Queen and Philip’s no frills 70th wedding anniversary
THE Queen and Prince Philip are to break with tradition by refusing to hold a national celebration for their platinum wedding anniversary.
They marked their silver, golden and diamond anniversaries with national services of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.
However, royal sources have said they have no plans to take part in a similar public event when they reach 70 years of marriage on November 20.
The monarch, 91, and Philip, 96, will become the first members of the Royal Family to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary.
Their milestone will be marked by the release of a host of commemorative souvenirs.
These will include a set of double-headed platinum coins, a new biography of the couple, and a single to raise money for one of their charities.
Remarkable
The one thing the British public will not be able to do is see them marking the occasion.
A royal source said: “Any celebration will be a private, family affair. There will be no public event.”
Aides have declined to explain why the couple have taken the decision, other than saying it was their express wish.
The Queen’s decision not to officially mark the anniversary of her wedding may be linked to the Duke’s decision to stand down in the summer from an official programme of public duties.
Aides had insisted it would have no affect on the monarch’s approach to her public work.
But her decision to no longer lead the nation in honouring Britain’s war dead at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday contradicts those claims.
She will instead join Philip on the Foreign Office balcony, watching Prince Charles lay a wreath on her behalf.
The Queen and Philip still have a little way to go if they are to beat the world record for the longest royal marriage.
Japan’s Prince Mikasa, who died last year at the age of 100, was married for 75 years to Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, who is 94.
The Queen’s personal anniversary milestones, including landmark birthdays, have been celebrated as national events until now but royal sources suggest she has shown a growing desire to mark them privately.
Ardent monarchists may argue that after 65 years on the throne and dedicated service to the nation with Philip, she has earned the right to some time off but courtiers have always argued that the monarch needs to be seen.
She still does a remarkable amount for a woman of her age, including much paperwork and other duties away from the public eye. As much as 70 per cent of her work is now undertaken inside her royal residences and she is completing only about 50 per cent of the workload she undertook when she was younger.
With Philip no longer available to accompany her on most official duties, the Queen plans to undertake more public engagements with her children and grandchildren, particularly when the duties overlap with their interests and patronages.
This month, she was joined by Princess Anne at an event marking the centenary of the Women’s Royal Naval Service and Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.
Tomorrow she and Prince Charles will visit the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment in London together.
Meanwhile, Philip has been spending time at Sandringham in Norfolk since the family’s summer break at Balmoral, Aberdeenshire.
When not carriage driving or overseeing shooting parties, he is expected to base himself at Windsor Castle in Berkshire while the Queen is working in London.