The first time 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth laid eyes on Prince Philip he was an 18-year-old cadet on a visit with her father George VI to Dartmouth Naval College. It was not long after that encounter that royal aides knew the young heir to the British throne was smitten.
Decades later and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been married for almost 70 years but the union might not have happened had a young Elizabeth listened to her advisors who warned against marrying the then German Prince because he was ‘too funny’.
According to A.M. Wilson, a biographer who recently wrote a book about the Queen, Elizabeth was reportedly told that Philip’s cheeky personality was not right match for a serious princess.
The Telegraph reports the while giving a speech at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, Wilson explained: “When she made it quite clear from the age of about 14 that she was in love with Prince Philip, who was a beautiful German Prince with blond hair, all the courtiers said he was entirely the wrong person to choose.
“They said it for lots of reasons, but the fact is he was wrong. The Queen is very reserved, diligent person. He isn’t. He was a naval officer and he was also quite funny.”
Thankfully the Queen dismissed the reservations and the pair were married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey – four years before Elizabeth inherited the throne from her father, King George VI.
Not even gravity of a coronation dulled the Duke’s sense of humour as Wilson told his audience that the first thing Philip said to the Queen after the ceremony: ‘Where did you get that hat?’
But after decades of marriage, four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren there’s not doubt that Philip, longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch, was the right choice for a wilful Elizabeth.
In a sweet letter to the Queen Mother, after their marriage the Duke admitted he had fallen in love ‘completely and unreservedly’ with his wife and was dedicated to making their vows last for a lifetime.
“The only thing in this world which is absolutely real to me, and my ambition, is to weld the two of us into a new combined existence that will not only be able to withstand the shocks directed at us but will also have a positive existence for the good,” he said.
While the years have proven he’s a dedicate husband to the Queen, Prince Philip is still not exactly known for his delicacy. In terms of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person, Prince Philip keeps getting better and better. Click through to enjoy many of the royal’s awkward and hilarious moments.
Biographer A.M Wilson told his audience that Philip’s first remark to the Queen after her coronation was, ‘Where did you get that hat?’ PHOTO: The Queen and Prince Philip in Australia in 1954.
To school children: “You must have really good brains to speak Welsh.”
To two community workers: ‘Who do you sponge off?’
To a professional fundraiser: ‘So, do you have any friends left?’
To photographer at an event: ‘Just take the f%#$ing picture!’
To a child while visiting a space shuttle: ‘You’ll never fly in it, you’re too fat.’
‘How could I be unfaithful to the Queen? There is no way she could possibly retaliate.’
On hearing Madonna would perform at an event: ‘Are we going to need earplugs?’
2001, to Elton John: ‘So it’s you that owns that ghastly car is it?’
1967: ‘I would like to go to Russia, although the bastards murdered half my family.’
1969 on Tom Jones: ‘It’s hard to see how he is popular. He sings the most hideous songs.’
1998, to a student back from Papua New Guinea: ‘You managed not to get eaten then?’
1999, to deaf kids standing near a band: ‘If you’re near that music it’s no wonder you’re deaf.’
2002, to Australian Aborigines: ‘Do you still throw spears at each other?’
Speaking about Princess Anne: ‘If it doesn’t fart or eat hay then she isn’t interested.’
1984, when accepting a gift from a woman in Kenya: ‘You are a woman aren’t you?’
1969 on royal finances: ‘We go into the red next year. I shall probably have to give up polo.’
To a Scot driving teacher: ‘How do you keep the natives off booze long enough to pass?’
2009, to a fashion designer: ‘You didn’t design your beard too well, did you?’
1981 ‘Everybody wanted more leisure. Now they’re complaining they’re unemployed.’
2000 on marriage: ‘Dukes have been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.’
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