Following the sad death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the world’s thoughts are now with the royal family as they mourn, in particular Her Majesty the Queen, who has lost her husband of over 73 years.
The Queen and Philip went through incredible milestones throughout their marriage.
In November 2020, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh released a sweet portrait of the pair in honour of their 73rd wedding anniversary.
When the Queen met her dashing war hero Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, she was a young Princess Elizabeth, heiress to the British throne.
The couple were the William and Kate or Harry and Meghan of their day, with every stage of their courtship eagerly followed by an adoring public.
After tying the knot on 20 November 1947, the Princess described her husband in letters to her parents and her cousin as “an angel” and “the best and nicest man in the world”. Meanwhile, Philip said ahead of the wedding: “I am sure that I do not deserve all the good things that have happened to me… to have fallen in love, completely and unreservedly.”
Elizabeth first set eyes on Philip when she was just a teenager, while touring the British naval academy where he was training. A 6ft blue-eyed Adonis prone to irreverent jokes, he exuded confidence and charm. From that time on, “she never thought of anyone else,” said the Prince’s cousin, Lady Pamela Hicks.
The Queen’s cousin Margaret Rhodes also revealed: “I’ve got letters from her saying, ‘It’s so exciting. Mummy says that Philip can come and stay.’ She was truly in love from the very beginning.”
When Philip returned from the Second World War eight years later, the pair’s courtship began in earnest. But it took some time for Philip to be accepted by the establishment, because his family was exiled from Greece and without land or fortune.
Elizabeth’s devotion never wavered and in July 1947, their engagement was announced.
Writing to his mother-in-law, Philip sweetly said in a letter: “Cherish Lilibet? I wonder if that word is enough to express what is in me.”
Credit: Hellomagazine