In Pictures: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh through their 71 years together
As the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh celebrate 71 years of marriage, here’s a look at the monarch and her consort in pictures through the decades:
– 1940s
Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten are pictured together at Buckingham Palace after their engagement was announced
Their engagement was announced in July 1947 and the happy couple were pictured together at Buckingham Palace,
A delighted Princess Elizabeth was captured sitting on a chair, proudly showing off her ring, and gazing up adoringly at her husband-to-be – the 26-year-old Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh leaving Westminster Abbey after their wedding ceremony
Four months later, the princess and Philip, who was given the title the Duke of Edinburgh, married on November 20 1947.
The fairytale royal wedding in London’s Westminster Abbey was a morale boost in the tough years that followed the Second World War, and millions of people tuned in to listen to the ceremony on the wireless.
– 1950s
Five years after they married, the princess – by then a mother of two – became Queen Elizabeth II when her father George VI died in 1952.
Princess Anne in the arms of Princess Elizabeth, with the Duke of Edinburgh, holding Prince Charles, in the grounds of Clarence House, their London residence in 1951
Duty changed their lives forever as the new Queen carried out her all-consuming role as head of state.
A Commonwealth tour took them on a six-month trip around the world.
The Queen, with Philip, taking a cine-film of the historic hand-over of escort duty from the cruiser Sheffield, which was returning to Panama, to the New Zealand light cruiser Black Prince in 1953
– 1960s
The sixties saw the arrival of two more children – Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
The Queen and Philip surrounded by their children – Andrew, Anne, Edward and Charles – on the monarch’s 39th birthday in 1965
The Queen and the duke leaving St Paul’s Cathedral after the 150th Anniversary of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1968
In the 1970s, the couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in 1972 and the Queen reached her silver jubilee on the throne in 1977.
The Queen and Philip at Balmoral to celebrate their Silver Wedding anniversary
The Queen looks at the duke after their arrival on Vanu Levu island after a flight from Suva during a Silver Jubilee tour to Fiji in 1977
– 1980s
The Queen and Philip in a haulage truck ready to go down to the lower level of the Geevor tin mine at Pendeen, Cornwall in 1980
The 1980s saw the Prince of Wales marry Lady Diana Spencer and the arrival of Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, and the Princess of Wales with Prince Harry and Prince William in front on the palace balcony in 1988
– 1990s
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrive on the course at a rain-swept Royal Ascot in 1997
The 90s were a difficult time for the Windsors with the War of the Waleses, the Windsor Castle fire and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
But the duke was at the Queen’s side throughout.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh view the floral tributes to Diana, Princess of Wales, at Buckingham Palace in 1997
– 2000s
The Queen escorted by Philip after the State Opening of Parliament in 2003
The Queen’s mother and sister sadly both died in 2002 – the year of her Golden Jubilee.
It was also the decade that saw the Prince of Wales finally marry Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2005.
The Queen and the duke marked their diamond wedding anniversary in 2007.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Broadlands in Romsey, Hampshire, where they spent part of their honeymooned in 1947, in photos marking their diamond wedding anniversary in 2007
A special service of thanksgiving was held at their wedding venue Westminster Abbey, before the couple headed to Malta where they spent some of their happiest days as a young married couple.
The brief poignant, private return to the Mediterranean island was the duke’s idea.
– 2010s
The 2010s have seen the Diamond Jubilee, the weddings of both the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, and the arrival of the Queen and Philip’s seven – and soon-to-be eight – great-grandchildren.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh onboard the Spirit of Chartwell during the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames
2017 was the year of the Queen and Philip’s milestone platinum wedding anniversary – with the monarch becoming the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years of marriage.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh photographed by Matt Holyoak in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle in celebration of their platinum wedding anniversary
And now in 2018, the royal couple are celebrating 71 years of marriage.
The Queen and Philip pictured together after Princess Eugenie’s wedding in October
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