When it comes to love stories, the tale of the Queen and Prince Philip is one for the ages. It started in the 1930s and blossomed into a marriage that endured for more than 70 years, with the Queen famously describing her husband as her ‘strength and stay’. But before they were Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, they were simply Princess Elizabeth (or ‘Lilibet’) and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.

Prince Philip first caught Princess Elizabeth’s eye in the summer of 1939 when she was just 13 years old. He was five years her senior, about to embark on a career with the Royal Navy. Elizabeth and her sister Princess Margaret were on a trip with their parents to Dartmouth’s Britannia Royal Naval College, their father’s alma mater. It was here where the dashing cadet Prince Philip – a distant cousin – entered the scene. According to Marion Crawford, the princesses’ governess, it was Philip’s ‘viking’ good looks – his fair hair and blue eyes – that attracted Elizabeth. Crawford explains in her memoir, The Little Princesses, that he came aboard the King’s yacht for meals, and caused Elizabeth to turn ‘pink-faced’. Apparently her affection for him was noted by Philip’s uncle and aide to the King, Lord Mountbatten, who was also aboard and he wrote in his diary that their initial meeting was ‘a great success’.

Some of the Queen’s relatives spoke openly about Elizabeth’s fondness for Philip during those early days. Among them was Margaret Rhodes, Elizabeth’s cousin, who wrote in her autobiography that ‘Elizabeth was truly in love from the very beginning’.

The engagement didn’t come for a while. In fact, it came eight years later, after the war in 1947, with the marriage taking place at Westminster Abbey in November that same year. Little did Elizabeth know that in a matter of five years, she would ascend to the throne and become Queen Elizabeth II.

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Fast forward to Prince Philip’s death on 9 April 2021 and the couple had been married a total of 74 years, with four children, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Side-by-side they had travelled all over the world, from Australia to America, Antigua and India, flying the flag for the Commonwealth. They shared total commitment to their duties and service, and always had each other to lighten the burden of public life with a little bit of laughter.

On her death, the Queen and Prince Philip were united once more when she chose to be buried alongside her husband at Windsor.

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Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their wedding day, 20 November 1947

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Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, 1947

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The Queen, Princess Anne, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles, 1951

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen, 1957

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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 1958

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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 1958

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The Queen, Prince Edward, Princess Anne, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the Duke of Edinburgh, 1965

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen, 1967

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen in Balmoral, 1972

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen on their silver wedding anniversary, 1972

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen, 1972

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The Queen and Prince Philip on a visit to Tuvalu, 1982

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The Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle, 1987

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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in South Africa, 1995

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The Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip re-visit Broadlands to mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary, 2007

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are joined at Clarence House by Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, 2007

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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attend the wedding of Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly, Windsor Castle, 2008

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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in Paris, 2014

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen attend the Braemar Gathering, 2014

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The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen visiting Birmingham New Street Station, 2015

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The Duke of Edinburgh picking up a bouquet of flowers for the Queen in Celle, Germany, 2015

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during celebrations for The Queen’s 90th birthday, 2016