Saturday, June 23News For London

The first royal couple celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary

by Star Tang

To celebrate their 70-year marriage, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have been photographed in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.

It is really a milestone that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have reached their platinum wedding anniversary, becoming the first royal couple to do so, after facing ups and downs over the years including the breakdown of three of their four children’s marriages, and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Most netizens congratulate them on Twitter.

We went to Regent Street to ask the public their opinions on the Queen’s long lasting marriage.

Varying opinions from members of the public, but former royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Evening Standard that the Queen and the Duke have set a good example of tolerance, an important element of a successful marriage.

Four portraits taken by British photographer Matt Holyoak, have been released worldwide on the royal family’s Twitter account. In the latest three photographs, the royal couple were pictured in front of a platinum-textured backdrop.

The then Princess Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. They are both directly related to Queen Victoria. The Duke of Edinburgh vowed to act as the Queen’s “eyes and ears” when he married the soon-to-be-monarch.

The royals will celebrate the occasion with a special private dinner on Monday evening and close family and friends are gathering with the couple at Windsor Castle. A full celebratory peal rang out from Westminster Abbey at 1pm. The bells consisted of 5,070 changes or sequences, with the 70 a nod to mark the occasion.