Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip Spend 72nd Wedding Anniversary 110 Miles Apart
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have lived a lifetime of milestones. Jubilees marking the anniversary of the Coronation, the Queen’s longest reign, a platinum wedding anniversary are just some.
So, as their 72nd anniversary passed on Wednesday, they are likely to be the last to complain that they were spending the day apart.
Philip, 98, is at Sandringham, Norfolk, about 110 miles from London where the Queen is based as part of her working week. The monarch has duties in London, and Philip, who retired from royal duty in August 2017, has been resting at the estate’s Wood Farm. There, renovations were undertaken several years ago to make it easier to live in for a man of his age.
The Queen, 93, spent some of Wednesday holding audiences with the ambassadors of the Republic of Suriname and the Kyrgyz Republic.
But some observers have been saying that she would have welcomed the support of her husband in this trying week since second son Prince Andrew appeared on the BBC and spoke openly — and without regret — about his friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The financier died by suicide in jail in New York City in August while awaiting trial on multiple sex charges.
“I’m sure it’s been good for his health not to be there getting involved in the day-to-day stresses and strains but I think the Queen has missed his hands-on approach to family matters,” a source told the Daily Express on Wednesday. “He might have been a much stronger voice advising Andrew if he had been around more.”
The then-Princess Elizabeth was just a teenager when she fell in love with the Greek-born Royal Navy officer. The couple wed in a grand ceremony on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey – the same place where Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot in 2011.
At the time of their post-Second World War wedding, millions of Britons were living in the aftermath of the bomb-damaged cities and coping with food rations. The November 20 service was the first major event since the end of the war.
“With her bridal dress and tiara on her wedding day, she was a knockout,” one of her bridesmaids, Lady Pamela Hicks, has told PEOPLE. “And, of course, Philip was every girl’s dream Viking prince.”
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A post shared by The Royal Family (@theroyalfamily) on Nov 20, 2019 at 1:57am PST
To mark the anniversary of the Queen’s memorable day, the official Royal Family Instagram account posted a picture of the couple on their wedding day. Other royals also turned to social media to honor the couple’s 72 years of marriage.
