HM Queen Elizabeth II

Photo: Getty
On November 20, 1997, the night of her 50th wedding anniversary, Queen Elizabeth made a speech in front of Tony Blair and dozens of distinguished guests at London’s Banqueting House. It was relatively short and succinct, as her speeches usually are. And much of it was quite, well, run-of-the-mill: She thanked the prime minister for hosting that evening’s festivities and acknowledged the country as a whole for supporting the couple during her reign. But, at the end of her speech, she spoke of her husband, Prince Philip, with profound and uncharacteristic emotion: “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. “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.” Twenty-four years later, the royal family announced that Prince Philip had passed away peacefully at the age of 99 on the morning of April 9 at Windsor Castle. On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth would follow.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s relationship was one of love, respect, and long-lasting admiration. They first met at Britannia Royal Naval College in 1939, where an 18-year-old cadet Philip was introduced to a 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth of England while she was touring the grounds. From then, it’s said, the young royal never thought of anybody else. The two began to exchange letters throughout the war years. Upon his return from the Pacific theater in 1946, his relationship with Queen Elizabeth blossomed. It’s presumed that he proposed that June, on the grounds of Balmoral. “To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to readjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty,” he wrote in a letter dated from that year.
Despite his stately title, there was originally some resistance to the marriage from the crown. Many thought Philip to be too brusque, too unpolished, too German, too Greek, too…un-English to marry then Princess Elizabeth. But Elizabeth was insistent. A formal announcement was made in July 1947, bearing Philip’s new Anglicized last name: Mountbatten. Months later, he renounced his right to the Greek and Danish thrones.
That November, they wed in front of 2,000 people at Westminster Abbey. “I wonder if Philip knows what he is taking on,” King George VI, Elizabeth’s father, was heard saying to a guest. “One day Lilibet will be queen and he will be consort. That’s much harder than being a king, but I think he’s the man for the job.”
Prince Philip, undoubtedly, thought he had more time before his wife became queen and he consort. The young couple lived for a few years in Malta, where Philip was stationed. They had two children, Charles and Anne. But King George fell ill, then grew sicker and died in 1952. Philip broke the news to his wife that, a mere five years after they were wed, they were now the most famous people in the world. At the queen’s coronation in 1953, he kneeled before her and swore to be her “liege man of life and limb.”
That, for Philip, was easier said than done. Accounts during the 1950s and ’60s paint Philip as a man adrift with alleged affairs and anger. He was unsure of his place, his role, his life. But eventually, he found his way, crafting his own legacy while steadfastly supporting his wife. Turns out King George was right: He was, indeed, the man for his job.

Below, we revisit Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s life in pictures, from their Westminster Abbey wedding to their idyllic weekends at Balmoral and the final birthday they spent together at Windsor.
The first official picture after the announcement of the engagement of then Princess Elizabeth and then Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, taken on July 10, 1947
Photo: Getty
The Duke of Edinburgh celebrating his stag night with navy colleagues on the eve of his wedding to Queen Elizabeth in November 1947
Photo: Express
The then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey on their wedding day, November 20, 1947
Photo: Hulton archive
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace after their wedding on November 20, 1947
Photo: Getty
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in Malta, where they lived after their wedding while he was in the Royal Navy
Photo: Getty
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at the christening of Princess Anne in October 1950
Photo: Fox photos
Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, and their children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, in August 1951
Photo: Getty
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh attend a polo match at Nyeri in Kenya on February 3, 1952—days before the death of her father, King George VI, an event that would change their lives forever.
Photo: Chris Ware
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wave at the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace after her coronation in June 1953
Photo: Keystone
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip pose with Princess Margaret and the queen mother, dressed in full regalia, in Buckingham Palace’s Throne Room.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth filming, with Prince Philip looking on, while in the South Pacific en route to Fiji in December 1953
Photo: Getty
The queen and her husband chat during his polo match in June 1956. The duke was an avid polo player for much of his life.
Photo: Getty
The royal family at Balmoral in September 1960
Photo: Keystone
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in Delhi during a state visit to India in January 1961
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip wave as they leave Liverpool after attending the ice show Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in May 1961.
Photo: George Freston
During a February 1966 royal visit, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip wave from an open-top convertible to onlookers in Nassau, Bahamas.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip watch competitors at the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire from a Land Rover in 1968.
Photo: Alamy
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip fly back from a visit to Yorkshire in 1969. This photo was taken during the filming of the then-groundbreaking documentary The Royal Family.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Balmoral in 1972
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh relaxing at Balmoral in 1976, with a corgi sitting by their feet
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s July 1981 wedding
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Sandringham on the 30th anniversary of her reign in 1982
Photo: Getty
The queen and Prince Philip pose for a portrait in Windsor Castle’s Green Room to mark their 40th anniversary.
Photo: Tim Graham
Prince Philip holds Queen Elizabeth’s hand during the State Opening of Parliament.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip laugh during the procession for the annual Garter Ceremony in Windsor.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip pay their respects at a service for Princess Diana at the Chapel Royale in September 1997. Her state funeral was the next day.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip revisit Broadlands, the former home of Philip’s beloved uncle Louis Mountbatten on November 20, 2007. Sixty years prior, the couple had honeymooned there after their wedding.
Photo: Getty
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, and the entire extended Windsor family wave to the crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony on Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding day in April 2011.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip watch Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their May 2018 wedding day.
Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s official portrait in honor of the duke’s 99th birthday.
Photo: Getty
Originally published in Vogue.com
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Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday afternoon at the age of 96. During her extraordinary 70-year reign, the Queen witnessed crucial world events, and through it all, the royal remained a symbolic figure of elegance far beyond the United Kingdom. While she was primarily recognized as the UK’s head of state, her powers were influential and ceremonial to many countries in the world. Also head of the Commonwealth nations since her initial crowning in 1952, the beloved Queen has gathered followers and fame from all corners of the world.
All royal deaths cause a wave of uncertainty up to an extent, but the passing of Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of the era of a Queen’s rule, at least for the next few generations. The former Prince of Wales has been immediately appointed as King, meaning that several factors related to daily life in the United Kingdom will also need to be updated.
The British National anthem, coins, notes, stamps, postboxes, and passports are all expected to undergo changes over the course of the next few months. Scores of institutions in Britain and wider Commonwealth realms that were named in the Queen’s honor will also be changing. Given the Queen’s widespread influence in countries besides the UK, her effigy and portraits imprinted on bank notes and coins appeared in several countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Eastern Caribbean—all of which may now see going through changes. Besides this, the Royal Cypher for Elizabeth II Regina and the insignia on police helmets will also be replaced.
With King Charles III swiftly making his way as Britain’s new leader, the Queen’s portraits on coins and notes will be replaced by that of the current king. However, reports suggest that the existing currency will take a long time to replace entirely – even several years or decades considering that many want to honor the Queen’s memory.
For the first time in this century, the national anthem of the UK undergoes a significant change of gender – from “God Save The Queen” to “God Save The King”. The male version of this anthem has not been sung since King George VI was the ruler of Britain in 1952. New Zealand, Australia, and Canada have also been following the Queen’s national anthem for the past 70 years. This sudden change may be one too hard to grasp for those mourning the beloved Queen.
The Queen’s influence made its way to British passports as well, where she was mentioned as follows: “Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.” This wording will be undergoing a gender change as well.
Another aspect of Britain that will formidably undergo certain changes is the military. For the longest time, all new recruits in the military have been metaphorically taking the ‘Queen’s shilling’ to sign up as official protectors of the country — a practice that dates back to the English civil war in the 1600s. This meant a token of one shilling given to the armed recruits as gratitude by the royal family. Now, the ‘Queens shilling’, a tradition that’s carried forth for 70 years will be replaced by the ‘Kings shilling’ as it was in 1952. Moreover, common security roles including the Queen’s guard that stands outside Buckingham palace will also be changing names.
Read next: Processions, Tours, and a State Funeral: This Is the 10-Day Plan of Action Post Queen Elizabeth II’s Death

Sheikha Raya Khalifa Abdulla Khalifa Al Khalifa and His Excellency Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah with the Queen. Photo: Getty
Queen Elizabeth II received the Ambassador of Qatar, Ambassador of Poland, and Sheikha Raya Khalifa Abdulla Khalifa Al Khalifa of the Bahrain royal family via video call yesterday.
Dressed in regal purple, Her Majesty could be seen smiling as she welcomed the diplomats via a virtual call from Windsor Castle. Sheikha Raya was also seen in a draped purple abaya-style dress, which she wore with a matching beret and nude heels, while His Excellency Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, Ambassador of Qatar, stood alongside her at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday while delivering their letters of recall of their predecessors.
Sheikha Raya Al Khalifa, founder of Wajood Consultancy and mother-of-two, shared the special moment on her Instagram account, which also revealed that the diplomats had met with Allistair Harrison, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps as well as David Linley, the Earl of Snowdon. The Bahraini-born entrepreneur also shared the company of her eldest son, who saw her off in a carriage to meet with Her Majesty.
Marshal of Diplomatic Corps Alistair Harrison, Sheikha Raya Al Khalifa, His Excellency Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, and the Sheikha’s eldest son. Photo: Instagram.com/rayaalkhalifa
According to actor Christopher Biggins, the long-standing monarch, now 95 years old, has been in a wheelchair and this is the reason why she was not able receive the diplomats in person. “I have heard that the reason she’s not doing a lot of the events that she should be doing and canceling them is because she is in a wheelchair. She doesn’t want to be seen because she’s very proud,” said Biggins on GB News. The head of state also recently missed the Commonwealth Day service at the Abbey, attributing her absence to an issue related to comfort rather than any illnesses.
“She’s our greatest ever monarch. It’s so very sad and I hope she is able to make her anniversary celebrations,” added Biggins. The news recalls the instance of the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, who was seen in a wheelchair on Queen Mother’s 101st birthday. “It’s a haunting image and not one the Queen remembers fondly,” noted Biggins on the fear of the Queen replicating a similar moment.
The monarch hopes to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey in April. The Duke died in April last year at 99 years of age, and members of the royal family, friends, and colleagues will gather to pay tribute to his passing.
Read Next: Prince William and Kate Middleton May Move to Windsor—Here’s Why