Elizabeth and Philip: their love story in photos

He was always by her side. Not only as the longest-serving consort in British history, accompanying the Queen in all her public duties...

...but also as a husband for 73 years, a father to her four children, and the love of her life. This is the story of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

In the last year of her life, the late Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee surrounded by family and friends, but one person was missing and surely on her mind: Philip, her late husband.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away at the age of 99 on April 9, 2021. Nearly 1.5 years later, on September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth would also say goodbye to this world.

Philip had known his wife Elizabeth for nearly his entire life. Both the public and their intimate family remember the couple as they were in this image: looking at each other understandingly and laughing a lot.

'Lilibet' was a name Elizabeth gave herself as a small child when she could not yet pronounce her name. Later, Prince Philip would use that same term of endearment to address his wife. (For this reason, to honour his grandmother, Prince Harry named his daughter Lilibet as well.)

From their earliest photos as an engaged couple to the last ones made of them in the 21st century, people have seen Elizabeth and Philip as a loving couple. This photo here was part of a series to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary.

The diamond wedding photos were made to resemble the engagement series released in November 1947. Let's see how Elizabeth and Philip arrived at this point in the first place.

Princess Elizabeth (l) was a teenager when she had the first meaningful meeting with her cousin Philip in 1939, but in fact, the two royals had already crossed paths at a family wedding in 1934.

In 1939, the princess visited the British Royal Naval College with her parents. Cousin Philip was a cadet there. He was asked to show Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret around.

This is the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon, where Philip and Elizabeth met as teenagers.

Prince Philip returned several times to the Britannia Naval College and planted trees in its gardens. This one, for example, is from 1958. It's there to remind us of the place where Elizabeth and Philip met.

After their meeting in 1939, the couple began a correspondence that lasted throughout the war years and beyond.

"To have been spared in the war and seen victory," Philip wrote to Elizabeth after returning from the Pacific theater in 1946, "to have been given the chance to rest and to readjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty."

(Cited by Vogue, April 2021)

NBC News says that the two had "very different upbringings."

"Handsome and athletic, Philip was worldly, having lived in Paris, Germany and the United Kingdom after his own royal family was forced to flee his birthplace, Greece. He spent much of his childhood apart from his parents and went on to serve in the Mediterranean and the Pacific during World War II."

"Elizabeth, meanwhile, was educated at home and never left the U.K.," NBC claims. "She spoke fluent French and her education included constitutional history and law in preparation for her assumption to the throne."
Because of the differences, there were some doubts in the palace about whether they would be a good match, says Clive Irving, author of 'The Last Queen: How Queen Elizabeth II Saved the Monarchy.'

At the time of their engagement, in July 1947, there was no sign of incompatibility though. The couple looked perfectly happy and excited to get married. The online channel True Royalty TV looks back at the video material of their engagement and concludes that Philip "flirted with [Elizabeth] all the time."

Royal biographer Robert Jobson notes that the prince seems to be saying things "all the time... that are clearly inappropriate and naughty" while "she's trying to behave herself and be all formal. Then he says something and her shoulders go up, and she puts her tongue in her cheek. She's just laughing and giggling."

It is assumed that Philip had proposed marriage to Elizabeth on the grounds of Balmoral in the summer of 1946. They did not announce their engagement until after Elizabeth had turned 21 in April of 1947. On November 20, 1947, they got married.

Sooner than they had expected, the couple had to assume the duties of Queen and consort. King George VI died in 1952 when Elizabeth and Philip had been married for less than five years. The 25-year old Princess immediately became the Queen.

It was then that the duty of Prince Philip as the country's longest-serving consort began. At the celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997, the Queen spoke rare and very frank words about her husband and what he meant to her.

"He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments, but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years," she said in 1997. "I, and his whole family and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know."

Let's have a look at different aspects of their lives through a series of the most beautiful photos of the pair. Whether they were at home, on a trip, in an official ceremony, or having a laugh, the Queen and her husband always seemed well attuned to each other.

Philip and Elizabeth really felt at home in Balmoral, the Scottish Highlands where they used to take their annual summer break from late July to October. It was a second home to the couple and their family.

Charles, the heir to the throne, was born into a carefree new family on November 14, 1948.

Anne, the Princess Royal, was born in August 1950. Here we see the children returning from summer holiday with their mum and aunt Margaret in 1954.

Windsor Castle was the family's home base during work weeks. The Queen operated from Buckingham Palace in London but retreated more peacefully here in the town of Windsor. (This photo was dated 1959.)

The couple's third child was born in February 1960: Prince Andrew. He is nearly ten years younger than his sister Anne. In this photo taken on the lawn of Balmoral in late summer 1960, Andrew is six months old.

The Windsor-Mountbatten family was always outdoorsy and loved animals, such as dogs and horses. In March 1964, Queen Elizabeth had her fourth child, Edward. You see him here with the blue jacket at the Balmoral kennels. The boy in the red sweater is Prince Andrew.

Prince Philip was said to have a somewhat strained relationship with his eldest son, Charles. They were quite different in character, with the added pressure of Charles preparing to be king one day, and Philip ended up taking more to his daughter Anne than to Charles.

Balmoral was Philip and Elizabeth's favourite place. The Queen once said she was never happier than when she was at Balmoral. This photo was taken for their Silver Wedding anniversary in 1972.

Prince Philip and the Queen were both very fond of horses. It is said that the famously frugal Elizabeth made an exception for her thoroughbreds and stables: the Evening Standard estimated that they cost about 600,000 pounds (850,000 dollars) per year.

When at home - or at a public event where it rains - the Queen could be seen sporting a not so fancy looking headscarf. But never be fooled: a nice Hermés - the late monarch's favourite brand - easily costs around $1,000.

As Balmoral Summers and Windsor winters went by, Elizabeth and Philip's children were growing up fast. You could see the changes in their family portrait at Buckingham Palace, taken in 1972. Charles was almost 24, Anne 22, Andrew was still a boy with 12 and Edward was 8.

According to Andrew, they had a homely life, spending the evenings together on the sofa. "Like any other family at the time," he told the BBC, "your parents went out to work in the day, but in the evening, just the same as any other family, we would get together, we would sit on the sofa as a group and he would read to us."

Homely life was often interrupted, however, by state visits and other travels. Throughout his life, Prince Philip accompanied Queen Elizabeth on dozens of foreign trips.

Early on in their marriage, Elizabeth acquired a personal film camera that she carried with her on many trips. Here the couple is on their way to Fiji in the South Pacific during their 1953 coronation world tour.

The Canada visits of the couple were interesting. When they visited the country in 1951, the couple was treated to a 'stampede' rodeo in Calgary, Alberta. Later, in 2010, they enjoyed a performance of 'Canadian dance,' as you can see in this photo.

Prince Philip never made a secret of his thoughts, nor did he repress any joke emerging from his mind. Sometimes these jokes were politically incorrect or simply racist. Elizabeth, more composed and diplomatic than her husband, would sometimes step in to smoothen the encounter.

An example of the Prince's gaffes is his remark to an Aboriginal businessman in Queensland, Australia: "Do you still throw spears at each other?"

He also said to the Nigerian President, who was dressed in traditional clothing: "You look like you're ready for bed."

His bluntness is illustrated by comments like: "I declare this thing open, whatever it is" (during a visit to Canada in 1969).

"You can take it from me the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance," the Prince said when interviewed about their 70-year wedding anniversary in 1997.

Elizabeth and Philip also had many laughs together. Supposedly, the Sun reports, Philip asked his wife: "Where did you get that hat?" right after her Coronation.

In this widely circulated image, it seems like Philip is imitating the royal guardsmen and making Elizabeth laugh. But the truth behind this scene is that, outside on the green of Windsor Castle, a swarm of bees was disturbing the British military and the royal couple was having a bit of good old schadenfreude.

A friend of the Prince told Bang Showbizz that Philip "was a funny man who liked to laugh and make others laugh." He recalled Philip joking about David and Victoria Beckham.

When David and Victoria Beckham had been photographed sitting on thrones during their wedding in 1999, Prince Philip couldn't help but joke about it.
"Asked why he and the Queen hadn't sat in the throne-like chairs provided for them during the 2012 Jubilee River Pageant, his wry comment was: 'We'd have looked like Mr and Mrs Beckham, wouldn't we?'"

And though he loved his wife very much, until both were in their nineties, Philip couldn't help but make jokes about marriage. According to The Sun, he joked one day: "When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car or a new wife."

There were also times to be serious, though. With an age-old institute like the monarchy come traditional ceremonies, and Philip tried to attend them alongside his Elizabeth as much as he could.

(Pictured: the Knights of the Thistle service, 2012)

The official birthday of the sovereign is celebrated with the Trooping the Colour procession. Here we see Charles, Elizabeth, and Philip in 1980.

The opening of the new session of Parliament, in the palace of Westminster, always required the couple to display all their decorations and royal regalia.

It was an endearing sight to see the consort hold the Queen's hand as they strode down the palace aisle. In May 2021, after Philip's death, Elizabeth was accompanied by Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.

Elizabeth and Philip met with 12 out of the 13 most recent Presidents of the United States. Lyndon Johnson did not manage to talk to her as President, but his predecessor (and running mate) John F. Kennedy did pay Buckingham Palace a visit in 1961.

After Barack and Michelle Obama, in this picture, came Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The late Queen Elizabeth proved to be up to date with international politics.

Elizabeth and Philip were getting closer to their nineties, however, and they started to feel the discomforts of old age.

At the more recent editions of the Braemar Highland Games, each September in Scotland, Elizabeth and Philip would share a blanket against the cold.

The health of the Queen was always a source of marvel around the world. Until she passed away at the age of 96, she remained active as Queen. The biggest risk to her health came in 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic. Her son Charles got infected and the entire family had to live isolated from each other for a long time.

Elizabeth continued to follow the official agenda of obligations and events to this day. Philip could not always join her, as his old age sometimes got in his way.

Prince Philip had angioplasty surgery in 2011, at the age of 90. In 2021, a few months before he turned 100, the Prince had to undergo a procedure for his heart condition that took a considerable toll on his health. It would turn out to be too much for him to take.

After 73 years, Queen Elizabeth was left with the memory of her husband. And she began to feel the pressure of old age as well. 17 months after her beloved husband's death, Elizabeth passed away herself.

On September 19, 2022, the late Queen was placed together with Prince Philip in the Royal Vault of St. Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle. A few days later, the Royal Family released an image of their tombstone on Instagram. As we can see, the couple is together again.