Queen Elizabeth And Prince Phillip Are Related—The Longest Married Couple In The British Monarchy First Met When Her Majesty Was Eight Years Old
Sep 23, 2020 by apost team
Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Phillip celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in November 2017, proving their blissful marriage has stood the test of time. What’s more, is that the couple set a record for the longest marriage in the British monarchy once they surpassed that milestone.
Interestingly, the two are distantly related. Read on to find out more about their decades-long romance.
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The official Royal Family website describes the origins of their story: the two first met when they both attended the wedding of Prince Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece to The Duke of Kent in 1934 when Elizabeth was only eight years old.
Princess Marina of Greece was Prince Phillip’s cousin, and her husband The Duke of Kent was an uncle of Queen Elizabeth’s. That makes Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth distant cousins.
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If the family line is traced back, the now husband-and-wife can be found to be related through Queen Victoria. She is both Queen Elizabeth’s and Prince Phillip’s great-great-grandmother, reports ThoughtCo.
It might seem a little strange to marry a distant relation. But throughout history, it has been a risk for royal family members to marry commoners, because of the risk of giving up titles and the right to the throne. This is partially due to the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 which prohibits the marriage of nobles and commoners.
It worked out well for noble-blooded Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip who ignited their romance early when the Queen was 13. According to the official biographer of King George VI (the Queen’s father), Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, they fell for each other on the tennis court, as cited in the Daily Mail.
They began corresponding with each other and one thing led to another. Only several years after their first meeting did the two wed, just after the Queen turned 21. But first, in order to do so, Phillip had to renounce his Greek royal title and become a naturalized Brit.
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The story of their long-lasting relationship has had its obstacles to overcome just like anybody’s would after 70 years of marriage. But the decision to wed all of those years ago turned out to be the right one, and as the two look back on making history, that’s all that matters.
Well, these two seem to be meant for each other! Did you know that they are actually related? Let us know in the comments and be sure to spread the word about the longest-married couple in the British monarchy!