The Engagement of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

The future Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip after their engagement was announced. Image from Royal.uk.

The future Queen Elizabeth II was 13 years old when she was smitten by the blonde, blue-eyed Prince Philip of Greece . The princess joined her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, when they visited the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. The Queen and Louis Mountbatten requested Philip to escort the King's two daughters. The heiress to the British throne fell in love with Philip, and they began to exchange letters.  Their love story budded for the next seven years, growing even stronger in the passing of World War II.

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip are both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, Philip through his mother Princess Alice of Battenberg. They are therefore third cousins. They are also second cousins once removed; Elizabeth’s great-great-grandfather was Christian IX of Denmark, whose daughter Alexandra married King Edward VII. Philip was a great-grandson of Christian IX, through his father Prince Andrew of Greece.

Philip had seen active service in the Royal Navy during the war, and when he was on home leave he was a frequent visitor at Windsor Castle, where the romance blossomed. At the end of the war, Philip was was sent to the Far East but returned to London in March 1946. Elizabeth’s feelings towards Philip had only grown stronger. He proposed to her at Balmoral in late summer 1946 she accepted.

The princess' determination to marry Philip, at first surprised, the kind but he eventually consented on the condition that their engagement would not be announced until she turned 21. The family embarked on their official tour of South Africa in February 1947, where Elizabeth delivered her famous 21st birthday speech.She nevertheless kept in touch with her fiancé, who dropped his Greek titles, applied for a British citizenship, and was now known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. Finally, on July 10, 1947, “with greatest pleasure’” the engagement was announced. That evening the Princess and her fiancé made an impromptu balcony appearance in front of cheering crowd, who yearned the prospect of a royal wedding.

A day after the announcement of their engagement, Philip and Elizabeth were photographed together while strolling arm in arm across the terrace at the Palace. In the words of her mother, Queen Elizabeth, “We feel very happy about it, as he is a very nice person and they have known each other for some years which is a great comfort.” Their wedding was set on November 20, 1947.