Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip had an epic, unlikely love story
Looking back, their love story was both royal and implausible.
She was the daughter of King George VI. He was the nephew of a deposed king of Greece.
Her family owned majestic castles. His family was living in exile.
Her father helped rally Britain over the Germans in World War II. His sisters had connections to the Nazi party.
Also, they were cousins — distant, but still cousins.
But when they strolled out of Westminster Abbey in 1947 as husband and wife, Princess Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, who died Friday at 99, embarked on a love story for the ages.
Married 74 years, their royal matrimony weathered her unexpectedly early ascension to queen, after which his Royal Navy career took a backseat to her duties as head of state — her weekly audiences with prime ministers, the gilded life of the sovereign.
Though the popular Netflix show “The Crown” portrayed Prince Philip as unhappy in those early days, the truth is that “Prince Philip took on the unlikely role of champion to his wife and became both mother and father to their children,
allowing the queen to deal with the requirements of her position,” according to royal biographer Ingrid Seward’s 2018 book on their marriage.
“Even after seven decades,” Ms. Seward wrote, “the Queen’s face lights up when Philip enters a room.”
They first laid eyes on each other in 1939.
She was 13, prim and proper. He was 18 and unrefined — a dashing cadet at Britannia Royal Naval College. Europe was months away from being consumed by World War II.
Margaret Rhodes, the queen’s cousin, wrote in her 2011 autobiography, “The Final Curtsey,” that “Elizabeth was truly in love from the very beginning.”
During the war, the two exchanged letters. Philip served in the Royal Navy while she was shuffled from palace to palace as Britain was being bombed. She eventually was settled with her younger sister, Margaret, at Windsor Castle.
Marion Crawford, who served as their governess, wrote in her memoir, “The Little Princesses,” that Elizabeth was smitten with Philip’s arresting blue eyes and
Viking good looks.
But they waited until after the war to get engaged. When the crowds cheered their wedding at Westminster Abbey in 1947, neither of them expected she would be crowned queen anytime soon. Her father, King George VI, was in his early 50s. Philip, named Duke of Edinburgh, intended to continue his career in the navy. But the king died five years into their marriage, and Elizabethbecame queen at 25.
Philip was forced to quit his naval career. In 1992, he told an interviewer, “I’d much rather have stayed in the navy, frankly.” He later called his resignation “naturally disappointing.” By many accounts, there was real tension in the marriage, and “The Crown” strongly hints that Philip was a serial cheater.
But he and Elizabeth endured, traveling the world together and producing four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. According to Tatler, which chronicles the lives of the British royals, he teased her in private, calling her “Lilibet” and “Sausage.” Or sometimes just “Darling.”