Queen and Prince Philip celebrate 70th wedding anniversary
CBC News | Posted: November 20, 2017 6:22 PM | Last Updated: November 21, 2017
Peal of bells, new portraits and commemorative stamps mark royal couple's platinum anniversary
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip pose for a photograph in the White Drawing Room pictured against a platinum-textured backdrop at Windsor Castle, England. Elizabeth and Philip are marking 70 years since they wed in London's Westminster Abbey. At the time, Princess Elizabeth was just 21 and Philip was 26.
Below, Elizabeth talks to her husband Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the Royal Horse Show at Windsor, England, on May 12, 1949. She married naval officer Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947. Britain at the time was still economically ravaged by the Second World War.
The royal couple attend a concert at London's Festival Hall in May 1951. Now 91, the Queen is the first British monarch to reach a platinum anniversary. Her husband is now 96.
Then-princess Elizabeth stands with Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne at the couple's London residence at Clarence House in August 1951. Elizabeth became queen in 1952.
The royal couple wave to supporters from the balcony at Buckingham Palace on June 2, 1953 following her coronation at Westminster Abbey. Philip has spent decades supporting his wife in her role as head of state.
U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and his wife Mamie had the opportunity meet the Queen and her husband at the White House on Oct. 17, 1957. Buckingham Palace announced last May that Philip would stop carrying out public engagements this fall, and in August he retired from solo official duties.
Anne, Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward pose for photos with the royal couple on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Dec. 19, 1965.
Charles, Edward at age eight, Andrew at age 12 and Anne at age 22 gather with their parents at Buckingham Palace to mark the royal couple's silver wedding anniversary on Nov. 20, 1972.
Elizabeth and Philip walk on the grounds of Sandringham House on Feb. 4, 1982 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. Sandringham has served as a royal retreat for generations.
Elizabeth and Philip made numerous trips to Canada as a couple. Here they are driven in an open car after attending ceremonies at Victoria Park in Moncton, N.B., on Sept. 24, 1984.
U.S. President George Bush and his wife Barbara stand with the royal couple on Nov. 30, 1993, after Bush had been awarded an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath by the Queen at a private lunch in London.
The royal couple had been through difficult times together, including the death of Princess Diana. Here, Elizabeth and Philip look at tributes left in memory of the Princess of Wales at Buckingham Palace on Sept. 5, 1997. This was ahead of funeral services for Diana, who died following a car crash in Paris days before.
Prince Harry, left, appears with his uncles Andrew and Edward, far right, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to watch the flypast over The Mall of British and U.S. Second World War aircraft from the Buckingham Palace balcony on National Commemoration Day on July 10, 2005, in London. Poppies were dropped from the Lancaster Bomber of the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight as part of the flypast.
The Queen raises her hand during a downpour as she stands with Philip and Charles, Prince of Wales, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 16, 2007, in London. Each year the official birthday of the Queen is commemorated with a military parade and march-past of fully trained, operational troops from the Household Division.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Queen and her husband arrive on stage for the Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill on July 1, 2010, in Ottawa. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh took part in an eight-day tour of Canada in 2010 starting in Halifax and finishing in Toronto. The trip was to celebrate the centenary of the Canadian Navy and to mark Canada Day. The royal couple then headed to New York where the Queen addressed the UN and visited Ground Zero.
The royal couple wave farewell to Australia at the Perth International Airport on Oct. 29, 2011. Thousands turned out for the Queen and Prince Philip's farewell in Perth where she thanked well-wishers at the end of the 10-day visit, her 16th tour of Australia.
Elizabeth and Philip arrive to attend Ladies Day at Royal Ascot race meeting, in Ascot, England, on June 21, 2012.
Elizabeth and Philip sit in the House of Lords as she waits to read the Queen's Speech to legislators in London on May 9, 2012.
The royal couple are shown the Olympic flame at Windsor Castle on Day 53 of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay on July 10, 2012, in Windsor. The Olympic Flame went on a 70-day relay involving 8,000 torchbearers and covered 12,875 kilometres.
Philip, Elizabeth and Prince Charles attend the Braemar Gathering, or highland games, at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on Sept. 1, 2012, in Braemar, Scotland. The event is known worldwide. Each year, thousands of visitors descend on this small Scottish village on the first Saturday in September to watch one of the more colourful Scottish traditions. The gathering has a long history and in its modern form it stretches back nearly 200 years.
The royal couple react as they bid farewell to Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina at the end of their official visit to Windsor Castle on April 11, 2014, in Windsor. Higgins made the first state visit by a president of the republic since it gained independence from neighbouring Britain. The visit came three years after the Queen made a groundbreaking trip to the republic, which helped to heal deep-rooted unease and put British-Irish relations on a new footing.
The royal couple arrive to officially reopen Canada House following an extensive program of restoration and refurbishment, in Trafalgar Square in London on Feb. 19, 2015. Canada House is the official home to the Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom. The building was first opened in 1925 by King George V.
Members of the royal family: Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles; Princess Eugenie; the Queen; Timothy Laurence; Princess Beatrice; Philip; Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Charlotte; Prince George and Prince William watch a fly-past as they appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, after attending the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony in London on June 17, 2017.