50 Glorious Years: A Celebration

Good morning, we are continuing to explore the life of Queen Elizabeth.  I am going to continue with Elizabeth II’s documentaries until the end of September and then will move on to the Thirty-One Days of Time Team.  This documentary looks at the marriage of Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II and is in honor of their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary.  The run time for this documentary is 49:28.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip fell in love with Prince Philip when he was thirteen years old and they started exchanging letters.  Eight years later they would marry and would be married in Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.  They were one of the most glamorous couples at the time.  They were married while rationing was taking place and the British public lapped up the joyful celebrations.  So, what was their marriage like?

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth’s love story is one for the ages.  She was in love with Prince Philip since she was thirteen years old.  After their wedding, Prince Philip returned to the navy and so Princess Elizabeth was able to enjoy life as a naval wife.  A year after they were married Prince Charles joined the family.  Two years later, Princess Anne joined the family as well.  They were able to secure the succession with the birth of both children. 

Unfortunately, the King’s health deteriorated.  So Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had to take on more and more of his duties.  When he suddenly passed away, his family was devastated by the news.  Both Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth had to adjust to their roles.  Elizabeth had to adjust to her role as Queen and Prince Philip had to adjust to his role as her consort.  They went on their first royal tour together.  They now how had to adjust to public life.

They could relax as a family together in Balmoral.  There they were treated like locals and they had family outings.  However, Queen Elizabeth had to go about her business to be Queen.  She has barely had a break during her time as Queen.  Prince Philip remained stalwart support at her side over the decades. 

Together, at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee she acknowledged the support that Prince Philip had given her during the years of her reign.  When Princess Margaret wanted to marry Peter Townsend, it proved to be one of the challenges that Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth had to navigate together.  It would have been the first time that the public felt the need to comment on the private life of the royals.  Princess Margaret had been struggling with the loss of her father, and Peter Townsend was a shoulder to cry on.  The Queen Mother continued to work in public instead of retiring in the shadows.  Even Prince Philip knew better than to interfere with the bond between Princess Margaret, the Queen, and the Queen Mother.

One thing revealed about the Queen is that she has a thrifty nature.  She always carefully unwrapped her wrapping paper and saved it.  Prince Philip was the boss in the home.  Queen Elizabeth was the boss of the country, so Prince Philip would be the boss in the home.  To learn more about the marriage between Prince Philip and the Queen continue to watch this documentary.

Well, for a documentary on the Queen and Prince Philip’s marriage, the filmmakers seemed to focus too much on the relationship between the Queen and her mother and her sister.  There was no point in talking about those relationships.  This would be one documentary to skip for both the history classroom and for research purposes.