A perfect wedding with the woman he loved... yet he asked friends: Am I being very brave or very foolish?
Just hours before tying the knot, the groom is said to have asked: “Am I being very brave or very foolish?” Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten knew the eyes of the world would be on him constantly from the moment he married Princess Elizabeth.
But through the rough and smooth, he was steadfastly at the Queen’s side.
It was in 1939, shortly before he went off to war, that Philip, 18, met the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth at Britannia Royal Naval College, when King George VI brought his daughters on an official visit to the Devon base.
Both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, they were third cousins, and Elizabeth was smitten by the tall, handsome cadet. They kept in touch by letter and after the war their romance blossomed.
By this time, Philip’s mentor was his uncle, Lord Mountbatten, who had taken him under his wing and was keen to see the match be a success.
There was some diplomatic opposition to the “rough, ill-mannered” Greek marrying Elizabeth and even her own mother had to be persuaded he was the right man.
But Philip’s naturalisation as a British citizen, which had seen him take the name Mountbatten, and their obvious love, won over public opinion.
The couple secretly got engaged at Balmoral in 1946 but the announcement was delayed until July 1947, after Elizabeth had turned 21.
They married at Westminster Abbey on November 20 in front of 2,000 guests in a ceremony broadcast to 200 million radio listeners.
Elizabeth was walked down the aisle by her father King George VI. She wore a satin gown created by royal couturier Norman Hartnell.
Like everyone else in post-war Britain, she had to save up clothing coupons for it. In a letter to his daughter, George wrote: “You were so calm and composed during the service and said your words with such conviction that I knew everything was alright. I can see you are sublimely happy with Philip, which is right, but don’t forget us, is the wish of your ever loving and devoted… Papa.” After the wedding, Philip’s Navy career took him to Malta, where they spent a blissful few years living under the radar before going back to London. Philip became a member of the Thursday Club, which met once a week to drink and “let off steam” in a private room at a restaurant in Soho – but rumours circulated about the behaviour of the Duke and his friends.
Once, Tory MP Anthony BeaumontDark declared that Philip knew more about adultery than he did. Certainly, the Duke was an outrageous flirt, with one courtier claiming “all the girls in his office had to be 36-24-36”.
And in his life before and after he met Elizabeth, Philip had a number of close female friends.
When his wife was pregnant with Charles, Philip’s social life continued.
One night close to the birth, he went out with friend Baron, a society photographer. In the early hours, he was seen dancing with actress Pat Kirkwood at the Milroy nightclub.
When news reached the palace, the King summoned him and made him promise it would never happen again.
Philip was also linked with Helene Cordet, a cabaret singer and unmarried mother, and Susie Ferguson, mother of Sarah, who would later become Duchess of York.
Another persistent rumour was about Philip and Penny, Lady Romsey, 34 years his junior and his regular carriage-driving partner. “I know what people say but how many times do I have to deny it?” Philip asked.
He once brandished a 10-page photocopy of an Australian magazine, which promised “Prince Philip’s Torrid Sex Life” as an example of the ludicrous claims against him. Inside, it
claimed he had had liaisons with his cousin Princess Alexandra, film star Merle Oberon and Susie Ferguson.
The Queen had apparently banned him from their bed. “How could I?” he said. “I’ve had a detective in my company since 1947.”
His close friend Mike Parker stood up for him, saying: “Philip has been 100% faithful to the Queen. No ifs, no buts. Take it from me. I know.” Palace sources suggested that, although known for a flirtatious nature, no woman ever spoke of Philip as a lover. The Queen was said to have been aware of rumours but the marriage always remained solid.
Their first born, Charles, arrived on November 14, 1948, followed by Anne on August 15, 1950. But the family’s relative normality was cut short in 1952 when Elizabeth’s father, King George, died aged 56.
It was Philip who told his wife she was now Queen at Sanga Lodge in Kenya, where they were staying on an official visit. For Philip, there was no question of not taking up his duties as consort, even if it meant putting his own career aspirations on hold.
“Well, it was disappointing because I’d just been promoted to Commander and the most interesting part of a naval career was just starting,” he later said. “But then, if I stopped and thought about it, being married to the Queen, it seemed to me my first duty was to serve her in the best way I could.”
Philip had always been head of the family in private and the Queen insisted he get “place, pre-eminence and precedence” next to her. Yet it was hard to adjust. When it was decided that the name of the Royal house be changed to the House of Windsor, he grumbled: “I am nothing but a bloody amoeba – the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children.”
Children Charles and Anne were joined by Andrew on February 19, 1960, and Edward on March 10, 1964.
It was Philip who saw the need to modernise and embrace new technology. He was the first royal to give a TV interview and in 1969 he came up with the idea for the groundbreaking documentary about the Royal Family.
It was criticised for showing the Queen washing up, but helped soften her image.
And, as Philip predicted, showed them as a proper family, not “some secret society”.