Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the reception for “A Celebration of Novia Scotia” in Halifax, Canada in 2010 (Photo by Chris Jackson-Pool/Getty Images) By Pearl Yan November 22, 2019
Queen Elizabeth, 93, and Prince Philip, 98, marked their 72nd wedding anniversary on Wednesday, having tied the knot on November 20, 1947. The royal couple reportedly spent the day apart, with the Queen occupied with official duties at Buckingham Palace and Prince Philip, having retired from royal duty in August 2017, remained at Sandringham, about 110 miles from London.
To celebrate the special occasion, Prince William and Duchess Kate of Cambridge took to social media to share sweet tributes to the Queen and her husband with a black and white picture of the couple, followed by a more recent photo of the two laughing, while Prince Philip looks at the Queen.
The caption on the official Kensington Palace Instagram account reads: “Wishing Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh a very happy 72nd Wedding Anniversary!”
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Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex also gave their special shoutout with a throwback picture of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh riding in a royal carriage. “Happy anniversary to Her Majesty The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh! On this day, seventy-two years ago, they were married at Westminster Abbey, ” the couple wrote in the caption. “Many congratulations!”
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Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark first met at a wedding in 1934. After they met again at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1939, the year when Philip joined the British Royal Navy, the two began to exchange letters.
The engagement of the pair was officially announced on July 9, 1947, shortly followed by a grand wedding ceremony which took place on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey—the same place where Prince William and Kate Middleton got married in 2011.
Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and naval Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten (later Duke of Edinburgh) photographed for the first time since the announcement of their engagement, on July 10, 1947 (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 
Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II with her husband Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, after their marriage, 1947 (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
After the marriage, Elizabeth gave birth to her firstborn, Prince Charles on November 14, 1948, and her only daughter, Princess Anne on August 15, 1950. Her Majesty gave birth to Prince Andrew only a decade after welcoming Princess Anne, followed by her youngest child, Prince Edward.
Then Princess Elizabeth with her husband Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh and their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne in 1951 (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
Together, the couple have lived a lifetime of milestones in their 72 years of marriage—the longest royal marriage in British history. The secret to their longevity is, according to the duke, “tolerance”. As he said in a toast to the Queen on their golden anniversary in 1997, “The main lesson that we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage. It may not be quite so important when things are going well, but it is absolutely vital when the going gets difficult.”
Netflix responded to the royal anniversary with a tweet, jokingly warn about spoilers for its historical drama series The Crown, which just released its third season last weekend.
HEY! NO SPOILERS!!! pic.twitter.com/m6qbXQiYzZ
— Netflix US (@netflix) 20 November 2019
See also: The Most Memorable Royal Engagement Rings
