When Prince Philip died in 2021, the Queen took solace in knowing they would be reunited in death  
Now that day has come, a look back at the great love story that defined her love – and the modern monarchy 

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has been announced by Buckingham Palace this afternoon.  

England’s longest serving monarch died peacefully at Balmoral, at the age of 96, today with members of the extended royal family, including Prince Charles, the oldest and longest serving heir apparent in British history, by her bedside.

The nation now begins an extended period of mourning, reflecting on her extraordinary life and service – and one of history’s most enduring romances. 

Like all great love stories, the Queen and Prince Philip’s had a great beginning. A 13-year-old princess met a handsome young naval officer and, despite her tender years, fell head-over-heels in love.

The princess was Elizabeth, daughter of King George VI and heir to the British throne. The 18-year-old naval cadet was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark.

From that day on Elizabeth was a ‘one-man woman’. As one friend would later say: ‘She never looked at anyone else. She was smitten from the start’.

His feelings were just as strong. In a letter to his new mother-in-law after their 1947 wedding, he wrote: ‘Lilibet is the only ‘thing’ in this world which is absolutely real to me.’

This deep, unwavering love formed the foundation of a marriage that lasted 73 years and was at the heart of the modern British monarchy. It only ended with the death of the Duke of Edinburgh in April 2021, at the age of 99.

At the time, the Queen turned to words first spoken at their Golden Wedding Anniversary to try and encapsulate all that her husband had meant to her. 

‘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.’ 

After his death, sources said she was ‘comforted’ by her faith that they would one day ‘be reunited’.  

Now, as the nation bids farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, a look back at the great love of her life.

This deep, unwavering love between the young Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark formed the foundation of a marriage that lasted 73 years and was at the heart of the modern British monarchy. It only ended with the death of the Duke of Edinburgh in April 2021, at the age of 99. Pictured, on their wedding day in 1947 (left) and in June 2020

Together once more: One of the last photographs taken of the Queen as she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party, Liz Truss, to become Prime Minister and form a new government, at Balmoral Castle on September 6th 2022

The Queen pictured several months before her death during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, alongside her son and heir, Prince Charles. After the death of his father, the Prince of Wales was a constant at his mother’s side for

It began in July 1939 when Princess Elizabeth joined her parents George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and sister, Princess Margaret, on a visit to Dartmouth’s Britannia Royal Naval College (pictured, their first meeting)

On the balcony at Buckingham Palace are (from left) King George VI, Princess Margaret, Lady Mary Cambridge, Princess Elizabeth, the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, at the wedding of Elizabeth and Philip in November 1947

Within a year of marriage, the couple had produced an heir to the throne as Charles Philip Arthur George, was born on November 14, 1948. Their second child, Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, on August 15 1950. They are pictured at Balmoral in 1951

Queen Elizabeth II and Philip wave from the balcony to the crowds at Buckingham Palace after the Coronation in June 1953

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh travelled the world together, taking in sights many can only dream of. Pictured, the royal couple are honoured at a special ceremony on a visit to Tuvalu in the South Pacific in 1982

The Duke of Edinburgh always made the Queen laugh, including on this visit to the Braemar Gathering in Scotland in 2013