How Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have kept their union strong for over 70 years

In 2017, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. With that, they became the protagonists of the longest royal wedding in all of history. And of course everyone wants to know what the royal couple does to keep their mutual love and affection going for so long.

We, from awesome.clubwe have listed 10 facts and stories involving the marriage of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, all with a single purpose: to show our readers all the strength of true love.

In 1934, at the age of 8, Elizabeth attended the wedding of a cousin of Philip’s, and met the then little boy, who was 5 years older than her. Five years later, just before the start of World War II, Elizabeth met Philip again, already 18 years old, and fell head over heels in love with him.🇧🇷 Since that time (Elizabeth was only 13!), she couldn’t think of anyone but Philip.

During World War II, when Philip was serving in the Royal Navy, The two struck up a romance, and began exchanging letters.🇧🇷 When Philip returned in 1946, he asked Elizabeth to marry him. The proposal was accepted immediately. However, the couple needed to keep their relationship a secret until the future queen turned 21. The union between them was only officially announced on July 9, 1947, and the wedding was celebrated on November 20 of that same year.

In order to marry Elizabeth, Philip had to make several sacrifices. For starters, he relinquished all of his previous titles. Afterwards, he had to become a naturalized British citizen, as Elizabeth’s parents weren’t exactly happy with their future son-in-law’s German background.🇧🇷 Incidentally, none of Philip’s German relatives were allowed to attend the wedding, not even his 3 sisters.

On the morning of the ceremony, Philip still stopped smoking🇧🇷 He was aware of how much the bride suffered from her father’s smoking, and he decided to stop, without major difficulties, with that harmful habit.

🇧🇷The queen wears the crown, but her husband wears the pants.🇧🇷 He is the power behind the throne: steadfast, ever supportive,” says Gyles Brandreth in his book Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage 🇧🇷Philip and Elizabeth: A Portrait of a Royal Wedding”, in free translation).

Her husband’s support is indeed seen as crucial to the success of Elizabeth’s reign. Admitting this in her speech at the couple’s golden anniversary celebrations, the Queen said: “He’s not someone who takes compliments well. He has simply been my strength and constancy all these years.”

Collecting wildlife-inspired art, picnicking in the Scottish bush and barbecuing — the couple knows very well how to have fun together, enjoying each other’s company.

The Duke of Edinburgh is known to be a good-natured man. And thanks to this very positive feature, has made the Queen laugh daily for over 70 years🇧🇷 In 2017, during the Christmas celebrations, Queen Elizabeth commented on her husband’s recent withdrawal from public appearances, but added that Philip’s “unique sense of humor remains as sharp as ever”.

Philip even gave his wife a nickname: “Shaggy”. The story behind the name is as follows: the queen doesn’t exactly have a smiley face, so when she has to salute and wave to thousands of people at public events, she often ends up looking rather grouchy. And on one such formal occasion in Australia, Philip said to his wife, “Don’t look so sad, Shaggy.”

In England it is common that elite couples sleep in separate rooms, and the queen and her husband are no exception. In 1949, the two moved to Clarence House, which is close to Buckingham Palace, where they each already had their own bedroom.

Prince Philip’s cousin, Lady Pamela Hicks, tried to explain the royal couple’s arrangement: “You don’t want to be disturbed by someone snoring or tossing their leg back and forth. And then, when he is more needy, he shares a room. It’s great to have the chance to choose.”

Even though they are temporarily physically separated, the Queen and Prince Philip never stop talking, through any means of communication possible. For example, when World War II started and Philip went to serve in the British Royal Navy, they were frequently exchanging letters🇧🇷

To this day, since the Duke retired from public activities in 2017 and began to lead a quiet life on the property of Wood Farm in Norfolk, the couple continues to speak every day on the phone.

While toasting his wife at their 50th wedding anniversary party, Philip said: “The biggest lesson we learned is that tolerance is the essential ingredient for any happy marriage. Maybe it’s not so important when things are going well, but it’s crucial when things get tough.” It was the way he found to thank his wife for all her tolerance.

Out of all her many personal possessions, the Queen definitely has a special fondness for the “Scarab” brooch, which her husband gave her as a gift in 1966. first Christmas message broadcast on television, she decided to wear the jewel, full of sentimental value. In doing so, Queen Elizabeth pays a discreet tribute to her husband.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have now spent 73 years together. And even after so long, both still consider they made the best choice of all.

In 1972, the Queen even said during her speech at the party for the couple’s silver anniversary: ​​”If you ask me what I think of family life after 25 years of marriage, I can answer simply and with conviction — I am in favor🇧🇷

Do you know of any other examples of long-lasting marriages? Are there cases in your family? Comment!