The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have marked their platinum anniversary.
Prime Minister congratulates Queen and Duke of Edinburgh
Prime Minister Theresa May has congratulated the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on their “special” platinum wedding anniversary.
She praised the royal couple, who married 70 years ago in Westminster Abbey, for dedicating themselves to their royal duty through the decades.
Mrs May said on Twitter: “Congratulations to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as they celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary.
“They have devoted their lives to the service of the UK and the Commonwealth – my best wishes to them both on this special occasion.”
The Queen, who was a 21-year-old princess when she married the duke on November 20 1947, is the first British monarch to reach the milestone.
The Queen is the nation’s longest reigning sovereign, having overtaken the record set by Queen Victoria.
The 96-year-old newly-retired duke, who was 26 and fresh from serving with the Royal Navy in the Second World War when he married, is the longest-serving consort in British history.
With their family growing year by year, the Queen and Philip are preparing to welcome their sixth greatgrandchild in April – a third child for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
They also have eight grandchildren – Peter and Zara Phillips, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Mountbatten-windsor and Viscount Severn, and their own four children – the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex.
Celebrations for the 70th wedding anniversary were a private affair, markedly different from the public commemorations of the diamond wedding anniversary in 2007 that included a service of thanksgiving.
Close family and friends gathered with the couple at Windsor Castle for a special private dinner last night.
At 1pm yesterday a team of 10 bell ringers sounded a full celebratory peal, lasting three hours and 20 minutes, at Westminster Abbey in tribute
The success of the Queen’s and the duke’s long-lasting union has been put down to their compatibility. They have shared interests – horses and outdoor life – and the same dutiful royal training. Even though it was 70 years ago, that November Day in 1947 has lingered in my memory ever since.
We were given a day off school, so my mother took me up to her office on the corner of Westminster Bridge Road with a perfect view both down Whitehall and across the square to Westminster Abbey.
Huge crowds thronged the pavements, and we had to push through them to get to the office entrance.
Once at the window, we could see just how vast the crowd was.
My abiding memory was how everyone seemed dressed in dark colours – it was like watching a black and white film.
It was a chilly, damp day and the long wait took its toll as many people fainted, with ambulance crews spending the whole time running to and fro with stretchers.
Then came the loud cheers, an approaching wall of sound as the royal carriage carrying Princess Elizabeth and King George VI drew nearer to the abbey. Aged six, I barely knew who Princess Elizabeth was, but I knew the man at her side – he was the King, whose profile was on every coin, banknote and stamp in my collection.
Sometime later the carriage passed the other way, this time with the newlyweds Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, carried along on a tide of cheering.
Then another carriage with the King and Queen and others with the wider royal family.
Little did I think as a small boy that, 70 years later, I could say I was there.