Elizabeth and Philip
Greetings America.
Fifty-seven years ago, in November 1947, Princess Elizabeth of England married Prince Philip of Greece. She was 21 and heiress to the throne. He was 26 and oh-so-handsome.
It was a fairy-tale wedding. Did they live happily ever after? They had four children - three of whom have had unhappy marriages of their own, ending in divorce. And one of whom, Prince Charles, accused his parents of being distant, absent, harsh and unloving.
Recently I've spent time with the Queen and Prince Philip and talked with family and friends who knew them when they were young parents - and all the evidence suggests that they were devoted parents, hands-on and loving. Prince Philip told me that the difference between him and his son is that Charles is a romantic while Philip is a pragmatist and, somehow, a romantic sees a pragmatist as 'unloving'.
Contrary to myth, too, I found that the Queen and her husband - far from despising their daughter-in-law Diana - went out of their way to try to salvage their son's marriage in its darkest days. Philip the pragmatist wrote helpful letters to Diana - kindly letters signed 'Your loving Pa' - offering his daughter-in-law thoughtful advice and practical assistance.
Elizabeth and Philip are cousins, both great-great grandchildren of Queen Victoria. They first met properly in 1939, when she was thirteen and he was eighteen. I think she is happy for you to know that since then there's really been no other man in her life. But what about him? Has he been loyal to the Queen? Certainly. But has been faithful? I think so. Others don't.
He certainly enjoys the company of intelligent, attractive younger women. He flirts with them, but does he sleep with them? If he does, he's managed to be incredibly discreet about it across nearly 60 years - and, as one of his female friends put it to me, you CAN have a passionate friendship without going to bed with someone. Quite. Not everybody's Bill Clinton.
Philip says his wife's greatest quality is tolerance. He has given her unswerving support and she has given him leeway. I have seen them together - I've watched them smile at one another across a crowded room - and there's a mutual conspiracy going on there. Nobody is quite normal with the Queen. She is the Queen after all. The one person in the world - the only person - who treats her simply as a woman is her husband. And, in the same way, the only person who can turn to the Duke of Edinburgh and say, 'Philip, do shut up!' is the Queen. And she does.
By Gyles Brandreth