Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's Untold Love Story: 'She Never Looked at Anyone Else'
Mar. 15, 2025Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on the day of the monarch’s coronation in 1953.Photo: The Print Collector/Getty
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Queen ElizabethandPrince Philipmet when the young princess was 13 — and their love evolved into a 73-year marriage that lasted to his dying day.
“She fell in love, and she never looked at anyone else,” biographer Sally Bedell Smith previously told PEOPLE.
The two exchanged countless letters whilePrince Philipserved in the Royal Navy during World War II.
“Philip enjoys driving and does it fast!” she wrote in a letter to author Betty Shew that was auctioned off in 2016. “He has his own tiny M.G. which he is very proud of. He has taken me about in it, once up to London, which was great fun.”
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The couple married after a year-long courtship on November 20, 1947, an occasion that called for national celebration following the devastating war.
“There had been grayness and austerity, and then to have this golden coach and crowds made it exciting,” Lady Pamela, the daughter of Philip’s uncle Lord Mountbatten and a longtime lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth who served as a bridesmaid, previously told PEOPLE.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their honeymoon in 1947.Central Press/Getty
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On the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary,Queen Elizabethmade a rare public tribute to the man who had captured her heart all those years before.
“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, “and I . . .owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim.”
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
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In the wake ofPrince Philip’s death, the Queen continued to carry out her royal duties.
A close royal insider added, “She will never abdicate because of duty and honor and public service is so deep in her, as it was for him.”
Queen Elizabethdied on Sept. 8, 2022 and wasburied next to her husbandat the King George VI Memorial Chapel, part of St. George’s Chapel, in Windsor Castle.
source: people.com
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