Happy Anniversary!

It was love at first sight! Nothing arranged about this marriage!

On this day in 1947 (that would be 72 years ago), Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth (Princess Elizabeth at the time) were married.

In a lavish wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, Princess Elizabeth married  her distant cousin, Philip Mountbatten, a dashing former prince of Greece and Denmark who renounced his titles in order to marry the English princess.

Princess Elizabeth, heir to the British throne, was 21 years old. Philip Mountbatten, age 26, had fought as a British naval officer during World War II and was made the Duke of Edinburgh on the eve of his wedding to Elizabeth. The celebrations surrounding the wedding of the popular princess lifted the spirits of the people of Britain, who were enduring economic difficulties in the aftermath of World War II.

Designer Norman Hartnell’s bridal gown submission was chosen from many applicants but not approved until mid-August, giving him less than three months to complete the extravagant design. He also designed the bridesmaid dresses. The rationing rules that followed World War II still applied to the princess herself. In order to complete her dress, including a 15-foot train that attached at the shoulders, and those of her eight bridesmaids, then-Princess Elizabeth needed to pay with clothing rationing coupons.

Elizabeth wore satin head to toe. Her shoes were made by Edward Rayne, accented with silver and seed pearl buckles.

The official wedding cake, which was baked by McVitie and Price, went on to be nicknamed ‘The 10,000 Mile Cake’ because the ingredients used to make it came in from all around the world. The cake was made with British flour and granulated sugar, demerara sugar from Trinidad, butter, almonds and frozen eggs from Australia, and syrup from Barbados.

The cake was adorned with the coat of arms of both families, including the monograms of the bride and groom, sugar-iced figures of their favorite activities, and regimental and naval badges.

On February 6, 1952, the death of King George VI sent Elizabeth to the throne, and Philip ended his naval career to concentrate on his new duties as consort of the British monarch. Elizabeth and Philip eventually had four children–Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

And, as they say, “the rest is history”!

Queen Elizabeth, now 93 years old and still going strong, has had an amazing career seeing the world change so dramatically throughout her reign. Prince Philip is still by her side although he retired from royal duties in the past couple of years.

Hip, hip, horay! Hip, hip, horay!

Thanks, history.com for helping us with this information.