ROYALS’ LONGEST LOVE STORY
Isolation has allowed the Queen and Prince Philip to celebrate their recordbreaking 73rd wedding anniversary together, writes Kerry Parnell
Theirs is a recordbreaking romance, especially within their own family. As the Queen and Prince Philip mark their 73rd wedding anniversary this weekend, they are the longest-married British monarchs in history and, aged 94, the Queen the longest-reigning British monarch. Philip, meanwhile, at an incredible 99, is the oldest-ever male in the royal family.
The pair hit their milestone on Friday but don’t expect them to get the bunting out, as they are renowned for not making a fuss even when they have great cause to do so.
Last year they didn’t even mark the anniversary together, with Prince Philip at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, where he’s been since retiring in 2017, while the Queen was in London, presenting an award to Sir David Attenborough. But this year, with England in a second lockdown, they are isolating together in Windsor Castle.
That any couple managed to notch up 73 years together is remarkable, but even more so when most of the marriages in their own family have foundered in spectacular fashion.
Fans of TV series The Crown are currently reliving Prince Charles’ own fairytale wedding turn to horror story with Diana, Princess of Wales, and the marriages of Princess Margaret, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew all ended up in divorce.
So what is the secret of their longevity?
In episode three of The Crown’s fourth season, the Queen gives an impassioned speech to Charles on the eve of his wedding, telling him to focus on duty. “Whatever wretchedness you are feeling ... love and happiness will surely follow,” Olivia Colman says.
The dialogue may be imaginary but the sentiment is real – the Queen and Philip, although far from loveless, did face many trials throughout their relationship, but both knew it was their duty to persist.
Their own 1947 wedding in Westminster Abbey was a fairytale – the post-war world adored the glamorous young couple; 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth and dashing 26-year-old Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, formerly
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.
Back then, as now, the world needed some cheer, with rationing still in force in the UK and Australia. Elizabeth used coupons to pay for her Norman Hartnell gown, and her wedding cake was made with ingredients sent from the Australian Girl Guides.
The ceremony was a huge event, attended by 2000 guests and listened to on radio by 200 million people. Cameras were allowed in the Abbey for the first time, with the footage shown in cinemas around the world.
Philip pledged on their wedding day: “I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do become your liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks. So help me God.”
That is exactly what he has done – with a few wobbles along the way.
On the couple’s tour of Australia in 1954, tensions were already fraught. On a weekend break in Victoria
halfway through the 58-day trip, the Queen was caught on film having a row with her husband, hurling shoes and a tennis racket at him. The footage was dutifully destroyed. The marriage was not.
But Philip did struggle with his place within The Firm – like every other royal spouse that followed.
He had to give up his naval career – something he loved and excelled at – and at first found it difficult to find a fulfilling role within the royal family.
He wanted the royal house to be
known as Mountbatten, with his children taking his surname, but it was vetoed by PM Winston Churchill.
According to royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, a furious Duke declared: “I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children.”
When the writer asked him how he thought he was seen, he replied: “I don’t know. A refugee husband, I suppose.”
What later newcomers such as Diana, or Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, may not
Philip was constantly being squashed, off snubbed, ticked
The royal couple wave to the crowds
have realised, was even Philip did not fit in at Buckingham Palace initially.
“Philip was constantly being squashed, snubbed, ticked off,” his Australian private secretary Mike Parker later said.
Some of those wobbles include persistent rumours of infidelity, particularly during a period where he was part of the infamous Thursday Club with members including David Niven and osteopath Stephen Ward, of the Profumo Affair.
Parker later dismissed rumours of on an Australian visit.
bad behaviour, saying: “The idea it was a drunken orgy is absolute rubbish.”
However, in 1956, when Philip embarked on a solo five-month tour of Australia and the Commonwealth on the Royal Yacht Britannia, rumours abounded of wild parties, and the following year the Baltimore Sun newspaper ran a headline saying “Report Queen, Duke in Rift Over Party Girl”.
It’s thought they were referring to stage star Pat Kirkwood.
It was compounded by Parker’s
resignation after his wife filed for divorce citing adultery.
Philip was reportedly incandescent with rage at the accusations.
“He was very, very angry. And deeply hurt,” Parker said.
It was so serious, the Queen, unusually, released a statement stating there was no rift. Only one royal biographer, Sarah Bradford, is adamant the rumours are true. “He has affairs. And the Queen accepts it. I think she thinks that’s how men are,” she says.
What is certain is the pair made it work throughout the decades, weathering many storms together, unlike their children, of whom only Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s marriage has endured.
“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,” the Queen said on their golden wedding anniversary.
“And I, and his whole family, and this, and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
Whatever their secret, don’t expect them to tell you.
Edward once said of his father, he “is very modest. One of his best pieces of advice ... is don’t talk about yourself – nobody’s interested in you.”
That was true in a BBC interview Philip gave for his 90th birthday, when he characteristically tersely refused to say what he was most proud of.
“Who cares what I think about it, I mean it’s ridiculous,” he said.
His Lilibet, however, would tell a different story.