Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip wedding photo
With the diamond wedding anniversary (November 20, 2007) of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip nearing, Buckingham Palace released 60 facts of the royal couple to celebrate it. Posted here are facts on the engagement :
1.The Queen is the first British monarch to have celebrated a diamond wedding anniversary.
2. Princess Elizabeth and Philip first met when they attended the wedding of Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece to The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.
3. The engagement between Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN was announced on the 9 July 1947. Philip was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. He joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and after the war, in February 1947, became a naturalised British subject. Philip was required to choose a surname in order to continue his career in the Royal Navy, and adopted Mountbatten, the name of his mother's British relatives. He was created Duke of Edinburgh by King George VI on marriage.
4. The platinum and diamond engagement ring was made by the jewellers, Philip Antrobus, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to Philip's mother.
5. Philip had two stag parties the night before the wedding - the first at the Dorchester to which the press were invited and the second with his closest friends at the Belfry Club.
and Queen's outfits on the day:
12.The Queen's wedding dress was designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, who had submitted designs for the dress in August 1947.
13. The fabric for the dress was woven at Winterthur Silks Limited, Dunfermline, in the Canmore factory, using silk that had come from Chinese silkworms at Lullingstone Castle.
14. The Queen's bridal veil was made of tulle and held by a tiara of diamonds. This tiara was made for Queen Mary in 1919. It was made from re-used diamonds taken from a necklace/tiara purchased by Queen Victoria from Collingwood and Co and a wedding present for Queen Mary in 1893. In August 1936, Queen Mary gave the tiara to Queen Elizabeth from whom it was borrowed by Princess Elizabeth for her wedding in 1947.
15. After the wedding, the dress was exhibited at St James's Palace and was then shown in the capital towns of the British Isles and in Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Preston, Leicester, Nottingham, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Huddersfield.
Click here to check the full 60 facts. Long Live, Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip!