Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip Celebrate 70 Years Wedding Anniversary

Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip marked their wedding anniversary with a small family get-together on Monday, a complete contrast from what they had 70 years ago.
The couple married at Londonβs Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947, just two years after the end of World War Two, in a glittering ceremony which attracted statesmen and royalty from around the world and huge crowds of cheering well-wishers.
Elizabeth, now 91, and her 96-year-old husband, who retired from active public life in August, will celebrate the milestone with a private party at Windsor Castle, the monarchβs home to the west of London.
However, the Abbey itself will mark the occasion with a full peal of its bells involving 5,070 changes of sequences, with the 70 reflecting the anniversary, which will last more than three hours.
βCongratulations to The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh as they celebrate their Platinum Wedding anniversary,β Prime Minister, Theresa May, said on Twitter.
βThey have devoted their lives to the service of the UK and the Commonwealth β my best wishes to them both on this special occasion.β
The wedding of Princess Elizabeth, as she then was, to the dashing naval officer Philip Mountbatten was seen as raising the nationβs spirits amid an austere background of rationing and shortages that followed the war.
βMillions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of colour on the hard road we have to travel,β said former Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
Five years later, Elizabeth succeeded her father George VI on the throne and has ruled for the following 65 years, more than any other monarch in British history, with Philip by her side throughout.
βThe support he gives to my grandmother is phenomenal,β Prince Harry said in a documentary to mark her 60th year on the throne.
βRegardless of whether my grandfather seems to be doing his own thing, sort of wandering off like a fish down the river, the fact that heβs there β I personally donβt think that she could do it without him.β
While the coupleβs marriage has remained strong, three of their four children have seen their unions end in divorce, most notably heir Prince Charlesβs ill-fated union with his late first wife Princess Diana.
βHe has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,β Elizabeth said in a speech to mark the coupleβs 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.
Royal historian Hugo Vickers said the secret of their long marriage was their mutual support and devotion to duty.
βThey donβt waste a jolt of time wondering whether we like them or not β they just get on with the job,β he said.
βOn the occasions, when I have been lucky enough to see them together, they always look incredibly comfortable in each otherβs company.β