It’s been eight months since Elizabeth II she had to say goodbye to her beloved Philip, and today the pain of separation after a life together must be stronger than ever. Why just today they would have celebrated 74 years of marriage. It was November 20, 1947 when the wedding was celebrated in the solemn Westminster Abbey in London.
Philip and Elizabeth, distant third cousins, both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, first met in 1934 and then again three years later. But it was in the summer of 1939, when Elizabeth was just 13 years old, the spark went off. She was immediately struck by that boy “handsome as a Viking”, as she confided to her sister Margaret. Since then and for the duration of the Second World War between the two there was an intense and passionate exchange of letters. The housekeeper Marion Crawford, who saw the birth of Elizabeth being transported for Philip, said years ago: «Every day, at the palace, she listened to the arias of the musical Oklahoma on the home gramophone because they reminded her of the show seen with her Philip. AND she dreamed with open eyes, cradled by those melodies».
When the conflict was over, Philip asked to King George VI the hand of his eldest daughter. He agreed, as long as he expected to make the announcement after the princess turned 21. Unlike her husband, the queen mother was not at all convinced of the wedding: in her eyes Philip he was too poor to marry a future queen. In fact, at the time of the announcement of the engagement, Philip was not doing very well: on the bank account he had 6.5 pounds, as an officer he earned 11 a week and had just inherited a shaving brush and two rather crumpled clothes from his father.
The love between Elizabeth and Philip won over everything. The official engagement it was announced to Britain on 10 July 1947. Followed, four months later, by the royal wedding of the century at Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth was a 21-year-old princess, Philip a 26-year-old naval officer. At the ceremony all the ruling houses in the world attended, thousands of people took to the streets and squares of London to watch the new royal couple and – for the first time – the ceremony was recorded and broadcast on BBC channels.
Ever since they got married, Elizabeth has always spoken of Philip with great affection, starting all sentences with “My husband and I”. On the other hand, he has always respected the real “three steps back” rule, never forgetting who had the crown on their head. The queen busy with official life, Philip busy educating her four children: Carlo, Anna, Andrea ed Edoardo. Gossip about the royal couple, of course, has not been lacking over the years. Many rumors about (alleged) betrayals of him, but the queen never paid any attention to gossip. Always opposed to divorce, Elizabeth II has always been more inclined to dwell on many things in common: the art collections, picnics on the Scottish meadows, the same favorite liquor (gin, of course). Filippo, on the other hand, has always managed to make her laugh. As when in coronation day, he whispered to her: «But where did you get that hat?».
Now that the sovereign is left without her husband whom she defined as “simply my strength”, it is supported by the strength of memories. Like that, beautiful, of the distant November 20, 1947, when he said “yes” to that “boy as handsome as a Viking”. Since that day, life has given the couple over 73 years together. And together they did so many things: they welcomed four children and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They have visited every corner of the world, met the most important leaders on the planet, took part in any type of inauguration. Happy days delivered to immortality by the memories of those who lived them but also by many, beautiful photos.
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