Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Style at Large
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    The ultimate daily digest for women of power, purpose, and style.


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Early Black Friday
    • Satin Bags
    • Hopeful Books
    • 'The Body'
    • Deer Print
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Queen Elizabeth "Flushed Scarlet" Following One Comment From Prince Philip, According to Royal Biographer

    "They never completely softened with old age."

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 3 May 2026 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Queen Elizabeth II wears a bright pink suit with matching hat and Prince Philip smirks during The Patron's Lunch celebrations for The Queen's 90th birthday at The Mall on June 12, 2016
    (Image credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Queen Elizabeth's love story with Prince Philip is one for the ages. The pair tied the knot on November 20, 1947, and remained married until Prince Philip's death on April 9, 2021. And according to those who knew the couple, there was heat between them throughout their long marriage.

    According to royal author Ian Lloyd, in his book The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, "The Queen lit up when [Prince Philip] was around, when he walked into a room or when he paid her a compliment." Basically, the couple stayed very much in love through the decades.

    Per Lloyd, "Once, her dress designer, the late Ian Thomas, was making some adjustments to the hemline of her dress when Philip happened to walk past the open door and he said, 'Hmm, nice dress.'"

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    The royal author continued, "Thomas said The Queen 'flushed scarlet’ at the compliment. They never completely softened with old age."

    Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Balmoral, Scotland, 1972. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    "Philip happened to walk past the open door and he said, 'Hmm, nice dress.'"

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    The Queen

    Ian Lloyd
    'The Queen'
    $1
    SHOP NOW

    Lloyd also shared that Queen Elizabeth looked to her husband for advice throughout her life.

    You may like
    • Prince Philip wearing a suit looking thoughtful Prince Philip Revealed the Most Important Decision He Ever Made
    • Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attend the launch of The Queen's Baton Relay for the XXI Commonwealth Games at Buckingham Palace on March 13, 2017 Queen Elizabeth Greeted Prince Philip "Wearing a False Beard"
    • Queen Elizabeth smiling at a horse Queen Elizabeth’s Face “Lit Up” About Horses and One Surprising Topic

    "Elizabeth was to rely on [Philip] even more as the touchstone for the values she grew up with: duty, self-sacrifice, service to Queen and country," the biographer explained. "They spoke every day on the telephone from wherever they happened to be."

    Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were thrown together for an extended period of time during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    The ultimate daily digest for women of power, purpose, and style.

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    "Philip left Wood Farm and joined The Queen at Windsor and over the summer at Balmoral," Lloyd noted. "It was the longest the two had been together, apart from their early tours and their time in Malta as a young naval couple, and was no doubt a consolation to her following his death just 12 months later."

    Prince Philip attends Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in May 2018

    "The Queen 'flushed scarlet’ at the compliment."

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Although Elizabeth and Philip weren't big on PDA, they seemingly had a very flirty relationship in private, which is endearing.

    Explore More
    Queen Elizabeth II Prince Philip relationships Romance marriage
    CATEGORIES
    Sex and Love
    Amy Mackelden
    Amy Mackelden
    Social Links Navigation
    Weekend Editor

    Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

    Read more
    Queen Elizabeth smiling at a horse
    Royals Queen Elizabeth’s Face “Lit Up” About Horses and One Surprising Topic
    By Kristin Contino
    Queen Elizabeth wearing a pink coat and hat walking next to Princess Kate
    Royals Queen Elizabeth Admired One Important Aspect of Kate Middleton's Life
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Queen Elizabeth gritting her teeth in a pink hat and coat
    Royals One Actor Recalls Queen Elizabeth's "Homicidal Horse Routine"
    By Kristin Contino
    King Charles and Queen Camilla wearing tweed jackets and kilts sitting next to each other
    Royals King Charles Treats Queen Camilla Differently Than Diana in One Major Way
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    Amelia and Eliza Spencer wearing silver and gold gowns
    Royals Amelia and Eliza Spencer Support Cousin Prince William in Sparkling Gowns
    Prince George smiling in a white shirt
    Royals Prince George Takes After Prince Philip and King Charles With Incredible Skill
     
     
    Princess Kate wearing a gray suit and maroon turtleneck
    Royals Princess Kate Admits She Was Told Her Cancer Recovery "Would Not Be Linear"
    Princess Kate wearing a maroon sweater and tweed jacket leaning against a tree
    Royals Princess Kate Wears the Ultimate Countryside Chic Outfit in New Portrait
     
     
    Latest in News
    Ariana Grande was spotted on the Focker-in-Law press tour in a fuzzy jacket, jeans, the heeled ballet flats trend, and matching mittens
    Celebrity Style This Ballet Flats Trend Looks So Wintery With Ariana Grande's Fuzzy Jacket and Gloves
    Amelia and Eliza Spencer wearing silver and gold gowns
    Royals Amelia and Eliza Spencer Support Cousin Prince William in Sparkling Gowns
     
     
    Amanda Seyfried attended a Tiffany & Co. event in Aligne's London girl-beloved George Coat
    Celebrity Style New York and London Girls Agree: Everyone Needs This Casually Chic Aligne Coat
    Prince George smiling in a white shirt
    Royals Prince George Takes After Prince Philip and King Charles With Incredible Skill
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.