It was a shame about Crawlie but she broke the rules of the time. I think Prince Charles went to her funeral but in a private capacity.
Grammar and punctuation could do with a polish before publishing. No Editor?
Editor? What’s that? Nobody on the internet is an editor or does editing these days.
Oh? OK. Don’t know much about the ‘workings’. That explains why they are often so awful. Thanks.
Amen!!
Love both of them especially the way the Queen tolerates Prince Philip”s lack of decorum,by speaking his mind!
This article doesn’t mention Phillip’s Nazi connections. 3 of Phillips sisters married prominent Nazis, one sister named her first son Karl Adolf in honor of Hitler.
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg is Philip’s real surname. But who cares because the Queen’s real surname is also is German – Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
No one questions the loyalty of Phillip. Yet facts are facts and should be published in any article purporting to be about him, even if it’s a puff piece.
RavenRaving , Have you any idea Why the Hanoverians where invited to rule in England? So was James Stuart 1st of England . The Scots monarchs also have ENGLISH blood from Saint Margaret if I not mistaken who married King Malcolm. Also just WHO are the Anglo Saxons? Were they not from Anglund and Saxony in Germany? The Battenburgs (Mountbattens) are also DANISH as Queen Alexandra was. Prince Phillip & the Queen are most viciously and vilely libelled on Youtube by the mentally deranged. This is . because the Prince who had no family home at all was sent to be near his sister on Germany and her husband who founded a school with the help of the German JEWISH founder of Gordonstoun before WW2. This school was infiltrated and ‘taken over’ . Because of this the Prince has been called a Nazi as its school boys used a a Nazi type salute to ABUSE their fellows as the Prince also did. He was removed after that takeover and his brother in law, the Prince of Baden ?its founder ,when realized the truth about them, was so dismayed, he joined a PLOT to assassinate the Fuehrer. Far from being a Nazi , Prince Philip joined our Navy and served as loyally as his ancestor , Prince Louis also in our Navy, was similarly villified. As for Prince Phillip’s ‘jokes’ I thought some quite hilarious.Has anyone seen what some ‘Indian ,electricians, can do in India??
Queen Alexandra was the daugther of the King of Denmark not the Battenburg familie the Danish king and Now Queen decent from Glyckburg (spelling)
Have made it clear that Queen Alexandra was Danish but meant Prince Philip’ altho Mountbatten was in fact Danish also as his ancestor was King George of Greece & Denmark. Thought it was clear who that Queen was. Should have made clear tho’ what Prince Phillip of Greece & Denmark’s title was. We do know that the Mountbattens are called so because of that BERG/Mountain of the Battens!! descended from the Dukes of Hesse & the Rhine which is a German name of course but the lovely Queen Alexandra was Danish as was her sister Marie, the Tsarina of Russia who married the Tsar Alexander. This is how the ill fated last Tsar Nicholas Romanov of Russia was first cousin of our King George the 5th of the UK. which is why he & his family sought refuge in here when he abdicated after Bolshevik revolution. Prince Phillip of Greece & DENMARK’s surname was DANISH: . Schleswig. Holstein, Sonderburg Glucksberg as his father was Prince Andrew of Greece & Denmark who was descended from King George of Greece & DENMARK. King George of Greece being son of King Christian IX of Denmark & Princess Louise of Hesse Kassel which is what I meant by Mountbatten’s having Danish blood.. It is Prince Phillip whose surname was Danish but chose to take his mother’s Battenburg surname.He also has Russian blood thru’ above line..He shares this mixed ancestry with our Queen whose gt. grandmother was Queen Alexandra, a Danish Princess who married King Edward 8th.
Oh go smoke your pipe outdoors, Raven! Good grief!
Which is it ? 68 or 69 ? Jeeeze !
69! 😉
I bet she secretly enjoys all of those remarks of his, lightens things up during stuffy occasions, lol.