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1986: The Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, talk to each other as they stroll along the Great Wall of China at Bedaling Pass, 50 miles north-west of Peking, on the third day of their state visit to the country
1987: The Queen and Prince Philip - with their sons Prince Andrew, left, and Prince Charles, right, behind them - look solemn in black as they attend official Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph war memorial in Whitehall, London
1988: From left tor right, the Queen Mother, Frederick Windsor, Gabriella Windsor, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry, Prince Philip, Prince Wlliam, Prince Charles and Princess Diana watch the Trooping of the Colour at Buckingham Palace Last edited by Flower007 on 21-11-2012 12:13 PM
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Still sweethearts after 65 years: He surprises her with romantic gifts. She offers him tips on what to Google. How the Queen and Philip reached a marital milestone... By Robert Hardman
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).
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.
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.
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.’
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. 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.
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.
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. |
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He's back... but this time it's to pick up an OBE! A 'deeply proud' Gary Barlow returns to Buckingham Palace to receive honour from the Queen
Honoured: Gary Barlow receives his OBE from the Queen on Wednesday for services to the entertainment industry and for charity
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Treasured moment: Gary Barlow's organisation of the Diamond Jubilee concert in June is thought to have played a part in getting the honour
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Dapper: Gary looked very smart in his pale grey suit with blue shirt and grey tie |
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New chums? The Duke of Edinburgh seemed to be enjoying chatting to Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle
Furry friend: Prince Philip seemed particularly enamoured by the talented Pudsey the Dog |
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Post time 21-11-2012 12:10 PM
