Royal romance: Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth's love story

Princess Elizabeth was just 13 when she fell head over heels for young naval cadet Philip Mountbatten, Prince of Greece and Denmark in 1939. They began exchanging letters and three years later the two were photographed at Philip's cousin's wedding. Photo: Getty Images.

The newly-engaged couple beamed at each other on July 10, 1947, almost a year after Prince Philip proposed in secret. Elizabeth's father, King George VI, asked for the public announcement be delayed until the princess's 21st birthday. Photo: Getty Images.

The future queen danced with her fiancé for the first time in public at a ball in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 15, 1947. Photo: Getty Images.

The happy couple tied the knot on November 20, 1947 but it wasn't without great sacrifice on Philip's part. He had to renounce his claim to the Greek and Danish thrones, become a British subject and give up his title of Prince Philip in order to marry his love. Photo: Getty Images.

The Prince and Princess were the picture of wedded bliss on their honeymoon at Broadlands, Hampshire before moving into Clarence House, London to begin married life in earnest. Photo: Getty Images.

With the sudden death of her father in 1952, Elizabeth became queen at just 25-years-old. Ahead of her coronation the following year Prince Philip was required to abandon his promising military career to serve as his queen's "liege man of life and limb." Photo: Getty Images.

In 1960, proud parents Philip and Elizabeth were pictured on the grounds of Balmoral Castle with three of their four children - Anne, baby Andrew and Charles. Edward would join the family four years later. Photo: Getty Images.

The Prince and his wife - who he affectionately called 'cabbage' - made time for fun while on official royal duty. Here the pair grin and wave madly from a train in May 1977. Photo: Getty Images.

While their love and respect for one another endured, Philip - pictured with the Queen at a state banquet in 1970 - reportedly struggled with some aspects of his role as prince consort. Photo: Getty Images.

Despite her husband never formally becoming king, the Queen made it clear that Prince Philip had "place, pre-eminence and precedence" next to her ahead of their son and heir Prince Charles. Photo: Getty Images.

At the royal couple's golden wedding anniversary in 1997 the Queen paid tribute to her husband in her speech, calling him her "strength and stay all these years". Photo: Getty Images.

To celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary in 2007, Prince Philip showed off his romantic side by taking his wife back to Broadlands where they spent their first night as a married couple. Photo: Getty Images.

In 2019, after 72 years of marriage, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tweeted a sweet photo of the Queen and Prince on their 1947 honeymoon alongside a more recent snap. Photo: Twitter/KensingtonRoyal.

When Philip retired from official royal duties in 2017, he retreated to Wood Farm on the Queen’s private Sandringham estate while Elizabeth remained at Buckingham Palace to continue her role as monarch. The COVID-19 crisis saw the pair reunited at Windsor Castle in March, 2020. Photo: Getty Images.