The Queen and Prince Philip: 70 years of Royal marriage

Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh with bridesmaids in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace
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Alix Culbertson, News Reporter

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have marked their 70th wedding anniversary.

Here is a look back at their life together.

:: July 1947: Engagement

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip announce their engagement
Image: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip announce their engagement

Princess Elizabeth, then 21-years-old, got engaged to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in July 1947 after meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth eight years earlier.

She said she fell in love with Philip then and they began to exchange letters.

:: November 1947: Wedding

More on Duke Of Edinburgh

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding
Image: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding

Elizabeth and Philip were married on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.

As Britain had not yet recovered from the war, she had to use ration coupons to buy material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell.

:: November 1948: Prince Charles' birth

Princess Elizabeth at Prince Charles' christening, with Prince Philip, King George and mother Queen Elizabeth
Image: Princess Elizabeth at Prince Charles' christening, with Prince Philip, King George and mother Queen Elizabeth

The couple's first child, Charles, was born on 14 November 1948, and christened the following month.

:: June 1953: Coronation

The Queen and Prince Philip on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after her coronation
Image: The Queen and Prince Philip on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after her coronation

Princess Elizabeth learned that her father had died and she was to become Queen while she and Prince Philip were in Kenya in February 1952 on the way to tour Australia and New Zealand.

On 2 June 1953, aged 25, she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey.

:: November 1953 - May 1954: First overseas visit as Queen

The Queen and Prince Philip peered over the railings of the SS Gothic in the Panama Canal during their tour
Image: The Queen and Prince Philip peered over the railings of the SS Gothic in the Panama Canal during their tour

Elizabeth made her first of 271 foreign trips to 128 countries as Queen only a few months after her coronation.

The new Queen and her husband, with Prince Charles and Princess Anne, started off her reign by going on her longest ever tour of Commonwealth nations.

They visited 13 countries in the West Indies, Australasia, Asia and Africa.

:: November 1972: Silver wedding anniversary

Top l-r: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew. Bottom: Edward in between his parents
Image: Top l-r: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew. Bottom: Edward in between his parents

The Queen and Prince Philp celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 1972 with a series of celebrations, including a carriage procession and a service of thanksgiving in St Paul's Cathedral.

:: June 1977: Silver Jubilee

(L-R) Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after the Silver Jubilee procession
Image: (L-R) Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after the Silver Jubilee procession

The Queen marked 25 years on the throne with parties and parades throughout the UK and the Commonwealth - culminating in June with the official "Jubilee Days" which coincided with the Queen's official birthday.

:: July 1981: Prince Charles and Diana's wedding

The Royal family celebrating the marriage of Diana and Prince Charles
Image: The Royal family celebrating the marriage of Diana and Prince Charles

The marriage of Prince Charles and the 20-year-old Lady Diana Spencer took place at St Paul's Cathedral - and was televised globally.

:: June 1982: Prince William's birth

Prince William was christened at Buckingham Palace in August 1982
Image: Prince William was christened at Buckingham Palace in August 1982

The Queen's third grandchild, and second in line to the throne, was born in June 1982 and was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace in August, surrounded by family.

:: August 1997: Diana's death

The Queen and Prince Philip outside Kensington Palace after Diana's death
Image: The Queen and Prince Philip outside Kensington Palace after Diana's death

Diana's death plunged the nation into mourning - and the Royal family into deep crisis as the Queen's response was seen by many as out of step with the mood of the country.

The Queen returned from Balmoral to London to view tens of thousands of tributes left for Diana at Kensington Palace.

:: November 2007: Diamond anniversary

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their diamond wedding anniversary
Image: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their diamond wedding anniversary

The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated 60 years of marriage with a service at Westminster Abbey which included a reading from Prince William and Dame Judi Dench.

:: April 2011: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding ushered in a new generations of Royals
Image: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding ushered in a new generations of Royals

The Queen and Prince Philip celebrated the marriage of their grandson, Prince William, at Westminster Abbey in 2011 after he proposed to Kate Middleton in Kenya - where the Queen found out she was to take the throne 59-years earlier.

:: May 2012: Diamond Jubilee

The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee with a boat procession down the Thames
Image: The Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee with a boat procession down the Thames

The UK and Commonwealth nations celebrated the Queen's 60 years on the throne with commemorative events, including the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant which involved 670 boats sailing down the River Thames through London.

:: February 2017: Sapphire Jubilee

The Queen is the longest-serving monarch in the world
Image: The Queen is the longest-serving monarch in the world

Queen Elizabeth II marked 65-years of her reign in 2017 with a gun salute at the Tower of London and several other places around the UK, and the ringing of bells in Westminster Abbey.

She is the first British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee and is the longest-reigning living monarch, following the death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 after 70 years and four months on the throne.

:: November 2017

Married for 70 years. Pic: Matt Holyoak/Camera Press
Image: Married for 70 years. Pic: Matt Holyoak/Camera Press

The couple mark their 70th wedding anniversary - and three new photos are released.