Happy anniversary! Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrate 71 years of marriage
On November 20, Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary together.
The royal couple said “I do” to each other on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey.
According to Town & Country, many were not initially excited about the couple’s union as their engagement was shortly after World War II and Philip was considered to be “too German” by some.
However, the duo’s love triumphed over their adversity and the wedding ended up being a particularly popular event.
The then future-Queen purchased her wedding dress using clothing coupons she had received from the rationing during WWII.
This year, the royals quietly celebrated their anniversary after the Queen visited the Headquarters of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Parliament Square to mark the 150th anniversary of its royal charter.
The couple, who share four children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren together, have made special tributes to each other over the years.
For their 50th wedding anniversary, the Queen made a speech in honour of her husband.
“All too often, I fear, Prince Philip has had to listen to me speaking,” she said.
“Frequently we have discussed my intended speech beforehand and, as you will imagine, his views have been expressed in a forthright manner. He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and 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."
During the same celebration for their Golden Wedding Anniversary, Philip shared the secret to their long-lasting marriage.
“I think the main lesson we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient in any happy marriage… You can take it from me, the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance,” he said.
Last year for their 70th wedding anniversary, the palace released a new portrait of the couple to the public.
The special photo of the Queen and Prince Philip was taken by Matt Holyoak in early November 2017.
The royal family’s official Twitter account revealed that the photos were framed by Thomas Gainsborough’s portraits of King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte.
King George and Charlotte were married for 57 years.
Congratulations to the Queen and Prince Philip on their special milestone!