The love that will never die
As the Royal Family bid goodbye to Prince Philip, we take a look at the longest love story
In the end, it was just how he had planned it - little fuss and lots of meaning. As Prince Philip travelled to his final resting place yesterday in a custom-designed Land Rover hearse, made to his specifications, there were no flag-waving crowds or dignitaries, but military personnel and his family paying tribute to his incredible life.
Walking behind the hearse to canon fire, the beat of a drum and a tolling bell, was a visibly upset Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and following them, a sombre Prince William, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, The Earl of Snowdon and Sir Tim Laurence. Kerry covered the funeral for The Telegraph, happy to see William and Harry united.
Inside St George’s Chapel, The Queen cut a solitary figure sitting alone, masked and head bowed, away from her family because of social-distancing rules. It was a visible metaphor for her new life as a widow, separated from the man who has been by her side since 1947.
It was a record-breaking love - having celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary, the Queen and Prince Philip were the longest-married British monarchs in history. Kerry took a look at their romance for The Telegraph.
The longest love story
Their 1947 wedding in Westminster Abbey was a fairytale – the post-war world adored the glamorous young couple; 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth and dashing 26-year-old Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, formerly Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. Back then, as now, the world needed some cheer, with rationing still in force. The Queen used coupons to pay for her Norman Hartnell gown and her wedding cake was made with ingredients sent from the Australian Girl Guides.
The ceremony was a huge event, attended by 2000 guests and listened to on radio by 200 million people. Cameras were allowed in the Abbey for the first time, with the footage shown in cinemas around the world.
After the wedding, Philip wrote to the Queen Mother, “Lilibet is 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.” And that is exactly what he did – with a few wobbles along the way.
On the couple’s tour of Australia in 1954, the Queen was caught on film having a row with her husband, hurling shoes and a tennis racket at him. The footage was dutifully destroyed. The marriage was not. But Philip did struggle with his place within The Firm – like every other royal spouse that followed. He had to give up his naval career – something he loved and excelled at – and at first found it difficult to find a fulfilling role within the Royal Family.
He wanted the royal house to be known as Mountbatten, with his children taking his surname, but it was vetoed by Winston Churchill. According to royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, a furious Duke declared, “I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children.”
What newcomers such as Diana, or Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, may not have realised, was even Philip did not fit in at Buckingham Palace initially. “Philip was constantly being squashed, snubbed, ticked off,” his private secretary Mike Parker later said.
Some of those wobbles included rumours of infidelity, particularly during a period where he was part of the infamous Thursday Club with members including David Niven and osteopath Stephen Ward, of the Profumo Affair. In 1956, when Philip embarked on a solo five-month tour of Australia and the Commonwealth on the Royal Yacht Britannia, rumours abounded of wild parties and the following year the Baltimore Sun newspaper ran a headline saying “Report Queen, Duke in Rift Over Party Girl”. It’s thought they were referring to stage star Pat Kirkwood.
Philip was reportedly incandescent with rage at the accusations. “He was very, very angry. And deeply hurt,” Mike said. It was so serious, the Queen, unusually, released a statement announcing there was no rift. What is certain is the pair made it work throughout the decades, weathering many storms together, unlike their children, of whom only Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s marriage has endured.
“He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,” the Queen said on their Golden Wedding anniversary, “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.” Edward once said of his father, he “is very modest. One of his best pieces of advice … is don’t talk about yourself – nobody’s interested in you.” That was true in a BBC interview Philip gave for his 90th birthday, when he tersely refused to say what he was most proud of. “Who cares what I think about it, I mean it’s ridiculous.”
His Lilibet, however, tells a different story.
Philip has the last laugh
Prince Harry described him as a “legend of banter and cheeky right ’til the end,” in his tribute. And that’s how people are paying their respects, by sharing stories of their encounters with the duke – the funnier the better. Here are a few making us laugh:
Cat Kidd told the BBC, Prince Philip saw her in the crowd at Sandringham and shouted, “You look like you’ve had a heavy Christmas,” as she was hung-over.
Then there was the woman who meant to tell him she’d completed the Duke of Edinburgh Award as a teen, but instead nervously garbled, “I did the Duke of Edinburgh,” to which he smoothly replied, “I’m sure I’d remember that.”
Former Aussie PM, Kevin Rudd said, “he would constantly take the mickey out of you. It was frankly a wonderful thing.”
The wedding gift bracelet Philip made with love
It’s the Queen’s 95th birthday on Wednesday (April 21) and while it will be a difficult day as a widow, Her Majesty may take comfort from the happy memories and special meaning that Prince Philip’s gifts signified over the years. The Duke expressed his romantic side by designing beautiful jewellery for her during their 73 years together.
He designed her engagement ring, made by jeweller Philip Antrobus (now Pragnell), using diamonds from a tiara belonging to his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg. The rest of the tiara diamonds were used to make the Edinburgh Wedding Bracelet, one of her favourites.
