The Queen and Prince PhilipGetty Images
When it comes to love stories, the tale of Princess Elizabeth falling head-over-heels for strapping soldier, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, is worthy of its own Disney film. It’s one that goes back to the Thirties, spanning over 70 years making Philip the longest-serving royal consort in British history. But where did it all begin?
He first caught her eye in the summer of 1939 when Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old. He was the Prince of Greece and five years her senior, about to embark on a career with the Royal Navy. Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were on a trip with their parents to Dartmouth’s Britannia Royal Naval College, their father’s alma mater. It was here where their dashing cadet cousin Philip entered the scene. According to Marion Crawford, the princesses’ governess, it was Philip’s ‘viking’ good looks – 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 Louis Mountbatten, who was also aboard and he wrote in his diary that their initial meeting was ‘a great success’.
Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth announcing their engagementGetty Images
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 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 take her vows as Queen Elizabeth II.
Fast forward to 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, Africa and India, flying the flag for the Commonwealth headed up by Her Majesty. They shared total commitment to their duties and service and they always had each other to lighten the burden of public life with a little bit of laughter.
