Description

She was peachesandcream innocence he was a handsome war hero Both had royal blood coursing through their veins The marriage of Britains Princess Elizabeth to Lt Philip Mountbatten in November 1947 is remembered as the beginning of an extraordinary lifelong union but success was not guaranteed Elizabeth and Philip A Story of Young Love Marriage and Monarchy plunges us back into 1940s Britain where a teenage Princess fell in love with a foreign Prince Cue fears of a flirtatious Greek fortune hunter stealing off with Englands crown jewel and subsequent efforts by the Establishment to reframe Philip as the perfect fit for Britains most famous family

Drawing on original newspaper archives and the opinions of Elizabeth and Philips contemporaries still alive today historian Dr Tessa Dunlop discovers a postwar world on the cusp of major change Unprecedented polling on Philips suitability was a harbinger of pressures to come for a couple whose marriage was branded the ultimate global fairytale Theirs was a partnership like no other Six years after Elizabeth promised to be an obedient wife Philip got down on bended knee and committed himself as the Queens liege man of life and limb

Published to coincide with the 75th anniversary of their marriage this deeply touching history explores the ups and downs the attraction and the tensions that defined an extraordinary relationship The high stakes involved might have devoured a less committed pair but not Elizabeth and Philip They shared a common purpose one higher even than marriage with roots much deeper than young love Happy and Glorious for better or for worse they were heavily invested in a Godgiven mission Monarchy was the magic word

P 2022 Headline Publishing Group Ltd