Prince Philip Told the Queen Mother That One Decision Had Done "More for Me Than Anything Else in My Life"
Queen Elizabeth II's husband shared the emotional revelation in a letter to his mother-in-law.
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II tied the knot on November 20, 1947. The couple remained married for 73 years, until Prince Philip's death on April 9, 2021. One royal biographer has detailed Philip and Elizabeth's courtship, including an important revelation the prince once made to his then-future mother-in-law.
In his book Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. Her Story., royal author Robert Hardman discussed the early days of The Queen's romance with Prince Philip.
Per Hardman, "By 1946, [Philip] was finally back...and a regular visitor at the palace. He took Lilibet [Queen Elizabeth II] to see Oklahoma!, a much-needed splash of excitement on the West End stage, and 'People Will Say We're In Love' became 'their' song."
Their romance only continued getting stronger. As Hardman wrote, "Invited to Balmoral as a house guest that summer, Philip was now as keen on Lilibet as she had long been on him." Per the author, at that time, Philip told a friend that he and Elizabeth had started taking their relationship more "seriously" and had begun talking about their future.
"He had finally found the sort of stability and contentment which had been woefully absent from his childhood."
"In September [1946], Philip proposed," Hardman shared.
In a letter to his future mother-in-law, who would later become known as the Queen Mother, Prince Philip shared, "Lilibet's acceptance...had done 'more for me than anything else in my life.'"
As for why Queen Elizabeth's proposal acceptance was so significant in Prince Philip's life, Hardman noted, "He had finally found the sort of stability and contentment which had been woefully absent from his childhood."
"Lilibet's acceptance...had done 'more for me than anything else in my life.'"
As one of Prince Philip's colleagues shared with Hardman, "He had the most appalling childhood, which would explain a lot about him in later life...It was why he could be so brisk but also very sensitive to people from troubled homes."
Basically, building a life with Queen Elizabeth II was extremely consequential to Prince Philip.
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