A royal love affair: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth II was not quite the Queen of Hearts due to the royal lifestyle and protocols that she had to follow, which prohibited her from getting too close to society. Yet, it did not mean she was distant from her own in her personal life. Queen Elizabeth II had the utmost respect for her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip for which she was encouraged to pen a memorable speech on their 50th marriage anniversary, on November 20, 1997.

The Queen, who was not accustomed to showing affection in public, stumped the world by acknowledging her gratitude to her husband. "Philip has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years," she said, acknowledging the depth of their relationship. "I, and his whole family and this and many countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or shall ever know," said Elizabeth.

The exceptional couple first met at Britannia Royal Naval College in 1939, when the young Princess Elizabeth was only 13 and the handsome Philip was an 18-year-old cadet.

It was love at first sight and the royals never thought of anyone else since they first met. Their courtship began by exchanging letters. Despite Philip's stately title, there was some minor resistance from the crown to allowing the courtship between the young royals. Many considered Philip 'too foreign' to be a suitable partner for Elizabeth, but the young princess was insistent having fallen in love with the handsome prince.

In July 1947, Philip was given a new anglicised name Mountbatten, and to be the future partner of the royal he had to give up the rights to the Greek and Danish thrones.

In November of the very same year, the couple, very much in love with each other, wed in front of 2000 people at the Westminster Abbey.

And the love story continued there onwards until Philip's passing last year on April 9, at the age of 99. The following year Elizabeth, his one true love would follow, joining him in the heavens, on September 8, 2022.