QUEEN AND PHILIP CELEBRATE Prince Charming and his darling Lilibet

A MISCHIEVOUS and quizzical look from him, a smile of devoted love from her... they truly are happy and glorious.

Prince Philip and the beaming Queen are seen in a joyous photo which reflects a love that has stretched seven decades.

He still uses her nickname Lilibet, occasionally calls her “sausage” and gives her flowers every week.

And a key to their enduring love, being celebrated tomorrow on their 70th anniversary, is that they talk... and talk... and talk.

The platinum wedding milestone will be observed quietly at Windsor Castle, but you can be sure the Queen, 91, and Philip – five years older – will reflect on an extraordinary life.

Their first significant meeting was engineered by his uncle Lord Louis Mountabatten.

Biscuits

He arranged for Elizabeth to be escorted by Philip, her third cousin, on a visit with her parents to the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon in July 1939.

The handsome Greek prince impressed Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret by vaulting over a tennis net after a game of croquet and treating them to ginger biscuits and lemonade.

The following day, as royal yacht Victoria and Albert set sail, an armada of boats manned by college cadets provided an escort. Philip rowed furthest out into the Channel – much to the annoyance of Elizabeth’s father King George VI, who muttered “damn young fool”.

But it was imprinted on the mind of the 13-year-old princess, who, although romance would be years away, told a maid that she found had her Prince Charming. World War