Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh

Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding day.
Date	20 November 1947
Location	Westminster Abbey, London, England
Participants	Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The wedding of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh took place on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London.

Engagement

Elizabeth and Philip are second cousins once removed (by descent from Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel) and third cousins (by descent from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert). Elizabeth met Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1934, at the wedding of Philip's cousin Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark to Prince George, Duke of Kent, paternal uncle of Elizabeth, and again in 1937.^[1] After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth—though only 13 years old—fell in love with Philip and they began to exchange letters.^[2] An entry in Chips Channon's diary made reference to the future marriage of Elizabeth and Philip as early as 1941, "He is to be our Prince Consort, and that is why he is serving in our Navy."^[3] The couple became secretly engaged in 1946, when Philip asked King George VI for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King granted his request providing any formal engagement was delayed until Elizabeth's 21st birthday the following April.^[4] Their engagement was officially announced on 9 July 1947.^[5]

The King gave his formal consent to the marriage in his British Privy Council, in accordance with the Royal Marriages Act 1772. The same was done in Canada at a meeting of the King's Canadian Privy Council, with the Chief Justice, Thibaudeau Rinfret, standing in as deputy to the King's representative, the Governor General of Canada.^{[n 1][6]}

Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism and adopted the style "Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten", taking the surname of his mother's British family.^[7] The day before the wedding, King George VI bestowed the style "His Royal Highness" and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in the County of London.^[8]

Wedding

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were married at 11:30 GMT on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.^[9]

Princess Elizabeth was attended by eight bridesmaids: HRH The Princess Margaret (her younger sister), HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent (her first cousin), Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott (daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch), Lady Mary Cambridge (her second cousin), Lady Elizabeth Lambart (daughter of the Earl of Cavan), The Hon. Pamela Mountbatten (Philip's first cousin), The Hon. Margaret Elphinstone (her first cousin) and The Hon. Diana Bowes-Lyon (her first cousin).^[9] Her cousins Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent served as page boys.^[9]

The royal parties were brought in large carriage processions, the first with The Queen and Princess Margaret and later a procession with Queen Mary.^[10] Philip left Kensington Palace with his best man, the Marquess of Milford Haven.^[10] Princess Elizabeth arrived at the Abbey with her father, King George, in the Irish State Coach.^[9]

The wedding ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, and the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett. The ceremony was recorded and broadcast by BBC Radio to 200 million people around the world.^[11] Elizabeth and Philip then proceeded to Buckingham Palace, where a breakfast was held at the Ball Supper-room.^[9] The couple received over 2,500 wedding presents from around the world and around 10,000 telegrams of congratulations.^[9]

Upon their marriage, Elizabeth took the title of her husband and became Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. They departed for their honeymoon at Broadlands in Hampshire, home of Philip's uncle, Earl Mountbatten.^[12]

Clothing

On the morning of her wedding, as Princess Elizabeth was dressing at Buckingham Palace before leaving for Westminster Abbey, her tiara snapped. The court jeweller, who was standing by in case of emergency, was rushed to his work room by a police escort. Queen Elizabeth reassured her daughter that it would be fixed in time, and it was. For her wedding dress she still required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell.^[13] Elizabeth did her own makeup for the wedding.^[14]

Music

William Neil McKie, the Australian organist and Master of the Choristers at the abbey, was the director of music for the wedding, a role he again filled at Elizabeth's coronation in 1953.^[15] McKie also wrote a motet for the occasion, "We wait for thy loving kindness, O God". Psalm 67, "God be merciful unto us and bless us", was sung to a setting by Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow. The anthem was "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" by Samuel Sebastian Wesley; the hymns were "Praise, my soul, the king of heaven", and "The Lord's my Shepherd" to the Scottish tune "Crimond" attributed to Jessie Seymour Irvine, which was largely unknown in the Church of England at the time. A descant to "Crimond" had been taught to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret by a lady-in-waiting, Lady Margaret Egerton; the music for the descant could not be found, so the princesses and Lady Margaret sang it to William McKie, who wrote it down in shorthand.^[16] The service started with a specially composed fanfare by Arnold Bax and finished with Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March". The abbey choir was joined by the choirs of the Chapel Royal and St George's Chapel, Windsor.^[17]

Guests

The bride's family

• The King and Queen of the United Kingdom, the bride's parents
  • The Princess Margaret, the bride's sister
• Queen Mary of the United Kingdom, the bride's paternal grandmother
  • The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the bride's paternal uncle and aunt
    • Prince William of Gloucester, the bride's first cousin
  • The Duchess of Kent, widow of the bride's paternal uncle and the groom's paternal first cousin
    • The Duke of Kent, the bride's first cousin
    • Princess Alexandra of Kent, the bride's first cousin
    • Prince Michael of Kent, the bride's first cousin
• The Earl of Harewood, the bride's first cousin
• Gerald Lascelles, the bride's first cousin
• Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife, the bride's first cousin, once removed
• The Earl of Southesk, widower of the bride's first cousin once removed
  • Lord Carnegie, the bride's second cousin
• The King of Norway, widower of the bride's paternal great-aunt and the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, the bride's first cousin, once removed
    • Princess Ragnhild of Norway, the bride's second cousin
    • Princess Astrid of Norway, the bride's second cousin
    • Prince Harald of Norway, the bride's second cousin
• Princess Patricia, Lady Ramsay and Sir Alexander Ramsay, the bride's first cousin twice removed and her husband
• Princess Helena Victoria, the bride's first cousin twice removed
• Princess Marie Louise, the bride's first cousin twice removed
• The Marquess of Carisbrooke, the bride's first cousin, twice removed
• The Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the bride's paternal great-uncle and great-aunt
  • Lady May Abel Smith and Sir Henry Abel Smith, the bride's first cousin once removed and her husband
    • Miss Anne Abel Smith, the bride's second cousin
    • Miss Elizabeth Abel Smith, the bride's second cousin
• The Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge, the bride's first cousin once removed and his wife
  • Lady Mary Cambridge, the bride's second cousin
• The Duchess and Duke of Beaufort, the bride's first cousin once removed and her husband
• Lady Helena Gibbs, the bride's first cousin once removed

The groom's family

• Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, the groom's mother
• The Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven, the groom's maternal grandmother and the bride's first cousin twice removed
  • The Marchioness of Milford Haven, widow of the groom's maternal uncle
    • Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, the groom's first cousin'
    • The Marquess of Milford Haven, the groom's first cousin
  • The Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma, the groom's uncle and aunt
    • The Lady and Lord Brabourne, the groom's first cousin and her husband
    • Lady Pamela Mountbatten, the groom's first cousin
  • The Crown Princess and Crown Prince of Sweden, the groom's maternal aunt and uncle
• Princess Henry of Prussia, the groom's maternal grandaunt
  • Princess Waldemar of Prussia, widow of the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • Prince and Princess Sigismund of Prussia, the groom's first cousin, once removed, and his wife
    • Princess Barbara of Prussia, the groom's second cousin
    • Prince Alfred of Prussia, the groom's second cousin
• Princess Alexander of Greece, widow of the groom's first cousin
  • Queen Alexandra and King Peter II of Yugoslavia, the groom's first cousin, once removed, and her husband
• The Queen Mother of the Romanians, the groom's first cousin
  • The King of the Romanians, the groom's first cousin, once removed
• The Queen of the Hellenes, wife of the groom's first cousin
  • Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark, the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • The Crown Prince of Greece, the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, the groom's first cousin, once removed
• The Duchess and Duke of Aosta, the groom's first cousin and her husband
  • Prince Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta, the groom's first cousin, once removed
• Princess Katherine, Lady Brandram and Major Sir Richard Brandram, the groom's first cousin and her husband
• Prince and Princess George of Greece and Denmark, the groom's paternal uncle and aunt
  • Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark, the groom's first cousin
  • Princess Dominic Radziwiłł, the groom's first cousin
• Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, widow of the groom's paternal uncle
  • Princess Paul of Yugoslavia, the groom's first cousin
  • The Countess of Toerring-Jettenbach, the groom's first cousin
• Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark, widow of the groom's paternal uncle
  • Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, the groom's first cousin
• Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, widow of the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • The King and Queen of Denmark, the groom's second cousin and his wife
    • Princess Margrethe of Denmark, the groom's third cousin
  • The Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess of Denmark, the groom's second cousin and his wife
    • Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, the groom's third cousin
    • Prince Ingolf of Denmark, the groom's third cousin
    • Prince Christian of Denmark, the groom's third cousin
• Prince and Princess Harald of Denmark, the groom's first cousin, once removed, and his wife
  • Princess Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe, the groom's second cousin
  • Princess Alexandrine, Countess Luitpold of Castell-Castell, the groom's second cousin
  • Prince Gorm of Denmark, the groom's second cousin
  • Prince Oluf of Denmark, the groom's second cousin
• The Duke and Duchess of Västergötland, the groom's first cousin, once removed, and his wife
  • Prince Carl and Princess Elsa Bernadotte, the groom's second cousin and his first wife
    • Countess Madeleine Bernadotte, the groom's third cousin
• Princess Dagmar, Mrs Castenskjold and Mr Jørgen Castenskjold, the groom's first cousin, once removed, and her husband
• Princess Axel of Denmark, wife of the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • Prince George Valdemar of Denmark, the groom's second cousin
  • Prince Flemming Valdemar of Denmark, the groom's second cousin
• Count Erik of Rosenborg, the groom's first cousin, once removed
• Count Viggo and Countess Eleanor of Rosenborg, the groom's first cousin, once removed
• Princess René of Bourbon-Parma, the groom's first cousin, once removed
  • Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma, the groom's second cousin
  • Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, the groom's second cousin
• Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, the groom's first cousin, once removed and the bride's first cousin twice removed
  • The Count and Countess of Barcelona, the groom's second cousin and his wife

Other foreign royalty

Iraq:

• The King of Iraq

Yugoslavia:

• Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia
• Prince Andrew of Yugoslavia

The Netherlands:

• Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands

Belgium:

• The Prince Regent of Belgium

Luxembourg:

• The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
• Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg

Absentees

So soon after the end of World War II, it was not acceptable for the Duke of Edinburgh's German relations, including Philip's three surviving sisters, to be invited to the wedding.^[18] Other notable absentees were the Duke of Windsor, the former king, who was not invited, and his sister, Mary, Princess Royal, who said she was ill. (Her husband, Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood, had died six months before). Ronald Storrs claimed that she did not attend in protest at her brother's exclusion.^[19]

Notes

1. George VI had invited Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King to attend the meeting of the British Privy Council, but King declined and held the meeting of the Canadian Privy Council so as to illustrate the separation between Canada's Crown and that of the UK.

Footnotes

1. Brandreth, pp. 133–139; Lacey, pp. 124–125; Pimlott, p. 86
2. Bond, p. 10; Brandreth, pp. 132–136, 166–169; Lacey, pp. 119, 126, 135
3. Vickers, Hugo (2000). Alice: princess Andrew of Greece. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 317. ISBN 0-312-28886-7.
4. Brandreth, p. 183
5. Heald, p. 77
6. Boyce, Peter John. The Queen's Other Realms: The Crown and Its Legacy in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Sydney: Federation Press. p. 81. ISBN 9781862877009.
7. Hoey, pp. 55–56; Pimlott, pp. 101, 137
8. The London Gazette: no. 38128. p. 5495. 21 November 1947.
9. 60 Diamond Wedding anniversary facts, Official website of the British Monarchy, 18 November 2007, retrieved 20 June 2010
10. "ROYAL: Wedding of HRH Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey", ITN Source, retrieved 13 January 2011
11. Heald, p. 86
12. "Queen releases 60 wedding facts", BBC News, 18 November 2007, retrieved 13 January 2011
13. Hoey, p. 58; Pimlott, pp. 133–134
14. "The Mirror".
15. Wilkinson, James (2011). The Queen's Coronation: The Inside Story. Scala Publishers Ltd. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-85759-735-6.
16. Glover, Raymond F, The Hymnal 1982 Companion: Volume Three B, The Church Hymnal Corporation 1994 (p. 1218)
17. "Weddings: Elizabeth, Princess (later Queen Elizabeth II) & HRH the Duke of Edinburgh", Westminster Abbey
18. Hoey, p. 59; Petropoulos, p. 363
19. Bradford, p. 424

References

• Bond, Jennie (2006). Elizabeth: Eighty Glorious Years. London: Carlton Publishing Group. ISBN 1-84442-260-7
• Bradford, Sarah (1989). King George VI. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-79667-4
• Brandreth, Gyles (2004). Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage. London: Century. ISBN 0-7126-6103-4
• Heald, Tim (2007). Princess Margaret: A Life Unravelled. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-84820-2
• Hoey, Brian (2002). Her Majesty: Fifty Regal Years. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-653136-9
• Lacey, Robert (2002). Royal: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. London: Little, Brown. ISBN 0-316-85940-0
• Petropoulos, Jonathan (2006). Royals and the Reich: the princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516133-5
• Pimlott, Ben (2001). The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-255494-1