Queen Elizabeth turned 94 yesterday, 21 April. Traditionally, her birthday is officially celebrated in June every year. The magnificent celebration, referred to as the ‘Trooping the Colour’, is an enormous feast and was due to take place on 13 June this year. This year, however, Buckingham Palace have announced that the event will not go ahead due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In honour of the royal icon’s birthday, we take a look at her and her husband, Prince Philp’s remarkable love story.
The two got married on 20 November, 1947 at Westminster Abbey, meaning this year they will celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary!
They met at a royal wedding when Queen Elizabeth was just eight years old. They fell in love after a second encounter when she was 13 and he 18, and began exchanging letters. In 1946, Philip asked King George VI for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The rest, as they say, is history.
The wedding did not go without incident, however. Elizabeth’s tiara snapped on the morning of the wedding, and Philip was stopped for speeding through central London on the day of the rehearsal dinner (19 November). He reportedly said at the time: “I’m sorry officer, but I’ve got an appointment with the Archbishop of Canterbury.”
When she was just 25, Elizabeth’s ascended the throne on 2 June 1953 after her father’s death. Prince Philip was the first to swear allegiance to the new queen, describing himself as her “liege man of life and limb”.
The two have been by each other’s side for many years now, and are a beautiful example of a strong and steadfast marriage. “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,” said Queen Elizabeth II as she described her husband on their golden anniversary in 1997.
Their marriage is the longest of any British rulers ever, and we wish them many more happy years to come and the Queen a happy birthday.
Source: History Extra
Image: Instagram
