TRIUMPH OF STABILITY
Inside the Queen’s 73-year relationship with her ‘rock’ Prince Philip who she was smitten with from the start
IT wasn’t a promising start for a royal marriage that eventually endured for well over 70 years.
According to her father’s private secretary, dashing naval officer Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten was “rough, uneducated and probably wouldn’t be faithful”.
4
His German family connections, parents’ broken marriage and gambling, penniless father also didn’t make Philip an obvious bridegroom for the Queen.
But their union was an enduring success story. When Philip died on April 9 2021, they had been married for 73 years.
On their golden wedding anniversary, the Queen said: “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments. But he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.”
Decisive, straight-talking Philip had always complemented the more cautious and steady Elizabeth. Even into their 90s, he was still the charismatic and engaging figure, the crucial ally, to whom the Queen turned for advice.
ON THE QUEEN'S DEATH
A courtier close to her said: “The Queen admired him for many things, but mainly for the way he managed to remain himself — the same man.”
But Philip’s greatest fear about marrying the then Princess was that for her, “nothing was going to change (but) everything was going to change” for him.
Certainly that meant giving up a glittering naval career during which he had been praised for being daring and resourceful.
However, Philip’s uncompromising positions on everything from palace protocol to his children’s education meant that he still did everything his way.
All you need to know after Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96
THE nation is in mourning after beloved Queen Elizabeth dies aged 96 - here is all you need to know about Her Majesty's glorious life and what's next.
- When is the Queen's funeral?
- What happens now the Queen has died?
- How old was the Queen when she died?
- What is the new line of succession?
- Will there be a bank holiday on the day of the Queen's funeral?
- When can royal fans visit Queen's coffin?
- Where will the Queen be buried?
- What is D-Day?
- Who were the Queen's grandchildren?
Most read in Celebrity
Smitten from the start
Indeed, this meant endless gossip about his private life and allegations of other women.
It was always denied by Philip and, though talk may have upset the Queen, she ignored it.
According to an aide: “What she always got from him was the unvarnished truth — he was probably the only person on Earth who treated her as a normal human being.”
More than once shocked courtiers heard him calling her a “bloody fool”.
But as her cousin and childhood friend, the late Margaret Rhodes, said: “She always adored him — she never looked at anyone else. She was smitten from the start.”
She always adored him - she never looked at anyone else. She was smitten from the start
Margaret Rhodes
That was when Princess Elizabeth, 13, was shown around Dartmouth Naval College in July 1939 by the 17-year-old blonde cadet Prince Philip of Greece.
They were distantly related as third cousins through Queen Victoria. Good-looking and athletic, he impressed Elizabeth by jumping over tennis nets.
From then on they wrote to each other regularly and met on several occasions, including a tea party aboard the Royal Yacht Albert and Victoria, chaperoned by Lord Mountbatten.
Philip was invited to spend Christmas 1943 at Windsor, and by the end of the Second World War there was widespread speculation of romance.
Secret engagement
4
It has been suggested they became unofficially engaged in the summer of 1946 at Balmoral.
The official announcement, on July 10, 1947, was delayed until Princess Elizabeth was 21 and back from a tour of South Africa.
In February Philip had become a British subject, renouncing his Greek royal title and adopting the surname of Mountbatten.
Their marriage, on November, 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey, provided post-war Britain with much-needed glitz and glamour.
Philip became the Duke of Edinburgh and ten years later the Queen made him a Prince.
Charles Philip Arthur George, was born on November 14, 1948, and second child, Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, on August 15, 1950.
Andrew Albert Christian Edward was born at Buckingham Palace on February 19, 1960, and Edward Antony Richard Louis, was born there on March 10, 1964.
Philip was posted to Malta in 1949 and both he and Elizabeth always talked fondly of their two years there as a “normal family”.
But he had to give up his naval career in July 1951 as George VI’s health got worse and Elizabeth became Queen the year after.
Philip took a practical view on the monarchy. He once said: “My job first, second and last is never to let the Queen down.”
She also relied on him utterly in family matters. It was Philip who wrote to Princess Diana during her marriage crisis, asking her to recognise fault on both sides. And he also froze out Sarah Ferguson after her toe-sucking antics.
But he always recognised that the Queen came first.
Once asked about the secret to their successful marriage, he replied: “Different interests. It’s one thing not to argue about.”
That was obvious at parties where Philip had people rocking with laughter while the Queen would chat away earnestly.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
What was clear was what a good “team” they made. Philip continued to surprise his wife with romantic gifts and they liked to take afternoon tea together.
The marriage of the Queen and Philip, much like her reign, was a triumph of stability.
4
4
Topics