Before Her death, Elizabeth II lost her best friend, partner and devoted subject - her husband Prince Philip. He died on 9 April 2021 at Windsor Castle. After that, Her Majesty's health also gradually began to "surrender", until September 8, she joined her husband.

The love story of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

The couple have been married for 73 years! They celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary together, but unfortunately he missed her platinum reign anniversary in 2022. What was their love story? What did the Prince give up to claim the queen's heart? How, despite the future crown, she swore an oath to her husband to obey and be faithful to him in everything?

Origin of Philip

Prince Philip VI was born on June 10, 1921 at the Mon Repos Palace on the Greek island of Corfu. He was the fifth child in the family and the only son of Prince Andrew, the son of King George I of Greece and the younger brother of King Constantine I. From birth he bore the title of Prince of Greece and Denmark. His relatives had a sad story, because his grandfather, King George I of Greece, was killed in 1913, his uncle was overthrown from the throne, and his father fell into depression after losing all his regalia and was forced to flee Greece with his family to Paris.

Subsequently, Philip's parents divorced and the children stayed with their mother, and his father moved to Monte Carlo to arrange his personal life. After all the trials of life, Prince Philip's mother very soon went crazy and ended up in a mental hospital. Therefore, his father took Philip to him and placed him in a private school. The guy had a tense and difficult relationship with him, so a few years later he went to England on his own and stayed with relatives, where he soon met his love.

Meeting each other

For the first time, the future spouses met at the wedding of the Greek Princess Marina, which took place in Westminster Abbey. At that time, Elizabeth was 8 years old, and her chosen one Philip was 13. After that, they did not see each other for 3 years. We met for the second time at the coronation of the father of Elizabeth II. However, even then no relationship between Elizabeth II and Philip began.

But one day she, along with her parents and sister, arrived at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. There, the son of the Greek Prince Andrew served and agreed to give the royal family a tour of the educational institution. At this time, the princess realized that she had fallen in love. She was thirteen years old. After the meeting, she began to correspond with the guy during his service in the Royal Navy. The parents of Elizabeth II were looking for their daughter a much better candidate for a husband, so Philip was not even considered as a son-in-law. But later the young man went to the front, where the feeling of the couple only strengthened.

The lovers were relatives

Interestingly, Philip and Elizabeth II were indeed relatives. This is not uncommon in royal families, so in this case, fate played an interesting joke. Queen Victoria was the common grandmother of the lovers, so they were fourth cousins. And even this fact could not prevent them from getting married and living in marriage many happy moments, namely, 73 years.

Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip

The palace officially announced the couple's engagement in July 1947, and on November 20 they got married at Westminster Abbey. The event took place in the difficult post-war period, when the country's economy, like many other European countries, suffered greatly, so the princess had a modest budget for the wedding. Yes, and the girl herself believed that chic in the post-war period was unacceptable. Therefore, Elizabeth acquired the material for her wedding dress using food stamps from the Second World War.

Interestingly, British subjects also sent coupons to Elizabeth, but the palace returned each of them, as members of the royal family are not allowed to accept gifts from the public. However, she was helped by the British government, which provided the princess with an additional 200 food coupons. In the end, Elizabeth married Prince Philip wearing a magical wedding dress made from Chinese silk by Norman Gartnell.

Elizabeth's relatives were against the wedding

Elizabeth married exclusively at the call of her heart, and not according to royal protocol. Queen's father George VI considered the young man not the best choice for his daughter and heir to the throne, but the princess insisted on him. When Philip returned from the front, the native princesses realized that it was useless to prevent her from marrying her chosen one.

Despite the fact that the couple is one of the most famous in the world, there is no exact information about the recognition of Philip. Rumor has it that he wrote a confession in one of the letters to his beloved, or Elizabeth II herself asked the prince to marry her. By the time of the wedding, Philip was 26 years old, and Elizabeth was 21. There was a 5-year difference between the couple. Importantly, the couple's wedding took place 4 years before the death of King George VI, the girl's father, and 5 years before her coronation.

He - refused titles, and she - gave him an oath

On the eve of his marriage to the Princess, Philip received the title of Duke of Edinburgh. He also converted to Anglicanism, renounced the titles of Prince of Greece and Prince of Denmark, and received British citizenship. The princess was then 21 years old, and her husband was 26 years old.

To thank the man for his devotion and love, at the marriage ceremony, Princess Elizabeth took an oath in which she promised to obey her husband. Although she shouldn't have said that as a future queen. This somewhat confused the guests present, because everyone understood that when the princess became queen, Philip would have to obey her. After the coronation, he really always was "zade" her, however, despite all the difficulties, he lived a long and happy marriage with her, raising four children.

Children

A year after the wedding, Elizabeth gave birth to Prince Charles, the main heir to the crown, and two years later, Princess Anne. Prince Andrew was born 10 years later, and Prince Edward 4 years later. Of all four children, the youngest Prince Edward had a happy marriage right away - he has been married to Countess Sophie for 22 years. But all the rest had one divorce each, but later found their soul mates. Only Prince Andrew remained a hermit, who last year was accused of a sex scandal and stripped of all military ranks for this.

Cheating and the risk of divorce

However, the life of the queen and her husband was not always the fairy tale of the movies. There was a place for possible betrayals, scandals and insults. It was rumored in the British media that a year after the wedding with Elizabeth, Philip began to be suspected of secret relationships with actress Pat Kirkwood. The Queen was pregnant with her first child at the time. Journalists also said that Philip was in love with Helen Korday, whom he was friends with as a child, but they were separated when the boy went to study at Dartmouth. She got married, which broke the guy's heart, but later divorced. She had two children, but did not name her father, so there were rumors that it could be Philip. Curiously, he was their godfather.

Also, Prince Philip was credited with novels with writer Daphne Du Maurier, actress Merle Oberon, TV presenter Katie Boyle and even with Prince Stephen Ward. A few years after their marriage, the couple allegedly began sleeping in separate rooms, and secret hearings were held in Parliament to prevent a scandalous divorce. These facts will be confirmed or refuted only after 100 years under the British legislation on the classification of archives.

Back in the mid-1980s, Prince Philip made a loud statement to his biographer Basil Boothroyd that he married Elizabeth allegedly not out of high feelings, but out of calculation. Because he did not have a fortune after a complicated history with his family. The queen herself was losing her mind from an attractive and young prince.

Death of Philip, and later of the Queen

Britain's Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021 at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. At the time of his death, the Duke of Edinburgh was 99 years old. In February, Prince Philip was hospitalized due to a deterioration in health. He stayed in the hospital for almost a month, underwent heart surgery, but could not overcome the disease. Beloved of Her Majesty died 2 months before his 100th birthday.

Many would like to be part of the British royal family. The attention of the whole world, many servants, jewelry, palaces and other joys of aristocrats - isn't it a fairy tale? However, everyone forgets that being in the public eye of millions of people and constantly maintaining a brand can be incredibly difficult. The life of royals is subject to regulations and is filled with sometimes really strange requirements that they must certainly fulfill.

The British royal family is called one of the main attractions of Great Britain. The British are proud of their monarchy. They celebrate the Queen's Birthday along with other holidays. They follow with interest the relationship in the royal family. But not all Englishmen know about the origin of the dynasty, about the real names of its members and about other interesting facts.

The name of the ruling dynasty in Great Britain is Windsor. But until 1917 it was called Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, which indicates its connection with the German rulers. During World War I, King George V decided to change the name of the dynasty in order to give up the German titles. He chose the surname Windsor after Windsor Castle, one of the royal residences. This surname became official to all members of the royal family. And after the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten, the surname began to sound Mountbatten-Windsor.

Interestingly, none of the members of the royal family is required to use the surname. And when they go to school, serve or work, they can take a different surname. For example, Princes William and Harry were known in the army as Wales. And the two grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth from Princess Anne have their father's surname - Phillips.

Bemorepanda collected some more interesting facts about the royal family.

1. Princess Diana was supposed to play the main role in the 2nd part of "The Bodyguard" with Kevin Costner. A kissing scene was planned, but the film itself never came out due to the tragic death of Lady Dee in 1997 in a car accident in Paris. In the story, a romantic relationship between the protagonists begins when a bodyguard is tasked with protecting the princess from the paparazzi.

2. On their travels, Elizabeth II and her son Charles are accompanied by a doctor of the British Royal Navy, who must have a supply of their blood with him. This measure is necessary for an emergency transfusion in case of an emergency.

3. Shellfish, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, and garlic are banned in Buckingham Palace, as sea creatures are allergenic and garlic has an unpleasant odor. However, this rule is now adhered to only by the queen.

4. Six ravens (and one spare) must always dwell in the Tower of London. According to one of the versions, this rule is observed, since the prediction of the royal court astrologer-monk Charles II (1630-1685) says: "If the crows leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall." After the famous fire of 1666, almost all the birds were exterminated, but thanks to the prophecy of the ravens, they were left in the care of the crown. They are considered part of the royal family, they have servants and a special raven keeper who is chosen from 38 members of the Tower's ceremonial Yeomen guard ("beefeaters"). In addition, the birds are officially enlisted in the ranks of the royal army.

5. Long before becoming part of the royal family, Kate Middleton lived with her family in Amman, Jordan. The father of the future Duchess, Michael Middleton, worked as a manager for British Airways and ended up in the Middle East on duty. Then Kate was 2 years old, but she already went to kindergarten and, in addition to English, studied Arabic. The Middletons have lived in Jordan for almost 3 years.

6. During the opening of the new session of Parliament, the Queen must take a hostage - one of the Members of Parliament, who will be guarded by the staff of Buckingham Palace throughout the ceremony. This tradition appeared due to the fact that earlier monarchs and parliament, to put it mildly, did not get along. Now everything is peaceful, but no one is going to change anything.

7. Queen Elizabeth II, then 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth, married Prince Philip on 20 November 1947 in a coupon-purchased wedding dress. She deliberately did not take advantage of her opportunities, since in the post-war period the whole country was slowly getting out of the ruins.

8. The crown of Elizabeth II is nothing more than the diadem of King George IV, created in 1820 at the request of the king himself. It is set with 1,333 diamonds for a total of 320 carats (64 g), including a 4-carat yellow diamond. There are 2 strands of pearls along the base. Initially, the upper thread had 86 pearls and the lower one - 94, but in 1902 the number of pearls was changed to 81 and 88.

9. To avoid embarrassment in windy weather, all the hem of the skirts of Queen Elizabeth II are weighed down by small loads

10. Initially, princes William and Harry were supposed to be called Arthur and Albert, as their father Charles wanted, but Lady Diana insisted on William and Harry, although Arthur and Albert are the middle names of the princes.

11. Queen Elizabeth II is a godmother for 30 crowned godchildren and this is not the limit.

12. Kate Middleton is a relative of George Washington.

13. At Christmas in the royal family, it is customary to give funny gifts. For example, Meghan Markle gave the Queen a toy singing hamster. But besides the fun, the royal couple - Elizabeth II and Prince Philip - must remember their duty. They send about 750 Christmas cards to heads of state, top politicians, Commonwealth leaders and family members.

14. Before and after Christmas dinner, all members of the royal family must weigh themselves. This long tradition was introduced by King Edward VII around 1900. He was very worried that someone would go away hungry after a sumptuous reception.

15. The Queen has the right to dissolve the current parliament both in Britain and in Australia and Canada.

16. Princess Diana gave her son, Prince William, an incredible 13th birthday surprise. Since the boy was in love with supermodel Cindy Crawford, she invited her to a festive tea party.

17. The most unusual titles that Elizabeth II bears are Duke of Lancanster and Duke of Normandy.

18. Pearl necklace of three strands almost always adorns the queen's neck - this is a visiting card of her style. When Elizabeth was 10 years old, she received such a necklace as a gift from her grandfather George V, and it became her favorite piece of jewelry.

A little later, Queen Mary, Elizabeth's grandmother, gave her pearl earrings. To this day, they, complete with a necklace, form part of the image of a modern monarch.

19. Since ancient times, monarchs from different countries have adopted a throne name during their time in power, which is different from that which was given to them at birth. In Britain, this tradition was also maintained. So, Queen Victoria was Princess Alexandrina before her coronation, and King George was named Albert. Elizabeth II chose not to change her name, because this is only permissible, but not mandatory for the monarch.

20. Elizabeth is often called the queen of England, but this is not true. First, she is the monarch of the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and England is just a part of it.

21. Misconceptions about princesses are no less common. Lady Dee after her wedding with Prince Charles began to be called the princess. However, she was not a princess by birth, so by all the rules her title should have sounded like "Her Royal Highness Princess Charles of Wales", as strange as it may sound.

22. As for the chosen one of their eldest son William, Kate Middleton is also not a princess. She married the Duke of Cambridgeshire, and therefore her official title is Duchess of Cambridge.

23. According to official sources, different family members have their own privileges in addressing the Queen. So, the husband of Elizabeth II calls her Lilibet. The future queen called herself this name when she was very little and could not pronounce “Elizabeth”.

24. Elizabeth II is very economical and serves as an excellent example in this for her subjects. So, it is known that she always turns off the light when leaving the room, and requires this from all the inhabitants of the palace. The queen wears the same dresses for a long time.

25. Representatives of Buckingham Palace report that all of the Queen's overseas travel is in accordance with the recommendations of the British government. Therefore, most often Elizabeth visits those countries in which she needs to be present based on current state affairs.

During her 65 years on the throne, the Queen has made over 120 official visits. Most often, the queen visited Canada (27 times) and Australia (18 times).

26. Some people who were born shortly before or immediately after the New Year celebrate their birthday twice, but in general, usually a person has one birthday. But the Queen has two of them - on April 21, she was born for real, and in May or June, official celebrations are usually organized on her birthday.

27. Queen Elizabeth II currently rules Britain for the longest time in history: her term of reign is now 64 years. Queen Victoria, who ruled before her, remained on the throne for 63 years and 216 days. Nowadays, it is difficult for a person not to lose his job even for a year, let alone more than 60 years!

28. Only in 2013, Great Britain moved away from the concept of male succession, thus proclaiming that any member of the royal family, regardless of gender, can inherit the throne. You may ask: how then did Elizabeth II ascend to the throne? Elementary: her father had no sons.

29. What is the Queen's surname? I think many would like to know. But in fact, this is not so important: being on the throne, a person can take almost any surname for himself. Elizabeth II's father changed his surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor; later Windsor became Mountbatten-Windsor.

30. If you have ever seen Buckingham Palace up close, at least in a movie, you know that it is huge. It is located on an area of ​​77,000 square meters, it has 775 rooms and about 800 employees who keep it and the life of the royal family normal. There are cooks, maids, butlers, security guards and even watchmakers!

Nothing human is alien, even to representatives of the royal families. And if, before the mass appearance of cameras, the ordinary life of monarchs was more of intricacies of myths, conjectures, and mysteries, then with the advent of photography, we got a previously absent chance to look behind the screen and find out how these same monarchs lived and how they behaved in ordinary life.

 

Photos where the Queen changes the wheel on the car and eats with his hands

 

One of the brightest representatives of this "life for the show" is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, better known as Elizabeth II. She was not embarrassed by the camera, so you can still find many photographs from infancy and old age on the Internet.

 

1. Princess Elizabeth II in a stroller at six months:

 

2. Walk with your nannies and stroller with your sister, Princess Margaret:

 

3. Standing in front of her "playhouse" given to her by the people of Wales:

 

4. Riding a tricycle:

 

5. Posing with his dogs in a house in Piccadilly, London:

 

Queen Elizabeth II was a respected public figure, welcoming foreign officials to state dinners, opening parliament sessions, and watching her subjects smile from their banknotes.

 

His face appeared on Andy Warhol's tape paintings, on towels or cups, was honored by poets such as Simon Armitage, or mocked by singers such as the punk band Sex Pistols. The Queen seemed to be above criticism and public figures such as the Pope or the Dalai Lama. Even the most vocal critics of the monarchy said, "the Queen has done a good job, though."

 

How did he achieve this feat in his public image? According to Politico, Elisabeta managed to use the virtue of silence. Refusing to express her own opinion, the queen remained silent and enigmatic. Showing the public only a neutral and vague facade, while no one in the general public had access to the honest Elizabeth, she became the most successful sovereign of recent times.

 

Behind the symbol was a person. Born by cesarean section on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth was the first daughter of a prince who, although second in line, did not look like he would become king. Home Secretary William Joynson-Hicks was present at her birth, as custom dictates that such an official must ensure that the baby is not swapped, by a plot, for another.

 

Young Elizabeth grew up in the heart of London, in a 25-room palace with a ballroom and an enormous garden. Although in childhood photographs, she appears with her loving parents, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were raised by an army of servants and teachers and rarely saw their parents. Her first word was not her mother but "Bobo," one of the nannies who raised her.

 

6. And hugs one of them:

 

7. Pony ride at Windsor Great Park:

 

8. Stands in the ranks of the swimming team:

 

9. Next to your horse on your 13th birthday:

 

This was by his side all his life, and he never gave interviews. She was rewarded with a special status in Buckingham Palace for her fidelity. Other people who raised her were practically erased from the family's memory when they spoke to the media. The monarchy came first, before the person.

 

At 13, in 1939, the young Elisabeta met the man who would become her husband during a visit to Dartmouth Naval College. At 19, the Greek Philip was worldly, exotic, and raised in Paris in exile. He didn't get along with his family: three sisters were married to Nazis, the father threw the family's money into the casinos of Monte Carlo, and the mother had schizophrenia. The young princess fell in love with this rebel, who she said looked like a "Viking god."

 

We don't know much about their relationship. Elisabeta's mother was initially opposed to the relationship, but the two young people persevered and managed to get engaged in 1947. We can learn something about young Elisabeta's feelings in a rare letter to a friend. Page after page, she writes about how they went dancing together in nightclubs, how they were followed by a photographer - the words of a young woman whose heels were on.

 

Elizabeth's wedding to Philip in November 1947 was supposed to be a proper, austere party. Sugar in Britain was still rationed, and many British cities were littered with the rubble of houses destroyed in the bombings.

 

The country was still facing significant financial problems following the war. However, the wedding was an excuse for festivities that swept the country. Thousands of guests worldwide came to London to attend the wedding, including King Mihai.

 

Finally, a good party - an excuse for the people to forget, for a few moments, the torment of war and recession and put their hopes in a young and beautiful couple. Everything seemed to signal a new beginning, and the optimistic atmosphere grew in 1949 and 1951.

 

Then, at just 27, Elizabeth became queen after her father died. The years 1952-1953 seem to have brought, with these challenges, quite a lot of misunderstandings in the young couple's life. Philip felt useless and distanced himself from his wife as Elizabeth took control of the country.

 

Elisabeta became close to one of her childhood friends, Henry Herbert. The four children of the royal couple were raised by servants and sent to boarding schools. On a lucky day, they could see their parents for half an hour.

 

10. Visit the Girl Guide Camp at Frogmore, Windsor:

 

11. Changes the wheel of a car while serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service:

 

12. Dressed as Prince Salvador in the Christmas production of Sleeping Beauty at Windsor Castle:

 

13. On the deck of HMS Vanguard:

 

14. Dancing square dance with the Duke of Edinburgh at a cowboy party in Canada:

 

15. Filmed on a video camera aboard the ship "Gothic" during the coronation world tour:

 

16. On the way to a garden party in Sydney, Australia:

 

17. Chatting with actress Jayne Mansfield in line for an appointment at the Odeon Theater in London:

 

18. Playing with Prince Charles in a country house in Surrey:

 

19. Gets into the boat with Princess Anne:

 

20. Ride with Prince Charles and Princess Anne:

 

21. Elizabeth II eats with her hands during a meal with King Hassan during a visit to Morocco:

 

22. Touring Australia in 1970:

 

23. 50th birthday:

 

24. Posing with Prince Charles at Windsor Castle:

 

25. Cuts the cake with a sword:

 

26. Shaking hands with Victoria Beckham after the performance of the Spice Girls:

 

27. Plays with one of his dogs, Candy:

 

28. Admire the Lego replica of Buckingham Palace:

 

29. Chatting with Anna Wintour (Editor-in-Chief of the American edition of Vogue magazine) while watching the Richard Quinn show:

 

30. Participation in a video conference at Buckingham Palace:

 

31. And finally driving his Range Rover to the Windsor Horse Show last year: