How the Queen and Prince Philip reached a marital milestone... | Daily Mail Online comments Few of those gathered in the auction room were paying much attention to the fate of Lot 105. Here was a pretty little study of the Queen by the late Edward Seago but it was hardly the star of the £6 million show. Most of the assembled collectors and art dealers who had turned up for the Christie’s sale of British Impressionists in June 2010 had come to follow the big-ticket items by Sir Alfred Munnings and others. With an estimated price of between £4,000 and £6,000, Seago’s piece — a preliminary sketch for a larger portrait of the Queen at the 1953 Birthday Parade — was of passing interest. The happy couple: Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Queen Elizabeth on their honeymoon in 1947 Enduring love: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh appear still very much in love at Broadlands earlier this year But someone was clearly determined to pay whatever it took to acquire a painting somewhat smaller than the size of a newspaper page.

It soon went over its upper estimate and kept going up as an anonymous buyer fought off all-comers before the gavel came down just shy of £10,000. Today, the work hangs at Buckingham Palace alongside Seago’s full portrait of the Queen. For that mystery bidder was none other than the Duke of Edinburgh himself. And he proudly keeps both pieces side-by-side in his study. The man who designed an enchanting ‘E & P’ diamond and ruby bracelet as a present for the Queen on their fifth wedding anniversary remains the same incurable romantic six decades later. The big day: Princess Elizabeth and Lt Philip Mountbatten photographed at Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony in 1947 Newlyweds: In May of the first year of their marriage, the couple pay a State visit to to France. Princess Elizabeth waves to the crowds as she and Prince Philip attend the Paris opera as a guest of the President of France This is one of the greatest love stories in the history of the British Monarchy. No Sovereign has been married as long as the Queen — and nor, for that matter, have many other people. Yesterday, the Queen and the Duke celebrated their 65th — or blue sapphire — wedding anniversary.

This is, by anyone’s standards, a very great milestone, which is why the Queen despatches a message of congratulation to all those who reach it (conjuring up the glorious idea of her sending a celebratory message to herself). RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The Buckingham Palace anniversaries office issues these for several landmarks — 100th birthdays and every birthday over 105; 60th, 65th and 70th wedding anniversaries and every year thereafter — and its figures show that, last year, it sent out just 1,937 messages for blue sapphire anniversaries. The Queen and the Duke are, thus, members of an increasingly exclusive club.

Delight: Newlywed Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh hold their first child Prince Charles, aged six months, in April 1949 Time abroad: When Philip was posted to Malta as a naval officer from 1949 to 1951, the Queen spent several months by his side, staying at the Villa Guardamangia pictured here in 1950 Today, they remain as inseparable as they were on that bleak November day in 1947 when bomb-scarred Britain finally had a national event to cheer about. Winston Churchill described their wedding as ‘a splash of colour on the hard road we have to travel’. Over the years, like every couple since the dawn of time, they have had their tiffs. As the Queen’s former Private Secretary, the late Lord Charteris, once observed, the Duke is the only person who can tell the Queen to ‘shut up’ and vice versa. On one occasion, the Duke told the Queen that he would ‘put her out’ of the car during an altercation over his driving style (there cannot be many husbands and wives for whom that does not ring a bell).

Here was a traditional marriage in which traditional roles were reversed — the dashing naval man of action suddenly cast in a supporting role behind a shy Princess. Shoulder to shoulder: Trooping the Colour in 1953, the Queen takes the salute with Prince Philip by her side In private, of course, he could be the dynamic paterfamilias, taking charge, running the royal estates and indulging his flair for innovation and bold ideas. In public, however, his place was always two paces behind. As a former Private Secretary of the Duke explained to me: ‘In a sense, his life is very simple. It is 100 per cent support for the Queen. The organisation of his life is based entirely on the Queen’s programme. So he will not look at his programme until the Queen’s programme has been decided. Only then does he decide what to do.’ Out on the road, his presence is still as reassuring as ever. However much the Queen may be surrounded by officials and security, she is always happier when the Duke is there, too. No one has a better idea than he of what might interest or amuse her, just as she will often pick up on something likely to appeal to the Duke.

Staff have often heard the Monarch turning to the Duke and remarking: ‘You’d better Google that.’ Just like every other couple: The Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen, pictured in 1955, have previously argued about his driving Different interests: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke on their way to the the Royal Box at Ascot in 1957 In the course of researching my book, Our Queen, I spoke to one family friend who summed up their relationship as follows: ‘There are some people who don’t need many friends. And those two, they’re just a real love story — taking tea together every day, talking about everything. He might take out a letter and read it to her or crack a joke. They just adore each other.’ They have many shared tastes — such as collecting pictures and books on birds — but they have both been happy to let each other enjoy separate pursuits. ‘The secret of a happy marriage is not to have the same interests,’ the Duke explained recently. ‘It’s one thing not to argue about.’ Thus, the Queen would never intrude on, say, the Duke’s love of sailing or gardening, while he would never meddle with her racing operations.

It is safe to say that his enquiring mind has probably envisaged many good horticultural uses for Sandringham’s beautiful walled garden but since that is where the Queen likes to graze her stallions, that is where they will graze. Constant companions: The annual Royal visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in 1960 - an event the Queen adores and still attends every year without fail To the races: The Queen and the Duke leave Buckingham Palace to drive to the Epsom Derby in May 1963 For his 90th birthday, the Queen gave him one of the last few honorary titles which he does not already possess, Lord High Admiral (he was already Admiral of the Fleet). But some have wondered why she has never given him the title of Prince Consort, the title Queen Victoria created for Prince Albert. Some say that he did not want it. ‘He resisted the idea of being declared Prince Consort because he did not want it thought he was modelling himself on Prince Albert,’ says one former Private Secretary. But it has also been suggested that the Queen was not keen on the idea either.

For, perhaps the most contented period of the Queen’s life was the four-year period — between marriage and succession — when she was neither Princess Elizabeth nor Queen but a young mother and Royal Navy wife known as the Duchess of Edinburgh. Had the Duke become Prince Consort, the Edinburgh title — and all its happy associations — would simply have fallen into disuse. With all the boys: Queen Elizabeth II pictured in 1965 with the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and in the pram is Prince Edward Heartwarming: family portrait in 1968 shows the Royals walking in the grounds of Frogmore on the Windsor Estate - the Queen holding Prince Edward's hand, Princess Anne and Prince Charles to the rear, and Prince Andrew by the Queen's side Proud parents: A proud moment for the royals couple in 1969 as they attend Charles's investiture as the Prince of Wales on 1 July in a ceremony at the ancient Caernarvon Castle Together they enjoyed the euphoria of the early years of the reign and endured the storms which followed. Together they suffered the heartache of watching three children go through the misery of divorce.

The Duke has always been an indispensable pillar of support for the Queen but never more so than during the dark years from the ‘annus horribilis’ of 1992 to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales five years later. Then, as always, the Duke would eagerly shoulder those responsibilities which were not the constitutional domain of the Queen. So, after the Windsor fire of 1992, it was the Duke who took charge of rebuilding the castle, just as, many years earlier, he had steered the conversion of the bombed-out Buckingham Palace chapel into the thriving public space that is the Queen’s Gallery.

Portrait: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh mark their 25th silver wedding anniversary with a beautiful family photograph, from left, of Princess Anne, Prince Charles, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1972 Family walk: Queen and Philip with their children, Prince Andrew, now Duke of York, right, and Prince Edward, now Earl of Wessex), taking a stroll with their pet corgis at Sandringham in May 1973 State duties first: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at House of Lords for State Opening of Parliament in 1978 As the Nineties went on, it was the Duke who chaired the internal strategy summits of Royal Family members and their staff, known as the Way Ahead Group. The turning point would be the Golden Jubilee of 2002, since when royal fortunes have continued to remain on a steep, upward trajectory. That they have is largely down to the unshakeable bond at the core of the modern Monarchy.

The Duke summed it up in 1947 in a letter to his new mother-in-law: ‘Lilibet is the only “thing” in this world which is absolutely real to me.’ Half a century later in 1997, as Tony Blair staged a golden wedding anniversary luncheon for the couple in Whitehall, the Queen turned to the Duke and announced: ‘He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.’ Fifteen years on from that day, it is clear nothing has changed one bit. Keeping up with the times: Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh at the Premiere of James Bond's film 'Die another Day' in 2002 Sharing a joke: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip pictured laughing together at Buckingham Palace in 2004 And now: Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on the River Thames in London earlier this year Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Biography, news, photos and videos Horoscope : Capricorn Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on the island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice, the eldest daughter of Louis Alexander Mountbatten. The blond toddler was just one-and-a-half when the family left Greece. And Philip spent the first years of his life in France, where he attended school in Paris before being sent to Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire. From there he went on to Gordonstoun, followed by the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. It was while he was training as a navy cadet that Philip caught the eye of the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, who was a distant cousin. Although her parents, King George and Queen Elisabeth, urged her not to rush into a serious relationship, Elizabeth was smitten and kept a photo of the handsome young cadet by her bed. In July 1947, by which time Philip had become a British subject and renounced his right to the Greek and Danish thrones, their engagement was announced.

He also discarded his father's family name of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, in favour of his mother's surname - Mountbatten. Though originally planned as a low-key affair, the royal wedding - which took place in front of 2,500 guests in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947 - captured the imagination of a post-WWII public starved of gaiety and romance and turned into a national celebration. Philip, now designated a royal highness, created a Knight of the Garter and awarded the title Duke of Edinburgh, spent his first six years of married life in Malta, where he was stationed with the Royal Navy. There he and Elizabeth enjoyed the beginnings of their life together as a normal couple. Six days before their first wedding anniversary, the pair's first son and heir, Prince Charles , was born a momentous occasion Philip marked by dashing to his wife's bedside with carnations and champagne. Their daughter Anne arrived in 1950, with sons Andrew and Edward following in 1960 and 1964 respectively.

Prior to his wife's accession to the throne on Feb 6, 1952, Philip continued to pursue his naval career, rising through the ranks to become second in command of the Fleet Destroyer HMS Whelp. Following Elizabeth's coronation he assumed the role of full-time consort with all its incumbent duties. Patron of some 800 organisations, the Duke of Edinburgh is especially interested in scientific and technological research, conservation and the environment, and the encouragement of sport. Also keen on the welfare of young people, he launched the highly successful Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in 1956. His most important role, however, has undoubtedly been as a loving and supportive husband. "Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being," once explained Lord Charteris, the monarch's former private secretary. "Strange as it may seem, I believe she values that." Portrait of a marriage - Telegraph Portrait of a marriage The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles watching the Braemar highland games 12:05AM BST 05 Sep 2004 Who are Philip and Elizabeth? What has made them the way they are?

The Queen is driven by duty and sustained by faith. But what of the Duke? What of the ladies, the rumours that have dogged him for decades? Gyles Brandreth has spoken to Prince Philip at length - and has spent time with the Queen. The result is a remarkable account of a remarkable partnership 'Dear, do you want a gin and tonic?" asks Prince Philip. Her Majesty, however, already has her drink in hand. She is positively chatty. The bar is filling up with show business royalty. The Queen is mingling happily. A generation ago this would not have happened. The bell goes, summoning the audience back to their seats. Sir Elton John is top of the bill tonight. He sits at the piano and sings three songs. He has his back to the Royal Box. Related Articles ' With fondest love, Pa' 22 Oct 2003 "I wish he'd turn the microphone to one side," says the Queen. "I wish he'd turn the microphone off," says Prince Philip. I recorded this conspiratorial exchange in my diary on Monday 26 November 2001, the day after I attended the annual Royal Variety Performance with the Queen and Prince Philip.

I have been able to observe the Queen and the Duke at close range: watching the pair of them - two sharply contrasting characters, with wholly different natures, who are nonetheless, and undeniably, partners, allies, friends. Some months later, in May 2002, I joined the Queen and Duke at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. At that time, I wrote in my diary: "The Duke took part, winning the dressage heat in the carriage-driving competition. The Queen, headscarf on, camera in hand, watched him, with rapt attention and real excitement. ''As he put his horses through their paces, she bit her lip with anxiety and, when he came through victorious, she laughed and cheered and clapped. She revealed an energy and enthusiasm she never displays when going about her official duties. Clearly, she still loves her man. ''Watching her at Windsor, I would say she adores him. She stood in the stand alongside Lord and Lady Romsey. Penny Romsey, 48, is Philip's regular carriage-driving companion - and rather more than that, if the rumour-mongers are to be believed. I wonder." Who are Philip and Elizabeth?

What has made them the way they are? The Queen's life is driven by duty and sustained by faith. And what drives the Duke? What sustains him? They are so different - in character, in temperament, in upbringing. ''Rumour has it that they lead very separate lives. Rumour has been rife, too, of course, for years, about Prince Philip's lovers. Understanding any marriage is not easy - and, in this case, it is made more difficult because "a public front" has been maintained for almost 60 years. Was this ever a love story? Is it still? Or is there betrayal at the heart of it? The "story" begins in Dartmouth, in 1939, where the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth had her first meeting with Prince Philip of Greece, age 18. However, between then and their official engagement in 1947, "Blondes, brunettes and redhead charmers, Philip gallantly and I think quite impartially squired them all," says Philip's cousin and exact contemporary, Alexandra of Yugoslavia. In 1945 Philip was 24, a bearded Adonis.

He was on active duty in the Pacific, and along with Mike Parker, an Australian, fellow naval officer, first friend then his equerry, enjoyed antipodean shore leave. According to his cousin, Alexandra, who wasn't there, "Philip, with a golden beard, hit feminine hearts, first in Melbourne and then in Sydney, with terrific impact." According to Mike Parker, who was there, "Philip was actually quite reserved. He didn't give away a lot. There have been books and articles galore saying he played the field. I don't believe it. People say we were screwing around like nobody's business. Well, we weren't." Mike Parker died at the very end of 2001, aged 81, a plain-speaking Australian to the last. "Yeah, there were always 'armfuls of girls'." He had used the expression when speaking to Tim Heald, a biographer of Prince Philip, and he was never allowed to forget it. "Jesus, I wish I'd never used that phrase. What I meant was this: we were young, we had fun, we had a few drinks, we might have gone dancing, but that was it.

In Australia, Philip came to meet my family, my sisters and their friends. There were girls galore, but there was no one special. Believe me. I guarantee it." Robin Dalton - now a distinguished film producer based in London and Biarritz; in 1945 a 23-year-old Australian girl working as secretary to the commanding officer of the ordnance department of the Southwest Pacific Area - remembers it a little differently: "I met Philip through David [Milford Haven, Philip's cousin and, later, best man]. They were like brothers, you know." She recalls that Philip had two special girlfriends in Australia at the end of the war: "A society girl called Sue Other-Gee, and then Sandra Jacques - that was a terrific love affair." "A full love affair?" I asked. "A very full love affair," said Robin. Perhaps there was a licence to be more uninhibited in Australia?

Georgina Kennard [known to friends as "Gina" and to Prince Philip, when they were children, as "George"], sitting in the elegant drawing room of her third-floor flat off Sloane Square in October 2003 (in the week she turned 84), looked back on life in England 60 years before and said to me, emphatically, "It was a different world. Unmarried girls didn't sleep with their boyfriends. It really wasn't done." I asked Gina Kennard if Prince Philip had been her boyfriend. She laughed. "Everybody said he was in love with me. My mother used to say that his mother - who was a saintly person, deaf but lovely - would have been very happy for Philip to marry me, but it never came up. '' I said to him recently, 'Are you still in love with me?' and he said, 'Yes, of course, I am.' The truth is, he was wonderfully attractive - he still is - and we were friends, best friends, and we went out together and had just the best time, but nothing really serious happened. It wasn't like that. ''He was young and handsome and, of course, I loved him.

At that age, you fall in love all the time, don't you? Philip knew lots of girls. There was Osla Benning, wasn't there? We were just young people having fun." In 1944, both Gina and Osla (a beautiful Canadian debutante) became engaged to other men. Prince Philip is adamant. He did not think about marriage in any serious sense until more than a year after the war, when he went to stay at Balmoral in 1946. If he had thoughts of marriage much before 1946, he kept them to himself. Getting an insight into Philip's feelings about his relationship with Elizabeth is not easy. Getting an insight into her feelings about him is much more straightforward. The Queen is happy for you to know that, in her heart and in her way, she has been committed to Prince Philip from the age of 13. As it was with her horses - and her dogs, and her faith, and her duty - so it was with Philip. Her first cousin, near-contemporary and friend, Margaret Rhodes, said to me: "Princess Elizabeth was enamoured from an early age. She never looked at anyone else.

She was smitten from the start." However smitten Elizabeth was, and however interested Philip declared himself to be, Establishment figures were none too happy. Sir Alan Lascelles, assistant private secretary to the Prince of Wales throughout the 1920s, assistant private secretary and private secretary to successive kings from 1935, encapsulated some of the family's and most of the courtiers' initial estimation of Lt Philip Mountbatten: "They felt he was rough, uneducated and would probably not be faithful." Was Philip right for Lilibet? Was he good enough? Was he, in truth, a suitable consort for a future Queen? The royal establishment did not welcome Philip with open arms. Far from it. According to John Brabourne, "They were bloody to him. We were at Balmoral that summer [1947, the year of their engagement] and they were absolutely bloody to him. They didn't like him, they didn't trust him, and it showed." It certainly rankled with Philip - and rankles still. He was snubbed by snobs. Different witnesses give different assessments of the temperature of Philip's passion.

Mike Parker told me, "He was completely in love with her [Elizabeth], absolutely." John Brabourne agrees: "It was a love-match, certainly." Gina Kennard told me: "Philip used to speak to me about Princess Elizabeth before they were engaged. He was extremely fond of her, always. He said, 'I think we could do a lot together.' " On the morning of their wedding, however, some nervousness had crept in. "I saw him just after breakfast that morning," Patricia Mountbatten - Lord Mountbatten's elder daughter - told me. "We were alone together - we were cousins and we knew each other very well - and I said something about what an exciting day it was and, suddenly, he said to me, 'Am I being very brave or very foolish?' " I asked Lady Mountbatten what she thought he meant by that? "He was apprehensive," she said. "He was uncertain - not about marrying Princess Elizabeth, but about what the marriage would mean for him. He was giving up a great deal. In many ways, nothing was going to change for her. Everything was going to change for him." They have, indeed, done a lot together, and everything did change for him.

Inevitably, since the Queen's Accession, she and Philip have led separate, yet parallel lives. In 1956/57, Prince Philip embarked on a World Tour. The length of the tour was unusual, but its scope was ambitious. Decades on, however, it is still often portrayed as a junket. And it also led to questions in the press about the Prince's private life. The Sunday Pictorial, for one, wanted to know why wasn't Philip at home with the kiddies? Philip's prolonged separation from his wife and children created a flood of speculation - and eventually the dam burst. The Baltimore Sun - the premier newspaper of Wallis Simpson's home town - broke "the story", with the paper's London correspondent reporting that the British capital was awash with rumour that the Duke of Edinburgh was romantically involved with an unnamed woman whom he met on a regular basis in the West End apartment of a society photographer. "Report Queen, Duke in Rift Over Party Girl" ran the headline. According to Mike Parker, "The Duke was incandescent. He was very, very angry.

And deeply hurt." The Queen was equally dismayed, and, surprisingly (given her instinct to follow precedent and the unwritten rule that royalty never answers back), authorised an official and complete denial: "It is quite untrue that there is any rift between the Queen and the Duke." Tongues were wagging, all over the world. The Queen and the Duke did their best to rise above it. But the rumours rumbled on. They rumble still. I have seen a number of the newspaper obituaries already prepared in anticipation of the Duke's death. Each of them, without exception, makes reference to Prince Philip's life as "a ladies' man". Prince Philip is sensitive to this. I know because I have discussed it with him. Publicly, he brushes it off. Privately, he broods. He knows what people say. Once, he showed me a photocopy he had made of 10 pages from an Australian magazine, Woman's Day, that on its front page promised readers a full expose of "Prince Philip's torrid sex life". Inside, Australian readers were offered a "sizzling extract" from a book "they daren't publish in Britain".

The book's author, Nicholas Davies, purported to reveal "a shocking world of royal adultery, passion and betrayal" and stated - as fact, not surmise - that the Duke of Edinburgh's liaisons with his cousin, Princess Alexandra, with the film star Merle Oberon, and with the Duchess of York's mother, Susan Barrantes (among others!) were the reason "why the Queen banned her husband from her bed". Bedroom arrangements at the Palace have rarely been off the minds of those in the popular press. In July 1982, an intruder (a 31-year-old schizophrenic named Michael Fagan) found his way into Buckingham Palace and disturbed the Queen, alone, asleep in bed. This alarming incident prompted a double dose of outrage from the tabloid press: why was the Palace security so lamentable and where was Prince Philip? Why was he not on hand to come to his wife's rescue? Indeed, the "revelation" that the Queen and her husband did not appear to share a bedroom caused more comment in certain quarters than the fact that a lunatic could wander off the street into the Sovereign's bedroom without let or hindrance.

The Queen, who, at the time, handled the intrusion with commendable calm, was nevertheless shaken. The popular press had the answer: "Give her a cuddle, Philip" instructed one newspaper headline. Although it is really none of your business (or mine), I am able to tell you that, customarily, when sleeping under the same roof, the Queen and Prince Philip do share the same bed. It just happened that on the morning of Fagan's intrusion, Philip had a crack-of-dawn start for an out-of-town official engagement and so spent the night in his own quarters. Prince Philip is in a special position. He is the Queen's consort, and Her Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England. At her Coronation, he knelt before her, placed his hands between hers, and vowed, "I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, do become your liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship; and faith and truth will I bear unto you . . ." Privately, Prince Philip is critical of the Prince of Wales , disapproving of his son's adultery with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Publicly, Prince Philip is a role model - especially to the young and those in the armed services.

He is founder of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and patron of the Outward Bound Trust. He is a Colonel or Colonel-in-Chief, Field Marshal, Admiral and Air Commodore 42 times over. He takes these appointments seriously. Honour, duty and example count with him. Is he a hypocrite? Is he a philanderer? I think we can take it as read that the Queen has been faithful throughout her married life. There are those who persist in believing that Prince Andrew's natural father was the Queen's racing manager, Henry Porchester, "Porchey", 7th Earl of Carnarvon, suggesting the conception occurred at some point between 20 January and 30 April 1959 when Philip was away on another of his long sea voyages in the Britannia. Never mind that the dates don't stack up: Andrew was born on 19 February 1960, a happy by-product of the Queen and Philip's post-Britannia reunion.

When a journalist from a Sunday broadsheet suggested to Philip that he might have a raft of illegitimate children and have enjoyed a homosexual liaison with Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former President of France, he sat impassively, incensed but silent. Privately, he will say, "How could I? I've had a detective in my company, night and day, since 1947." He points out that he is accompanied everywhere he goes, that his face is not entirely unknown, and that, over five decades and on three continents, reporters have been trying to dig up some dirt on him that will stick and, thus far, have come up with bugger all! Mike Parker told me, "Philip has been one hundred per cent faithful to the Queen. No ifs, no buts.

Take it from me, I know." Lord Charteris (who worked for the Queen as her assistant private secretary and private secretary from 1950 to 1977) said: "I am aware what people say, and have said for years, but I know of no evidence of any kind, no evidence at all, and, if there were any, I rather think I would." Geoff Williams, Prince Philip's former pilot, who accompanied his boss to fairly faraway places, put it even more succinctly: "I have no information that would make two lines in the Sun." And yet the murmuring goes on. "When I see the tabloids," Prince Philip once sighed to Patricia Mountbatten, "I think I might as well have done it." Well, has he or hasn't he? Countess Mountbatten [of Burma] is in no doubt. "He has been completely faithful to the Queen," she said to me. "I'm sure of it, completely and utterly sure." Just as her father, Lord Mountbatten, would never - in his biographer's phrase - "sacrifice his career for lust", so her cousin, Prince Philip, would never betray the Queen for a mere roll in the hay.

"Supporting the Queen has been his life," Countess Mountbatten reminded me. "Actually, it's quite hateful," says Katie Boyle, a celebrated beauty from the 1950s who is regularly mentioned in despatches as one of Philip's flings. According to the book the Duke of Edinburgh brought to my attention, "Philip's affair with Katie was very steamy. They had the most extraordinary times together." "Yes, I've met Prince Philip several times," Katie Boyle told me, when I raised the story with her. "I think he's the most fantastic man. I love his dryness. But an affair? It's ludicrous, pure fabrication. When it appears in print, people believe it. You can't take legal action because it fans the flames, so you just have to accept people telling complete lies about you." I have known Katie Boyle since I was a small boy. I know her quite well. I believe her completely. Philip and Helene [Cordet] were friends, not lovers. He is not the father of her children. Rumours started because, when her son Max was born, Helene was still married to William Kirby, though they had lived apart for two years.

At the time, no one knew about Marcel Boisot [her lover at the time that Max was born in 1943]. Helene allowed the paternity of her children to remain a mystery. Even in her memoir, Born Bewildered, published in 1961, years later, she does not name him. I get the impression (though she denied it) that Helene Cordet rather relished the frisson created by the rumours surrounding her friendship with Prince Philip. I get the impression Prince Philip thinks so, too, and it irritates him. In several accounts of the Duke, I have read reports of him appreciatively eyeing up shapely women and simultaneously making suggestive remarks. In my experience, while he evidently enjoys the company of good-looking women, his manners are impeccable. To mark his 70th birthday, I organised a "ladies only" lunch in his honour at the Savoy Hotel. The room was filled with good-looking younger women. The actress Jane Asher baked the birthday cake. I placed another actress, Joanna Lumley, and my own beautiful wife, Michele Brown, either side of His Royal Highness.

By several accounts (I was not there: it really was ladies only, apart from the Prince) a happy time was had by all. Prince Philip is attractive to women. He has the gifts of the charmer: he listens, he laughs, he looks into your eyes, he takes you seriously, he makes you feel he wants your company. He never looks over your shoulder to see if someone more interesting is coming along. Dame Norma Major - who, as the prime minister's wife in the 1990s, often found herself in conversation with the Queen's husband, and whose own husband, John Major, is no slouch himself in the charmer stakes - told me: "I am a huge fan and have always enjoyed his company on the numerous occasions I have been privileged to sit beside him at dinner." Joanna Lumley said to me: "Prince Philip is just the best dinner companion, the best." I bring Vicountess Bangor - better known as Mrs [Sarah] Bradford - into the narrative at this point because, of all the more distinguished and reliable royal biographers, she alone, writes boldly, baldly, of his "affairs".

I went to see her, to discover why she is so uncompromising in her assertion of Prince Philip's infidelity. She was open, friendly and hospitable. By candlelight, over a glass of wine, she told me, "There is no doubt in my mind at all. The Duke of Edinburgh has had affairs - yes, full-blown affairs and more than one. Not with Pat Kirkwood or Merle Oberon or any of those people. You're quite right, all that was nonsense, complete nonsense. I don't think there was ever anything in any of that. But he has affairs. And the Queen accepts it. I think she thinks that's how men are. He's never been one for chasing actresses. His interest is quite different. The women he goes for are always younger than him, usually beautiful and highly aristocratic." I asked her, if she was so certain about these "affairs", why she had not named any names in her book. "I wanted to give an accurate picture without hurting people," she said, reasonably enough.

I told Mrs Bradford I was trying to get to the bottom of the raft of rumours about Prince Philip and his love-life - either to establish them as fact or scotch them once and for all. "How do you know you are right about this?" I asked. "I do know," she said, smiling. "Believe me." "Who are these women?" I persisted. "You know who they are," she said. "They're the ones people talk about." "You mean, women like Sacha Abercorn," I suggested. "Yes," said Mrs Bradford, putting down her wine glass. "She is certainly one of them. Philip and Sacha Abercorn certainly had an affair. Without a doubt." I went to see Sacha Abercorn at her London mews house, near Victoria Station, a stone's thrown from Buckingham Palace. The Duchess of Abercorn is tall, slim and striking. She is quietly spoken: intelligent, articulate and thoughtful. She was born in 1946, the daughter of Lt Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and Gina Wernher. She is 25 years Philip's junior. "It was later [after her marriage in 1966] that we became close.

I think it was at The Gables - when Nicky was running the shoots - that we particularly got interested in each other. What brought us together? Jung. Yes, Jung. I've always been interested in Jung, his work, his ideas. And Philip is interested in Jung. Prince Philip is always questing, exploring, searching for meaning, testing ideas. We had riveting conversations about Jung. That's where our friendship began." The Duke of Edinburgh is not the caricature to which we are accustomed. The Duke of Edinburgh reads Jung, T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, the Bible. Since the 1950s his interest in psychology, philosophy and religion have developed and deepened, and become increasingly intermeshed with his interest in the natural world and the environment. Without any awkwardness, Sacha Abercorn denied having a "full relationship" with the Duke. "Do you see much of him nowadays?" I asked, as Sacha began to stack up the tea things and I put my pen and notebook away. "Not really. He used to come to Eluthera. And he'd come carriage-driving at Baronscourt with Penny [Romsey], but we've stopped having the carriage-driving. It was too expensive.

I am sorry I don't see him properly any more. Really sorry. He is a very special man." As I walked away from Sacha's house, along Buckingham Palace Road, over Grosvenor Place, past the Royal Mews, I thought back on what she had told me - and the way she had told it to me: easily, fluently, without any sense of defensiveness, "Yes, that's it. That is all we need to know. It makes sense." It makes sense of Penny Romsey. Dr Johnson once said, "If I had no duties, and no reference to futurity, I would spend my life in driving briskly in a post-chaise with a pretty woman." The Duke of Edinburgh has duties, and an eye to the future, but he is nevertheless wholly at ease carriage-driving with Penny Romsey, 30 years his junior, because he knows the Queen knows that Penny is his playmate, not his mistress. Penny Romsey's mother-in-law, Countess Mountbatten, said to me when I went to see her, "Philip is a man who enjoys the company of attractive, intelligent younger women. Nothing wrong in that.

He's always had somebody there, sharing one or other of his particular pursuits. He has special friends, like Penny. But I am quite sure - quite sure - absolutely certain - he has never been unfaithful to the Queen." What lies at the root of these passionate friendships, these unconsummated amities amoureuses? Countess Mountbatten would say it was the old Mountbatten energy, that Philip is like his Uncle Dickie [Lord Louis Mountbatten]: a dynamo who needs the occasional confidential companionship of a sparky, larky girl who is flattering, intelligent and fun. But how do the rules of his "passionate friendships" impinge on his marriage? Talk with his friends Lord Buxton or Lord Brabourne and they have stories to tell of Philip holding his wife's hand, gently stroking her hair, coming into the room at the end of the day and saying simply "Lovely to see you" and watching her face light up with happiness. "Philip is not sentimental," Lord Brabourne said to me, "but he is sensitive, profoundly so. When our son was killed [by the IRA bomb that killed Lord Mountbatten] the first letter that arrived was from Philip.

It was wonderful. You can talk to him about matters of the heart." But what about Philip's testiness, his grumbling and his grouches? Lord Charteris said to me: "Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being. He's the only man who can. Strange as it may seem, I believe she values that." (When the Duke is critical of his wife, berating her for paying attention to the dogs when she should be listening to him, or wondering out loud why she spends so much time on the telephone, or telling her she is wearing the wrong clothes for a shooting expedition, the Queen is quite capable of answering back, saying to him, "Oh, do shut up." According to family and friends, she has become bolder with him, and he gentler with her, over the years.) Countess Mountbatten said to me, "They're good together. They're good for one another. They always have been. Make no mistake." "Oh, yes," said Gina Kennard, who has known them, individually and as a couple, for something like 70 years, "They own each other. Nothing could come between them.

What they have for one another is the greatest respect - which counts for so much - and deep love. Deep love that goes back a long, long way." Philip and Elizabeth are two very different human beings. Philip is more adventurous, more physical, more intellectual than his wife. She is more placid, more cautious, more conventional, less changeable in mood. They are very different people. Yet they understand one another. Completely. And they are allies. I saw that, that November night, three years ago, in the interval at the Royal Variety Performance, as they looked at one another across a crowded room, and smiled. I caught then a glimpse of the conspiracy - the shared secret - that has sustained them over what will soon be 60 years. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Celebrate 65 Years of Marriage | BridalGuide Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Celebrate 65 Years of Marriage Photo Credit: Royal Household/John Swannell Today, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary. The couple tied the knot on November 20, 1947 in Westminster Abbey before 2,000 guests, followed by an intimate wedding lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Here, check out 20 facts you may not know about the longest-married British monarch: 1. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are third cousins — both are great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Philip’s mother was born in Windsor Castle and he, in fact, has more royal blood than Elizabeth—his parents were Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece, while Elizabeth’s mother was of British nobility. 2. The pair first met when Elizabeth was 13 and Philip was 18, and it was love at first sight for the young royal. Her nanny, Marion “Crawfie” Crawford, remarked that Elizabeth “never took her eyes off him,” though he “didn’t pay her any special attention.” Regardless, the two started corresponding through frequent letters while Philip was in the Navy. “Lilibet took pride in writing to a man who was fighting for our country,” wrote Crawford in her book, The Little Princesses: The Story of the Queen’s Childhood by Her Nanny, Marion Crawford. “She never looked at anyone else,” Elizabeth's cousin, Margaret Rhodes, told Vanity Fair . 3. At first, Elizabeth’s parents and their royal advisors did not approve of Philip.

He was, in essence, a prince without a kingdom — he had no financial standing, and he was considered a foreigner, despite having been born and educated in England and serving in the British Royal Navy. Further complicating his acceptance was the fact that his sisters had married German noblemen with Nazi links. 4. Philip proposed in secret to Elizabeth during the summer of 1946, and she immediately accepted without consulting her parents. 5. After denying engagement rumors, the King and Queen took Elizabeth and her sister with them on a four-month trip to South Africa in early 1947, rumored to introduce her to other, more suitable men. “I knew the separation would change nothing; when Lilibet gives her love, she gives it once and for all," said Crawford. “From South Africa, she wrote to him constantly. And throughout the trip, she put Philip’s photograph on her dressing table.” 6. The King and Queen finally consented to the marriage and announced the engagement on July 9, 1947. Elizabeth’s engagement ring included diamonds from a tiara belonging to Philip’s mother. Photo via Daily Mail 7.

Before the wedding, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles and converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism. He was granted the royal titles of Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. 8. On the morning of the wedding, he quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey because he understood Elizabeth’s concern about her father’s addiction to cigarettes. 9. Elizabeth’s wedding gown, designed by Norman Hartnell, was inspired by the Botticelli painting “Primavera,” where the central figure wears “clinging ivory silk, trailed with jasmine, smilax, syringa and small rose-like blossoms.” Hartnell purchased 10,000 pearls from the United States and made sure that no materials were sourced from Italy or Japan, recent enemies of the country, according to Vintage Weddings: One Hundred Years of Bridal Fashion and Style by Marnie Fogg. The 15-foot train, embroidered with pearl, crystal, and appliqué duchess satin, featured a star pattern. She borrowed a tiara from her mother: the diamond-encrusted Queen Mary Fringe Tiara, originally made for Queen Mary from a necklace Queen Victoria had given her as a wedding present.

Photo via The British Monarchy 10. The wedding was the first royal festivity since the end of World War II. The bride famously saved up her ration cards in order to purchase a wedding gown. The King was warned that “any banqueting and display at your daughter’s wedding will be an insult to the British people at the present time… and we would consider that you would be well advised to order a very quiet wedding in keeping with the times,” according to Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 by David Kynaston. 11. Noticeably missing from the wedding: The bride’s uncle, the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in order to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. The pair had been exiled to Paris because “a king and former king living in the same country would had resulted in two rival courts,” according to Vanity Fair . Also missing: Philip’s German relatives, including his three sisters, were not welcome in post-war Britain. 12. The four-tiered wedding cake was nine feet tall and weighed 500 pounds. The newlyweds cut the cake with Philip’s sword.

One tier was saved for the christening of Prince Charles, and another was sent to Australia, who had provided the ingredients for the cake. 13. The King led a conga line through the staterooms of the palace during the celebratory ball. 14. The couple keeps separate bedrooms at their home in Clarence House. “In England, the upper class always have separate bedrooms,” their cousin Lady Pamela Hicks (née Mountbatten) explained . “You don’t want to be bothered with snoring or someone flinging a leg around. Then when you are feeling cozy, you can share your room sometimes. It is lovely to be able to choose.” 15. When the King’s health started declining and Elizabeth and Philip needed to take his place more frequently at public events, Philip took an open-ended leave from the Navy that effectively ended his military career. “I thought I was going to have a career in the Navy, but it came obvious there was no hope… There was no choice. It just happened. You have to make compromises. That’s life. I accept it. I tried to make the best of it,” he later reflected. 16. It was Philip who broke the news to Elizabeth that her father had passed away.

She reportedly did not cry, but looked pale and worried at becoming Queen at age 25. 17. The marriage was truly a union based on love. In a letter to her parents soon after the marriage, Elizabeth wrote: “I only hope that I can bring up my children in the happy atmosphere of love and fairness which Margaret and I have grown up in,” she wrote, adding that she and Philip “behave as though we had belonged to each other for years! Philip is an angel—he is so kind and thoughtful.” Philip wrote, "Cherish Lilibet? I wonder if that word is enough to express what is in me.” He remarked that she was “the only ‘thing’ in this 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 also have a positive existence for the good.” 18. At the insistence of Queen Mary and the Queen Mother, the next generation of the monarchy continued as the House of Windsor rather than taking on Philip’s surname, Mountbatten. The couple with two of their children, Princess Anne and Prince Charles. Photo via The British Monarchy 19.

Prince Philip resented the fact that his children would not bear his last name. “I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children,” he reportedly griped. After the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth II requested a change to honor her husband. The compromise: the royal family would continue as the House of Windsor, but “de-royalized” descendants (beginning with their grandchildren who lacked royal titles) would use Mountbatten-Windsor as their surname. However, Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, also adopted Mountbatten-Windsor before marriage. 20. On her husband, Queen Elizabeth II has said: "He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments.

But he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I and his whole family, in this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know." BBC - History - Elizabeth II's wedding (pictures, video, facts & news) Elizabeth II's wedding Elizabeth II's wedding 20 November 1947 Princess Elizabeth's wedding to Philip Mountbatten took place at Westminster Abbey and was broadcast to 200 million radio listeners around the world. After the ceremony, the pair waved to large crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Photo: Princess Elizabeth leaves Westminster Abbey in London, with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, after their wedding ceremony, 20 November 1947. (Press Association) Introduction Highlights from the Queen's wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh. Includes Pathe footage. Highlights from the Queen's wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey, London. Includes Pathe footage.

This event features in: More information about: Elizabeth II's wedding How they met Princess Elizabeth, born 21 April 1926, was the first child of Albert, Duke of York, and his wife, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, in December 1936 meant her father became king and she became heir. Elizabeth was educated at home. In 1940, she and her sister Margaret were evacuated to Windsor Castle to escape the Blitz. Their parents remained at London's Buckingham Palace - a promise made to the nation at the start of World War II. Philip Mountbatten was born 10 June 1921 on the Greek island of Corfu, the youngest child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. His early years were spent in France, but he came to England in 1928. He attended Gordonstoun boarding school in Scotland, after which he joined the Royal Navy and saw active service in WWII. Elizabeth and Philip were distant cousins, and first met at a wedding in 1934. After meeting again in 1939, they began to exchange letters.

The pair became secretly engaged in 1946, but the formal engagement was delayed until Elizabeth turned 21 in April 1947. The wedding day Elizabeth and Philip were married at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947, in front of 2,000 invited guests. The ceremony was broadcast on radio, to 200 million listeners worldwide. The wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell - a duchesse satin bridal gown with motifs of star lilies and orange blossoms. Princess Elizabeth had to use ration coupons to obtain the material. More than 2,500 wedding presents arrived from around the world, and 10,000 telegrams of congratulations. The couple went to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony where they waved from the balcony to large crowds. They spent their wedding night in Broadlands, Hampshire, the home of Philip's uncle, Earl Mountbatten. The rest of their honeymoon was spent at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate. Life after the wedding The couple's first child, Prince Charles, was born in 1948 and Princess Anne arrived in 1950.

In February 1952, King George VI died and Elizabeth, his daughter, immediately became Queen. In June 1953, her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey, televised by the BBC to a worldwide audience of millions. Prince Andrew was born in 1960, and four years later came Prince Edward. For decades, the Queen has been performing public duties including ceremonies, receptions and visits. She has also supported numerous charities, and encouraged public and voluntary service. Weekly audiences with prime ministers have been held throughout her reign. The Duke of Edinburgh abandoned his Royal Navy ambitions in order to take on more public duties and support the Queen. In 1956 he launched the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Prince Philip has earned a reputation for speaking his mind, which has sometimes landed him in trouble. Prince William said in 2004 that his grandfather "will tell me something I don't want to hear and doesn't care if I get upset about it. He knows it is the right thing to say". In 2007 the Queen became the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary.

Queen Elizabeth II - Biography - IMDb Queen Elizabeth II Biography Showing all 76 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (50) | Personal Quotes (18) Overview (4) Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York) Nicknames 5' 4" (1.63 m) Mini Bio (1) Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926, in London England to the second son of George V -- Albert, Duke of York and the Duchess of York, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Her sister Princess Margaret was born 4 years later. In 1936, when she was 10, her uncle, King Edward VIII (aka Duke of Windsor ), caused a stir by abdicating the throne to marry a twice-divorced American named Wallis Warfield Simpson. His brother Albert was next in line to the throne, and he became George VI in honor of his father.

She therefore became the Heiress Presumptive, meaning she would become Queen only if her parents did not have a son -- who would be king before her. At the age of 13, she met 18-year-old Prince Philip , her distant cousin. As her grandmother Queen Mary put it with more detail, they were third cousins through their descent from Queen Victoria (they are both great-great grandchildren of hers) second cousins once removed through their descent from King Christian IX of Denmark (her great-grandmother was Christian's daughter, his father was a descendant of his) and fourth cousins through their descent from George III (both of them being descendants of Queen Victoria -- she was his granddaughter). They fell in love and wanted to get married, but her father wanted to make sure it was real and not just because this was the first person she loved. Before they got married, he renounced his royal title as a Prince of Greece and Denmark, became a British subject, and adopted the surname of his uncle Louis Mountbatten . He was named Duke of Edinburgh shortly before they got married but was not made a Prince of the United Kingdom until 1957. They got married on November 20, 1947.

One year later, they had a son, Charles Philip Arthur George. In 1950, they had Anne Elizabeth Alice; in 1960, Prince Andrew; and in 1964, Prince Edward. When they were in Kenya in 1952, they found out that her father had died of lung cancer so they returned as Queen and Consort. It was a busy time and got even busier. They worked at public engagements and, starting in the late 1970s, became grandparents. Anne had a son name Peter in 1977 and then a daughter named Zara in 1981 with her husband Captain Mark Phillips. Charles had William in 1982 and Henry in 1984 with his wife Diana. Andrew had Beatrice in 1988 and Eugenie in 1990 with his wife Sarah Ferguson. On November 20, 1997, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their family and also celebrated the fact that Windsor Castle was reconstructed after a fire in 1992.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous Spouse (1) ( 20 November 1947 - present) (4 children) Trade Mark (2) Dress suit, big hat, boxy handbag Corgi dogs Trivia (50) Ascended British and Commonwealth thrones on February 6th, 1952. Was crowned in Westminster Abbey in London on June 2, 1953. This coronation became the first major international television broadcast. Son, Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, born Nov. 14, 1948. Son, Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward, born Feb. 19, 1960. Son, Prince Edward Antony Richard Louis, (aka Edward Wessex ) born March 10, 1964. Daughter, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, born Aug. 15, 1950. Daughter of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and King George VI . Owns one of the world's largest private collections of postage stamps. She formally approves all government legislation, though she does this on the advice of the Prime Minister. It would create a massive crisis if she did not approve a piece of legislation.

She enjoys watching horse-racing, "Doctor Who" and the British comedy Last of the Summer Wine (1973) . She has owned over 30 corgis over the years, and her four current dogs are named Pharos, Swift, Emma, and Linnet (as of February 2002). First cousin of the Duke of Gloucester . Earned her nickname "Lillibet" as a child, when she could not pronounce her name. Great-granddaughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra . Not including the United Kingdom, she is Queen of over a dozen countries, including Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Since she does not live in those countries, though she visits often, much of her duties are performed by a Governor General who she appoints on the advice of the Prime Minister of the country in question. It is important to note that neither the sovereign nor the Governors General, have had any hand in governing these countries since the 1930s, and their roles are purely ceremonial. She owns the world's finest Pink Diamond, It forms the Centre of a flower brooch and weights 54.50 carats.

Although most of the "Crown Jewels" are owned by the state, the British Royal Family do own one of the most valuable collection of jewels in the world, containing some of the worlds largest diamonds, Emeralds, Sapphires, and Rubies. Time Magazine's "Man (or Person) of the Year" (1953) Learnt to drive in 1945 when she joined the Army. Is fluent in French. Has sat for 139 official portraits to date. Has visited the sets of Britain's most popular soap operas Coronation Street (1960), EastEnders (1985) and Emmerdale (1972). Has received over 3 million items of correspondence during her reign. Has never held a drivers license, despite driving an ambulance in WWII. She does, however, drive on her lands. The 2009 Sunday Times List estimated her net worth at $442 million. Her Majesty became Queen in a tree house. At the time of her father's death she was staying at the Treetops Hotel.

It is literally built into the tops of the trees of the Aberdares National Park as a tree house, offering the guests a close view of the local wildlife in complete safety. It was there that, uniquely, she "went up a Princess and came down a Queen". She was the first British monarch since the Act of Union in 1801 to be outside the country at the moment of succession, and also the first in modern times not to know the exact time of her accession (because her father, George VI, had died in his sleep at an unknown time); it fell to Prince Philip to tell her. The night of the King's death, Sir Horace Hearne, then Chief Justice of Kenya, escorted The Princess Elizabeth, as she then was, to a state dinner at the Treetops Hotel. Upon finding out that she was now Queen, she returned immediately to Britain. Has 8 grandchildren:Prince William Arthur Philip Louis (b. 21 June 1982), and Prince Henry Charles Albert David (b. 15 September 1984, Prince Charles' sons), Peter Mark Andrew Phillips (b. 15 November 1977) and Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips (b.

15 May 1981, Princess Anne's children), Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary (b. 8 August 1988) and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena (b. 23 March 1990, Prince Andrew's daughters), Lady Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary (b. 8 November 2003) and James Alexander Philip Theo, Viscount Severn (b. 17 December 2007, Prince Edward's children). Cousin of Lady Elizabeth Anson . Her favourite Royal residence is Windsor Castle. Likes tea, with milk and no sugar every morning. Harry's graduation was the first time in 15 years she presented the ceremony. Ascended the throne when she was 25. May 4-8. Her Majesty stayed in Jamestown, Virginia to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the colonizing of Jamestown. [May 2007] On the 9th of September 2007 there was much news coverage of Queen Elizabeth II attending the Opening of the Welsh Assembly. Unfortunately, unintentional humor resulted when some broadcasters used the common abbreviation of the word Assembly.

Her Coronation in 1953 was watched by a 13-year old David Jason ; she later knighted him during her birthday honors on December 1st, 2005. According to Jason, she never tells anyone to 'arise' once they've been knighted - it's an urban myth and not part of the ceremony. Later, she told Jason he had been in the business a long time, and he asked if he had ever done anything to offend her. She laughed and said no. She is one of the six surviving people mentioned by name in the 1989 Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire". The other five are Doris Day , Brigitte Bardot , Chubby Checker , Bob Dylan and Bernard Goetz . On September 9, 2015, she surpassed her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. During her long illustrious reign, the Queen has met all but one of the last twelve US Presidents, Lyndon Johnson being the exception. In chronological order she has met, Harry S. Truman (Canadian Embassy Washington 1951), Dwight D. Eisenhower (St.

Lawrence Seaway opening 1959), John F. Kennedy (London 1961), Richard Nixon (UK 1970), Gerald Ford (White House 1976), Jimmy Carter (Buckingham Palace 1977), Ronald Reagan (UK 1982), George Bush (Washington 1991), Bill Clinton (Buckingham Palace 2000), George W. Bush (White House 2007), Barack Obama (London 2016). She also met former US President Herbert Hoover more than 20 years after he left office (New York City 1957).

Question: In which year did the Queen marry the Duke of Edinburgh?
Answer: 1947