Royal newlyweds Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip pose for a photo in the grounds of Broadlands, in Romsey, England, during their honeymoon. They were married for 73 years. Photo / AP
Royal newlyweds Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip pose for a photo in the grounds of Broadlands, in Romsey, England, during their honeymoon. They were married for 73 years. Photo / AP
Theirs was a long and happy marriage: for 73 years The Queen and Prince Philip are said to have been “madly in love”, enjoying a fruitful, fulfilling relationship. So what was the secret to their seven-decade success?
According to historian and royal expert Dr Tessa Dunlop, while the Queen considered “tolerance” to be the key to a solid union, it was the stability she provided her husband that allowed their marriage to flourish.
In an interview with Ok! magazine, Dunlop shares details of her new book, Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy, and reveals much about the difficult upbringing endured by the prince - and the Queen who saved him.
“I think Philip loved Elizabeth. I’ve never been in any doubt about that. She changed his life.
“She gave him stability that he never had, she gave him wealth he never had. She gave him a platform he couldn’t have dreamed of. She gave him everything he didn’t have,” she said of the man whose family were forced to flee Greece after the King was exiled following a military revolt.
From here Philip’s childhood entailed a series of unsettled homes and years at boarding schools with little opportunity to ever see his parents.
But when he was wed to Elizabeth, he found a constant and the chance to create his own family.
While Prince Philip's own experience of family had been fractured, he found stability in building his own with Elizabeth. Photo / Getty
Dunlop also claimed the secret to the royals’ successful marriage came down to “tolerance” and “independence” and said the Queen was “very good at giving Prince Philip” space when he needed it.
Dunlop also referred to a speech the prince made at the royal pair’s silver wedding anniversary where he praised his wife for having “tolerance in abundance.”
The comment, however, has taken on a different interpretation in recent times.
Last week Dunlop was interviewed for the Mail Plus’ Palace Confidential series where she offered her thoughts on a new episode of The Crown in which Philip is suggested to have an extra-marital relationship with Penny Knatchbull.
Jonathan Pryce as the Duke of Edinburgh and Natascha McElhone as Penny Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Photo / Netflix
According to the Daily Mail, the episode includes “intimate scenes” between Philip and Knatchbull. But Dunlop said, while “the inference is that he wasn’t sexually faithful - that’s what people have inferred ... whether he was or not, the Queen and him clearly had a loving and enduring marriage and a partnership that she leant on and he leant on. They both depended on each other.”
It’s not the only instance where the prince’s fidelity has been brought into question by writers of The Crown. Another episode noted the prince was looking for “companionship”.
The timing of the episode involving a suggested affair with Knatchbull has previously been slammed for its insensitive timing: Just weeks after the Queen’s death.
According to the Daily Mail, Dickie Arbiter, spokesperson for Her Majesty from 1988 to 2000, said: “Coming just weeks after the nation laid Her Majesty to rest next to Prince Philip, this is very distasteful and, quite frankly, cruel rubbish,” he said.
“The truth is that Penny was a long-time friend of the whole family. Netflix are not interested in people’s feelings.”
