Royal romance in pictures: A lifelong love affair

The boy destined to win the heart of an English princess was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in Corfu on June 10, 1921. He was the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg and – like the Queen – a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria. Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty

Elizabeth and Philip met at a wedding when she was a young girl, but the Queen has written: “The first time I remember meeting Philip was at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in July 1939, just before the war … I was 13 years of age and he was 18 and a cadet just due to leave. He joined the Navy at the outbreak of war, and I only saw him very occasionally when he was on leave – I suppose about twice in three years.” The fledgling relationship was sustained by regular letters. Picture: Getty

Elizabeth’s cousin Margaret Rhodes says the future Queen was enamoured with Philip. “She never looked at anyone else. She was smitten from the start.” Philip eventually asked King George VI for his daughter’s hand in marriage in 1946, but the engagement was not publicly announced until July 1947. In the meantime Philip renounced his own royal titles and took the surname Mountbatten. Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty

Elizabeth and Philip, now the Duke of Edinburgh, were married at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947, with the Queen wearing a Norman Hartnell gown and her groom in his Naval uniform. Despite the splendour of the occasion, post-war austerity measures were still in place and the Princess used ration stamps to pay for the material of her dress.

The newlyweds spent their wedding night at Broadlands in Hampshire before heading to Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate for the rest of their honeymoon. This picture of the loving couple was taken as they walked in the grounds at Broadlands – and was to be followed by a strikingly similar shot at the same spot 60 years later.

A portrait released to mark the Queen and Prince Philip’s Diamond wedding anniversary harks back to the first days of their marriage and the earlier picture taken at Broadlands. The Queen wears the same pearls and brooch featured in the 1947 photo, and once again links arms with her husband as she smiles up at him. Picture: Getty

Elizabeth and Philip quickly established their own family, with son Charles born a year after the wedding on November 14, 1948, and their only daughter Anne born on August 15, 1950. Between 1949 and 1951 the couple spent months at a time in Malta, where Philip was stationed as a Naval officer, enjoying a normal family life away from the scrutiny of the British public, but that relatively carefree existence was not to last. Picture: Getty

Less than five years into their marriage, Elizabeth and Philip’s lives changed forever with the King’s death in February 1952. Elizabeth immediately ascended to the throne and was crowned the following year. Both had to grow accustomed to their new roles, and for Philip, who reluctantly gave up his Naval career, it was not an easy transition. He has said he took “the principal role” in family life before the King’s death. “In 1952 the whole thing changed, very, very considerably. There were plenty of people telling me what not to do, I had to try to support the Queen as best I could without getting in the way. The difficulty was to find things that might be useful.” Picture: AFP

The Queen and Prince Philip pose at Windsor Castle in a photo from 1959. The couple successfully navigated the pressures placed on their relationship by their change in status after her ascension to the throne, and Philip carved out his own role, including founding the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 1956. Commenting on the success of the marriage, the Queen’s ex-Private Secretary Lord Charteris said: “Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being. He’s the only man who can. Strange as it may seem, I believe she values that.” He also said: “It’s not unknown for the Queen to tell the Duke to shut up.” Picture: Getty

The Queen and Prince Philip completed their family with the births of Prince Andrew in 1960 and Prince Edward in 1964. Their parenting style has often come under scrutiny, particularly in their relationship with Charles. Royal biographer Gyles Brandreth has said Philip acknowledged the differences between them. “He’s a romantic,” the Duke of Edinburgh said of Charles, “and I’m a pragmatist – that means we do see things differently. And because I don’t see things as a romantic would, I’m unfeeling.” The Queen’s cousin Margaret Rhodes said: “They are not arms out and cuddly people, really. They are not lovey-dovey. But they mind a lot about each other, even if they don’t show it.”

In 1972, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their silver wedding anniversary and were pictured sorting through a basket of mail offering good wishes. In a speech at the time the Queen said: “If I am asked what I think about family life after 25 years of marriage, I can answer with equal simplicity and conviction, I am for it.” Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty

The Queen smiles broadly as she is photographed with Prince Philip in Norfolk in 1982. Thirty years later their grandson Prince William gave his take on the success of their union. “He makes her laugh because some of the things he says and does and the way he looks at life is obviously slightly different than her, so together they’re a great couple,” he said.

When the couple celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary in 1997, Prince Philip made a toast to the Queen. “I think the main lesson we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient in any happy marriage. You can take it from me, the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance,” he said. Picture: Getty

In 2002, the Queen and Prince Philip embarked on a Golden Jubilee tour to mark the Queen’s 50-year reign. The couple travelled around the world, including a visit to Australia. In a Golden Jubilee speech the Queen paid tribute to her husband, saying: “I take this opportunity to mention the strength I draw from my own family. The Duke of Edinburgh has made an invaluable contribution to my life over these past 50 years.” Picture: AFP

The Royal couple share a blanket and a laugh as they take in the Highland Games at Braemar, Scotland, in 2015. The Countess of Wessex reflected on the couple’s relationship in a TV documentary. “For her to have found somebody like him, I don’t think she could have chosen better,” she said. “And they make each other laugh – which is, you know, it’s half the battle, isn’t it?” Picture: Getty

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh wave to guests attending “The Patron’s Lunch” celebrations for the Queen’s 90th birthday on The Mall on June 12, 2016. Prince Philip once said: “My job first, second and last is never to let the Queen down.” It’s a partnership Prince Harry acknowledged in a 2012 interview: “Regardless of whether my grandfather seems to be doing his own thing, sort of wandering off like a fish down the river, the fact that he’s there – I don’t think that she could do it without him.” Prince Philip died, aged 99, on April 9, 2021. Picture: Getty

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