When the Queen came to the throne in 1952, the United Kingdom was a far different place than it is today. There were no mobile telephones, no internet, no colour televisions and no European Union; the House of Lords was made up exclusively of hereditary peers; homosexuality was illegal and punishable with a term in prison; divorced persons were not allowed into the royal enclosure at Ascot races; and the British Empire still coloured red a large part of the globe.
Throughout the tumultuous changes during her reign, the Queen has remained constant and steadfast in the execution of her duties. Despite suffering her Annus Horribilis, the divorces of three of her children and other tribulations, including the loss of the royal yacht Britannia with its crew of 120 to a tourist attraction in Edinburgh, the Queen has much to be satisfied with. Thanks to her hard work and dedication with Prince Philip, the monarchy now appears stronger than ever, with three new generations waiting in the wings. The Commonwealth, in which she has always shown a special interest, has held together remarkably well and is a force for good in a troubled world.
Yet, despite all of this, for the royal family, much has remained unchanged over the years. Weekends are spent at Windsor, Christmas holidays at Sandringham with its pheasant and partridge shoots and summer holidays at Balmoral with grouse shooting and deer stalking. At Buckingham Palace, footmen wait by every door in case it needs to open for a member of the royal family, although the powdered wigs and breeches have been replaced by military-style uniforms. It is still a world where servants must curtsey and bow to their royal employers, where bedsheets are turned down with the aid of a measuring stick and where rulers are used to set the places on dining tables.
Change may be on the horizon, however. In an interview with Newsweek magazine in June 2017, Prince Harry, who is fifth in line to the throne, said: ‘The monarchy is a force for good and we want to carry on the positive atmosphere that the Queen has achieved for over sixty years, but we won’t be trying to fill her boots. We are involved in modernising the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people. We use our time wisely. We don’t want to turn up, shake hands but not get involved.’
On the monarchy, he asked: ‘Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.’ It was perhaps a compliment to the Queen and Prince Philip that he should say this, for they have performed their roles and duties so well that they have become a daunting double act to follow.
Prince Philip has been at the Queen’s side for seventy years. In the Queen’s own words, spoken at the Guildhall in London on their golden wedding anniversary: ‘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.’
The Queen is the central core of the bond which has held their relationship together for seventy years. From the moment she saw Philip in his naval uniform at Dartmouth when she was a teenager, Princess Elizabeth had eyes only for him, persuading her father the King to allow her to marry him at the tender age of twenty-one. She has never wavered from her single-minded devotion to duty, which she pledged in her twenty-first birthday speech to the Commonwealth when she said: ‘I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.’ She has been sustained in keeping this solemn vow by her deeply held religious beliefs. Every year in her Christmas address she draws attention to Christ’s teachings and their importance in her life.
There are many strands to Prince Philip’s life as consort, but as his secretary and friend the late Mike Parker always said: ‘His constant job is looking after the Queen in first place, second and third.’ As consort, he is always two steps behind his anointed Queen and he has performed this role faultlessly.
From difficult beginnings when he was forced to give up a promising career in the navy and when the old guard at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor resented his presence, he slowly but surely carved out for himself a position as innovator, conservationist, speechwriter and promoter of all things British. He suffered the indignity of not being able to pass on his family name to his children, which hurt him deeply. He is remarkably fit for a man of his age and retains the slim figure of his youth and still displays an iron will, a clear speaking voice and a sense of humour. Even in his nineties, when he had a busy day of engagements ahead of him he was known to rise at four o’clock in the morning, summoning his valet, chef, chauffeur and equerry to leave the palace at six sharp.
His sense of humour, so-called ‘gaffes’ and all, has also been a decisive factor in his relationship with the Queen. He makes her laugh. In earlier days, the shy young Queen would freeze before the television cameras. Philip would defuse the situation with an amusing aside to bring a smile to the Queen’s face. When you are under a constant spotlight, as she has been for almost her entire life, this makes a vital difference.
His achievements are many, none more so than the Duke of Edinburgh Award, which has helped millions of young people around the world and continues to do so. He used his position as President of the World Wide Fund for Nature to emphasise the vital importance of conservation around the world and he has been a tireless advocate for engineering and scientific skills in Britain.
Both the Queen in many of her Christmas speeches and Prince Philip in his several philosophical collections of writings have stressed the importance of the individual in society. More than thirty years ago, in his book A Question of Balance, Prince Philip wrote: ‘In the end, civilised standards still depend absolutely on the way people treat each other as people . . . in the final analysis, satisfaction and contentment are created by the relationships between one individual and another.’
Perhaps this goes some way to answering the question of how the Queen and Prince Philip have successfully managed seventy years of married life.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Nick Cowan for his arduous work with the research for this book. I would also like to thank him for his expertise in helping me with the construction of the multiple strands it took to compile the manuscript and his endless patience in checking my copy. No royal manuscript would be complete without the forensic eye of Majesty’s managing editor Joe Little, whose brilliant memory for royal facts and details is second to none. I would also like to thank Robin Piercy, whose sons Angus and Henry helped with all the technical difficulties I managed to frequently get myself into.
Over the years of writing royal books and especially biographies, I have interviewed many people whose valuable contributions have added to the content of this book. Sadly, some of them are no longer with us, but I would like to thank them posthumously, in particular: the Hon. Margaret Rhodes, with whom I spent a delightful morning at her home in Windsor Park, and James Edwards, the ebullient, eccentric and totally charming former head of Heatherdown prep school, who described so perfectly the Queen’s role as a mother.
I would also like to thank my editor Ian Marshall and everyone at Simon & Schuster for their help and support.
Ingrid Seward
London, September 2017
Press Association
1. Prince Philip (ennobled the Duke of Edinburgh on his marriage) and Princess Elizabeth during their honeymoon at Broadlands in 1947.
Press Association
2. Adopting an identical pose sixty years later in 2007. The Queen is wearing the same sapphire and diamond chrysanthemum brooch and pearl necklace.
Press Association
3. The Duke and Duchess of York with baby Elizabeth on 29 April 1926, a week after her birth.
Mary Evans Picture Library
4. The future Duke of Edinburgh with his parents Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece in the same year.
Press Association
5. Princess Alice of Greece and her son Philip, aged three, photographed in 1924, by which time they were livi
ng in France.
Camera Press
6. Princess Elizabeth in February 1931, aged five, with her mother, the Duchess of York.
Getty Images
7. Princess Elizabeth, her father King George VI and her sister Princess Margaret, photographed in July 1946, a year before her wedding.
Press Association
8. King George VI, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, the Queen and Prince Philip at the wedding of Patricia Mountbatten in October 1946.
Press Association
9. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with children Charles and Anne in the garden of Clarence House, 1951.
Press Association
10. Seven-month-old Prince Andrew is the centre of attention as the family enjoy their annual holiday at Balmoral Castle in September 1960.
REX/Shutterstock
11. Prince Philip in 1965 sharing a joke with famous comedian Jimmy Edwards at a polo match. Philip enjoyed the waggish company of show-business friends and would support their charity events.
Press Association
12. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the glamorous couple, at a state banquet in Lagos in February 1956.
Getty Images
13. Ten years after their wedding, in their seats for the world premiere of the film Dunkirk on 20 March 1958.
Press Association
14. Prince Philip carriage-driving with Lady Penny Brabourne at Windsor Horse Show.
Getty Images
15. Sharing a joke with his daughter-in-law Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, at the Derby at Epsom on 4 June 2011. The Queen’s horse Carlton Hall was favourite but came third, with Pour Moi winning.
REX/Shutterstock
16. Prince Philip and his daughter-in-law, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, at a polo match at Smith’s Lawn in the 1980s. They had a difficult relationship as Diana did not always appreciate his advice.
Press Association
17. Prince Philip looking doubtfully at the Queen as she drinks a toast to the new century at the Millennium Dome in 2000. It was not an evening either of them enjoyed as they were forced into staged celebrations with the then prime minister Tony Blair.
Getty Images
18. The Queen with five-year-old Prince Harry and Michael Mann, Dean of Windsor, on Easter Day, April 1989. Mann established an excellent rapport with the Queen and Prince Philip and was much loved by them both.
Getty Images
19. Prince Harry and his grandfather, Prince Philip, at the Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham in 2015. Prince Philip enjoys being around his grandsons, especially at sporting events.
Getty Images
20. Prince Philip painting at an easel during the filming of the 1969 TV documentary The Royal Family. He is a talented artist and enjoys his hobby while being extremely knowledgeable about the subject.
Getty Images
21. The Queen riding with the Princess Royal in 2002. Age has not diminished her enthusiasm, and fifteen years later she takes every opportunity she can for a gentle hack. Despite safety issues she never wears a hat as it messes up her hair.
REX/Shutterstock
22. The Queen laughing at Prince Philip as he stands to attention at Windsor prior to the Queen’s Company Grenadier Guards ceremonial review, 15 April 2003, a week before her seventy-seventh birthday.
Getty Images
23. On Prince Philip’s ninetieth birthday, the Queen made her husband Lord High Admiral, the titular head of the Royal Navy. Here he lends a helping hand to the Queen after a service, in March 2015, commemorating British troops’ thirteen-year involvement in Afghanistan.
Press Association
24. The Queen and her racing manager John Warren cannot contain their delight as her horse Estimate wins the Gold Cup at Ascot in 2013 with jockey Ryan Moore and trainer Sir Michael Stoute.
Getty Images
25. Although Prince Philip is no fan of racing, he dutifully accompanies the Queen to Ascot and the Derby. He is seen here with the Queen and the Duke of York at the 2016 Derby. The Queen presented the trophy for the first time in her reign to the Aga Khan, whose horse Harzand won.
List of Illustrations
1. Prince Philip (ennobled the Duke of Edinburgh on his marriage) and Princess Elizabeth during their honeymoon at Broadlands in 1947.
2. Adopting an identical pose sixty years later in 2007. The Queen is wearing the same sapphire and diamond chrysanthemum brooch and pearl necklace.
3. The Duke and Duchess of York with baby Elizabeth on 29 April 1926, a week after her birth.
4. The future Duke of Edinburgh with his parents Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece in the same year.
5. Princess Alice of Greece and her son Philip, aged three, photographed in 1924, by which time they were living in France.
6. Princess Elizabeth in February 1931, aged five, with her mother, the Duchess of York.
7. Princess Elizabeth, her father King George VI and her sister Princess Margaret, photographed in July 1946, a year before her wedding.
8. King George VI, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, the Queen and Prince Philip at the wedding of Patricia Mountbatten in October 1946.
9. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip with children Charles and Anne in the garden of Clarence House, 1951.
10. Seven-month-old Prince Andrew is the centre of attention as the family enjoy their annual holiday at Balmoral Castle in September 1960.
11. Prince Philip in 1965 sharing a joke with famous comedian Jimmy Edwards at a polo match. Philip enjoyed the waggish company of show-business friends and would support their charity events.
12. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the glamorous couple, at a state banquet in Lagos in February 1956.
13. Ten years after their wedding, in their seats for the world premiere of the film Dunkirk on 20 March 1958.
14. Prince Philip carriage-driving with Lady Penny Brabourne at Windsor Horse Show.
15. Sharing a joke with his daughter-in-law Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, at the Derby at Epsom on 4 June 2011. The Queen’s horse Carlton Hall was favourite but came third, with Pour Moi winning.
16. Prince Philip and his daughter-in-law, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, at a polo match at Smith’s Lawn in the 1980s. They had a difficult relationship as Diana did not always appreciate his advice.
17. Prince Philip looking doubtfully at the Queen as she drinks a toast to the new century at the Millennium Dome in 2000. It was not an evening either of them enjoyed as they were forced into staged celebrations with the then prime minister Tony Blair.
18. The Queen with five-year-old Prince Harry and Michael Mann, Dean of Windsor, on Easter Day, April 1989. Mann established an excellent rapport with the Queen and Prince Philip and was much loved by them both.
19. Prince Harry and his grandfather, Prince Philip, at the Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham in 2015. Prince Philip enjoys being around his grandsons, especially at sporting events.
20. Prince Philip painting at an easel during the filming of the 1969 TV documentary The Royal Family. He is a talented artist and enjoys his hobby while being extremely knowledgeable about the subject.
21. The Queen riding with the Princess Royal in 2002. Age has not diminished her enthusiasm, and fifteen years later she takes every opportunity she can for a gentle hack. Despite safety issues she never wears a hat as it messes up her hair.
22. The Queen laughing at Prince Philip as he stands to attention at Windsor prior to the Queen’s Company Grenadier Guards ceremonial review, 15 April 2003, a week before her seventy-seventh birthday.
23. On Prince Philip’s ninetieth birthday, the Queen made her husband Lord High Admiral, the titular head of the Royal Navy. Here he lends a helping hand to the Queen after a service, in March 2015, commemorating British troops’ thirteen-year involvement in Afghanistan.
24. The Queen and her racing manager John Warren cannot contain their delight as her horse Estimate wins the Gold Cup at Ascot in 2013 with jocke
y Ryan Moore and trainer Sir Michael Stoute.
25. Although Prince Philip is no fan of racing, he dutifully accompanies the Queen to Ascot and the Derby. He is seen here with the Queen and the Duke of York at the 2016 Derby. The Queen presented the trophy for the first time in her reign to the Aga Khan, whose horse Harzand won.
More from the Author
Prince Philip Revealed
The Queen's Speech
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Bibliography
Alexandra, Queen of Yugoslavia – Prince Philip: A Family Portrait (Hodder & Stoughton, 1960)
Beaton, Cecil, The Strenuous Years: Diaries 1948–55 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1973)
My Husband and I Page 28
