Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary on November 20th, 2019. The Queen (93) and the Duke of Edinburgh (98) have had an incredible journey together and are one of the most well-known couples of all time. However, it wasn't an easy road to get married for the two of them.

Queen Elizabeth had to fight to marry Prince Philip 

Queen Elizabeth had to fight for the love of her life, a handsome young naval officer by the name of Philip Mountbatten. Her father, King George VI, had his reservations about him as well as many others. Biographer Sally Bedell Smith wrote, "she fell in love at age 18 and she never looked at anyone else."

 

Philip and Elizabeth's love story was portrayed on the first season of Netflix's The Crown. The executive producer of the show, Suzanne Mackie said, "One of Elizabeth’s greatest achievements is being allowed to marry the love of her life. Like any marriage, it would undertake endless recalibration and navigation and re-negotiation."

Many people were wary about the marriage

Many of the senior royal members, members of the guard and the King's friends were very wary when it came to who was suitable to marry the then future Queen of England. This made it all the more difficult for Elizabeth upon choosing Philip as her wedded husband. However, Philip always had an inner confidence about him and Elizabeth is a strong-willed woman. 

 

"He was a perfectly natural young sailor and very much in love with the girl of the house. But he would not in any way fawn on the elders and say, ‘What a suitable husband I am going to be.’ He was very much his own man," the late Sir Edward Ford previously told People.

 

The Queen and Prince Philip have been married for 72 years

All we can say is that Queen Elizabeth II is one of the strongest most amazing women and we are so glad that their 72 year long love story is still going strong today and that she had the courage to stand up for the love of her life!