Queen Elizabeth II and Philip of Edinburgh, a love story that was born on a ship in 1939

The marriage between Queen isabel II Y Philip of Edinburgh (1921-2021) positioned itself as the longest royal union in history With 74 years of marriage and 82 years of history, four children and a couple of misunderstandings with his eldest son, Prince carlos.

But, how did this love story come about? Well, it all started on a boat; The then princess daughter of King George VI fell madly in love with him in 1939 when she was only 13 years old and he was 18. The “crush” occurred while the then Prince Felipe of Greece and Denmark showed him the Royal Naval College, since he was a Navy cadet.

He was invited to Windsor Castle for Christmas 1943; at this time Isabel was already 17 years old and as confessed by his nanny Marion Crawford, the young woman was happy “as never seen before.”

Since then, young people began sending letters to each other while he served in World War II. In a 1946 letter, quoted in Philip Eade’s biography, the prince confessed to being in love with her “completely and without reservation”.

The marriage proposal was given at Balmoral, but it was not viewed favorably by the parents of Elizabeth II, the king and the queen mother. Well, once again, social prejudices; Philip’s family had been sent into exile and he was a penniless prince.

However, the determination of the then princess was so great that the great wedding took place in the Westminster Abbey, November 20, 1947, when she was 21 and he was 26.

According to a note from Maria Porcelapublished in The country, Still in the post-war period, Isabel paid for the fabrics and decoration of her dress with coupons from her ration card.

Elizabeth and Philip had four children: Carlos, Ana, Andrés and Eduardo; eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.

They were united by a sense of duty and a desire to serve framed by war. On her 50th anniversary, Queen Elizabeth II described Philip as “her strength and permanence all these years.”

She gave Felipe a safe emotional space, which he lacked in his childhood. According to a publication The New York Times, The Duke fulfilled more than 22,000 royal engagements alone and accompanied the Queen on all her foreign tours (“Don’t push the queen!” sometimes ranted if the press got too close).

In the midst of their union he lost his surname to his wife’s, the Windsor, and also his religion, the Orthodox. He also was forced to retire from the army.

The important affairs of the State were always assumed by Queen Elizabeth II; something that always made him look like the shadow of the queen in the public eye. However, the real estates and houses that he supervised were in his charge, as well as the big decisions of the family.

infidelities

On more than one occasion the infidelities that the Duke of Edinburgh committed during their marriage became known; some had to do with nights out at a club in Soho, where he frequented the showgirls.

A magazine publication Vanity Fair mention the novelist Daphne DuMaurierto the actress Pat Kirkwoodto the French singer Helene Cordet already the princess Alexandra of Kent among the list of women who would have had something to do with the Duke of Edinburgh.

But his most notorious ‘infidelity’ arose from his close friendship with Lady Penny Brabourne, an aristocrat 30 years younger than him, who was by his side on a few occasions, including on the day of his funeral, on April 17, 2021.

Last years

In 2017, at the age of 95, Felipe announced that he was retiring from his royal duties. He lived in a country house on the Sandringham estate, where he read intensively and painted watercolours.

Elizabeth II feels a “great emptiness” due to the death of Prince Felipe, indicates her son Andrés

He passed away on April 9, 2021, when he was 99 years old. His funeral was on April 17, with a military-type act with masks and with an exclusive guest list due to the pandemic. (I)