Queen Elizabeth II And Prince Philip Have Been Married For More Than 70 Years

Feb 11, 2020 by apost team

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have already celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Their marriage is officially the longest royal marriage on record. How have they managed to maintain their marriage and love over the decades?

Unlike many royal marriages that are arranged matches, this marriage is based entirely on love. According to Reader's Digest, Elizabeth and Philip first met at the wedding of Philip’s cousin in 1934, when she was 8 and Philip was 13. They met again when she was 13 and Philip was 18, and the young Elizabeth found him to be very attractive indeed.

During World War II, Philip was deployed overseas, but he and Elizabeth regularly exchanged letters. He returned to England in 1946 and proposed, and she said yes. However, due to royal family rules, they had to hide their engagement for several months until Elizabeth turned 21.

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They announced their engagement on July 9, 1974, and married a few months later in November. There are rumors that the rest of the royal family were not pleased with Elizabeth’s choice of husband, but she insisted upon her choice, report's Reader's Digest.

Philip, who was born in Greece and is descended from Greek and Danish royalty, had to give up all of his previous titles and become a British citizen. His sisters were not allowed to attend the wedding. As a wedding gift, Philip stopped smoking cold turkey because he knew how much Elizabeth despised the habit; her father was a notorious chain-smoker and eventually died of lung cancer.

The couple fully committed to the marriage and have always provided unwavering support to each other. Gyles Brandreth wrote in his book "Philip & Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage:"

“The Queen wears the crown, but her husband wears the trousers. He is the power behind the throne: steadfast, never-failingly supportive.”

Queen Elizabeth admitted as much in a speech in 1977, saying that Philip has been her strength over the years.

A key part of any marriage is tolerating your partner’s eccentricities and occasional bad moods. In a toast to the Queen at their 50th wedding anniversary, Philip said:

“The main lesson that we have learned is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage. It may not be quite so important when things are going well, but it is absolutely vital when the going gets difficult.”

Looking back over the years, the couple has admitted in public they have no regrets about their decision to marry each other. It was the right thing to do then, and as their everlasting love has demonstrated, it is still the right thing.

Philip is now 98 and is the oldest ever male member of the British royal family. He retired from public life in 2017. In addition to serving as the Queen’s consort, he has has been actively engaged in charity work his entire life, serving in some capacity in over 780 charitable organizations. He also played a key role in inventing the sport of equestrian carriage driving.

Elizabeth is now 93. She became heir to the throne after King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, making her father King George VI and her mother Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth became Queen when her father died of lung cancer in 1952, reports The Guardian.

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