9th April 2021 was the day when it was announced that His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh – husband of the Queen of United Kingdom, Her Majesty, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (Elizabeth II), passed away at the age of 99. The news came just after weeks he returned after spending more than a month in hospital for his heart condition & infection. This Saturday the Queen is about to bid her final goodbye to her love, strength & stay of 73 years. Though the funeral, “Operation Fourth Bridge”, is restricted by the ongoing pandemic, The Prince Philip will be honored for his long life devotion to military, public service as the Britain’s longest-serving Royal Consort, a beloved husband and doting father, grandfather & great grand father.
The man who stood by his beloved wife, the woman in power, all these years during her record breaking reign since 1952 and still counting, is worth notable. Surely his demise has left a huge void in her life but the resilient Queen is all on her heels to pay the tribute to the love of her life for one last time, the way he had wished to. Why would she even not? Their love story witnessed more than 7 decades of togetherness.
The 73 years of marriage began with a sweet, innocent love story of golden era. It went through its own share of ups & downs like any other but it never fell apart. Rather, it broke many stereotypes of those times, a few which are viable still today.
Here’s to the story that shall be cherished by many generations to come!
The Time When The Eyes Met!
Full-half wine glasses were being served with chocolate-dipped marsh-mellows. Beautiful faces with charming smiles were making heartwarming glimpses. Glorified were the sweet moments for the newly-wed couple as the dim light of high-hung chandelier fell upon them. It was 1934. Casual tassel and penny loafers were tapping over the beats of inciting music to celebrate the love. And between those soft giggles, warm talks, twists & turns, there were 2 kids playing & running through the crowds, not aware of what the future held for them. They were Princess Elizabeth II & Prince Phillip. Yes, at the age of 8 & 15, they first met!
Fast forward to 1939, she was 13 and he was 18. The queen was visiting the Britannia Royal Naval College with her parents and little sister. Prince Philip who was the cadet at that time had been delegated to look after and play games with princess Elizabeth and Margaret. That was the first time teenage Elizabeth laid her eyes on him. The wide-eyed teen was all taken by the handsomeness of young Philip. It was love at first sight!
But Queen’s father, King George VI was not that keen with the courtship. It is recorded in history him saying to his elder daughter, “you are too young to even know these things and he must have his girlfriends. Also, he isn’t financially independent!” Like any other father his concerns were justifiable for his little ‘Lilibet’. Well, this never stopped them to share letters which they kept doing so till the day they got engaged. Being the 3rd cousins/2nd cousins they got ample of time to spend with one another during family gatherings, & ceremonies.
In 1997, Prince Philip remembered the first meet as teenager and he said to the Queen at their anniversary party, “You were so shy, I couldn’t get a word out of you!!”
The Hurdles In The Love Story
As we can see the fairy tale love story had its own share of hurdles. One of them was World War II. While Prince Phillip was actively taking part in the war, Elizabeth, being considered as a kid still had to leave London for her safety with her sister. In 1944, when the future queen was 18, she insisted upon joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women’s branch of the British Army. Her father agreed and made sure she was not given any kind of special rank. She found her place as any other woman in the Army. She started as a second subaltern in the ATS and was later promoted to Junior Commander, the equivalent of Captain.
Princess Elizabeth began her training as a mechanic in March 1945. She undertook a driving and vehicle maintenance course at Aldershot. Being busy in their lives and finding purpose more than being Royals, they never let anything fade away between them. It is said they used to write letters to each other, every single day!
The Sweet Proposal
In 1946, Prince Philip asked King George VI permission to marry princess Elizabeth. Eventually witnessing the love between the two, King George VI and his wife (mother of princes Elizabeth, The Queen Elizabeth) agreed for the marriage. But there was one clause and it was that he could propose the princess only when she turns 21 on 21st April which was the following month. The parents were in fear that the princess was still too young to marry. Hence the clause. But it was easy for Prince Philip to wait 1 more month! In fact, he took advantage of the time he got. He designed the platinum & diamond engagement ring himself using stones from a tiara belonging to his mother, Princess Alice of Greece. Later the night when she turned 21, in Scotland he proposed getting down on one knee to his future beloved wife, with the astonishing ring. A public announcement was made about the engagement that thrilled people head to toe!
Shortly before the marriage Prince Philip gave away his Greek & Danish Royalty which were his birth title and took the name of Mountbatten (the title from his maternal grandparents). He became a neutralized subject of Britain to marry the future Queen. He claimed this sacrifice (yes, the ‘sacrifice’ because men do not change their identity after marriage but the women…still today) as “fallen in love completely and unreservedly for the women so strong and charismatic“. These were the exact words he wrote in a letter to the Queen Mother as a proof of his loyalty towards her daughter.
The Royal Wedding
Prince Philip Mountbatten and Princess Elizabeth got married on the morning of 20th November 9147 at Westminster Abby in front of 2000 guests. The ceremony was broadcast on the BBC radio to 200 million people around the world.
Princess Elizabeth was the 10th member of The Royal Family to be married at Westminster Abbey. (The first Royal wedding to take place in the Abbey was on 11 November 1100, when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland.)
Princess Elizabeth had eight bridesmaids: HRH Princess Margaret, HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Mary Cambridge, The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten, The Hon. Margaret Elpinstone, and Diana Bowes-Lyon.
Well, talks about Princess Elizabeth won’t get complete without talking about the 9 feet tall wedding cake! It was decorated with the arms of both families, including the monograms of the bride and groom, sugar-iced figures of their favourite activities, and regimental and naval badges. The cake was cut using the Duke’s Mountbatten sword, which was a wedding present from The King.
The Honeymoon
Philip and Elizabeth planned multiple weeks away in different parts of Britain and were looking forward to what would essentially be their first extended period alone together. Princess Elizabeth (as she was then) and Prince Philip sped off to Broadlands, Lord Mountbatten’s house in Hampshire, for the initial part of their honeymoon. The lovebirds then enjoyed a spot of stalking in the snow at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate.
While on honeymoon Princess Elizabeth wrote to the Queen Mother, in letters seen by the biographer William Shawcross, and declared: “Philip is an angel – he is so kind and thoughtful and living with him and having him around all the time is just perfect.”
Philip in turn wrote to tell his mother in law of his deep love for his new wife.
“Lilibet is the only ‘thing’ in the world which is absolutely real to me and my ambition is to weld the two of us into a new combined existence that will not only be able to withstand the shocks directed at us but will have a positive existence for the good,” he said.
The Queen-Ship & Married Life
The years after their marriage were peaceful for both of them. Princess Elizabeth was leading a normal life of a Naval officer’s wife. The couple welcomed their first child, Prince Charles on November 14th 1948.
Life of them were all merry until the sudden health deterioration of the King George VI in 1951. After a short while came the news of demise of the King and now it was the time for Princess Elizabeth to take up the throne and become the Queen. The responsibility which the couple had not seen coming so soon.
As Princess Elizabeth crowned as the Queen, the next thing was to decide the name of the House – House of the court. There was a trail of debate to take up Mountbatten or Windsor the title of the dynasty. It is mentioned in some of the biographies that prince Philip complained about not being able to give his name to his future children/grandchildren. But as supportive and loving as he was to his wife, he agreed to keep the name of Windsor. (This had happened at that time when women used to be uneducated and dependent on their husbands. Few will say since she was the Queen, that is why it was meant to be – keeping her name/title. But whatever you say, it happened! Something very rare and maybe unacceptable today still…after all women are not meant to give their name to their off springs!)
Also Read: 8 Lesser Known Facts About Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
The Coolest Couple!
He devoted his married life to supporting the Queen, giving up his naval career to be by her side. At the start of her reign, he helped her in particular with her public speaking, encouraging her to lower her voice when she spoke. He was her guide, her strength, her angel as she said, “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years”.
To this, he said, “I think the main lesson that we have learn is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage….It may not be quite so important when things are going well, but it is absolutely vital when the going gets difficult. You can take it from me that the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.”
On Philip’s retirement from royal duties in 2017, the Queen said, “Even Prince Philip has decided it’s time to slow down a little — having, as he economically put it, ‘done his bit’. But I know his support and unique sense of humor will remain as strong as ever cracking me up now and then!”
As the era ends, above was a little tribute to the couple who grew, loved, laughed, created a wonderful family and cherishable life together. The love story that today’s world would seldom see.
May God save the Queen!
The article is written by Alisha (@yeah_me_alisha)
This article is Curated by Vaibhav. His Instagram id is @frameshade
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