Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, who really loved each other
“Her first, second and last job was not to let her down. Never". Prince Philip, who passed away at the age of 99 on 9 April 2021, impressed Elizabeth from their first official meeting, when he was 18 and she was only 13. Story of an 80-year love affair
Good looking, very blond hair, tall and athletic. The Prince of Greece impressed the young princess - then known only as Lilibet - by playing tennis in college during their first "organized" meeting. They had already attended the same events several times, such as the wedding in 1934 of Philip's cousin, Princess Marina, later Duchess of Kent, with Princess Elizabeth's uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent, and then the coronation of George VI in 1937.
But it was in Dartmouth, when King George VI and his wife Elizabeth visited the naval college with their two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, that Philip, then 18, and 13 year old Lilibet had their first official meeting. It was July 1939. From that moment on they began regular correspondence and met on several occasions.
Because one thing has always been certain: Elizabeth II, 95 next April, had only one great love. Philip Mountbatten, born as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, who later became Duke of Edinburgh, consort of the longest-lived British sovereign. Prince Philip died at the age of 99 on April 9, 2021, and the official announcement could not fail to come from his Lilibet, with "deep pain".
From 1939 onwards, the two always wrote to each other, supported by Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten, the first supporter of their union. But things would only get serious after the war. When Philip was invited to Balmoral in the summer of 1946, it was immediately clear that Elizabeth was in love. They got engaged unofficially that summer, but the official announcement was delayed until Princess Elizabeth reached the age of 21 and she returned from a royal tour in South Africa. Philip applied for British nationality and became a naturalized British subject in February 1947, giving up his Greek royal title.
The official engagement was announced to Great Britain on July 10, 1947, exactly 73 years ago. A lifetime ago. The historic wedding was celebrated on November 20, 1947 in the solemn Westminster Abbey in London, and for the first time broadcast on TV. She was a 21-year-old princess, he a 26-year-old naval officer. Two years had passed since the end of World War II, and royal weeding had a strong symbolic value: laying the foundations for the future of the country, shooting.
The ceremony was attended by all the ruling houses in the world, thousands of people took to the streets and squares of London to watch the new royal couple and - for the first time - the ceremony was recorded and broadcast on BBC channels. After the wedding, the royal couple moved to Clarence House, London, now home to Charles and Camilla. The first child, Carlo, was born in November 1948. After him, Anna (1950), Andrea (1960) and Edoardo (1964) arrived. Meanwhile, Elizabeth had ascended the throne with the name of Elizabeth II. She was February 6, 1952, she was only 25 years old.
Elizabeth always spoke of Philip with great affection, beginning all the sentences with "my husband and I", defining him "my strength"; he has always respected the "three steps back", always making it clear to everyone that it was she who held the crown in mind.
The queen busy with official life, Philip busy educating her children. He restless, decisive and pungent, she cautious, austere, and determined. Philip has always been "the stick one clings to in times of difficulty". Together they visited every corner of the former colonies and beyond, met the most important leaders on the planet, took part in any type of inauguration. She is faithful to the suits in pastel tones, he frequently in full uniform.
There are many rumors of his (alleged) betrayals, even more so with the arrival of The Crown, that is, the life of "Lilibet" - albeit fictionalized - thrown into the spotlight. But the queen has always preferred not to give weight to any kind of "gossip". Always opposed to her divorce, Elizabeth II has always been more inclined to dwell on the many things in common: art collections, picnics on the Scottish meadows, the same favorite liqueur (gin, of course). Filippo, on the other hand, has always managed to make her laugh. Like when on the day of her coronation, he whispered to her: "But where did you get that hat?".
They "celebrated" the last anniversary in Windsor, in solitary confinement due to the pandemic. For Elisabetta and Filippo, who are now used to often living apart, 2020 was a "bonus" year in terms of their relationship: in fact, they spent much more time together. Since his retirement from public life in 2017, Philip used to live for most of the year in Sandringham, while the Queen continued to hold lines from Buckingham Palace. She only joined him during the holidays. But forced isolation brought them together. "It was a year of turmoil as the world was hit by the pandemic, but for them it was also the year they could spend a lot of time together, which is a big plus for them," the royal commentator had revealed. Richard Fitzwilliam.
Philip's devotion to his wife has always been clear. His first ever private secretary Michael Parker, a friend since the Navy, revealed: "The day he offered me my job, he told me that his first, second and even his last job is it has always been not to disappoint her ».
