Milestones
Prince Philip
The Queen’s man
UNTIL HER FATHER’S HEALTH BEGAN deteriorating, the couple could have been mistaken for any other happy young husband and wife. She had been just 13 when they met. He was the striking, handsome 18-year-old guide who took her and her sister on a tour of his naval college. During the war, when he was on a battleship in the Mediterranean, she kept his photograph on her dressing table, even though her father didn’t quite approve. They had a spectacular wedding, and had had two children by the time they were traveling in Africa and got the news: her father, King George VI, had died. At age 25, she had succeeded to the British throne as Elizabeth II. Everything also changed for her husband.
A man who was with the couple recalled the transformation that took place on Feb. 6, 1952. Speaking to British newspaper the he said of the succession, “She seemed almost
