THE QUEEN and Prince Philip have rewritten the record books since their marriage in 1947.
The 91-year-old Queen became the longest reigning British monarch in history last year, while Philip, 96, claimed the title of oldest-ever male member of the Royal Family.
CAMERA PRESS: A smiling Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip celebrate their engagement in 1947
The Duke of Edinburgh has been a constant at the Queen’s side, and has watched her outlast 13 prime ministers and 11 US Presidents.
The couple first met when Princess Elizabeth was 13, and Philip was a dashing young naval officer.
The pair soon became pen pals – and eight years later they married in Westminster Abbey, in front of 2,000 guests in a ceremony broadcast to 200 million radio listeners worldwide.
As they approach their Platinum Anniversary later this month, we take a look back at a truly remarkable relationship in pictures.
PA:PRESS ASSOCIATION: Queen Elizabeth made a rare public show of the humour that forms such a vital part of her 70-year marriage to Philip when she giggled at the sight of him in full dress uniform in 2005
PA:PRESS ASSOCIATION: The future Queen married Philip at Westminster Abbey in 1947
Philip escorts a royal tour around the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, Devon, in 1940. From left, a young Philip, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, King George VI and Princess Elizabeth
PA:PRESS ASSOCIATION: Her Majesty paid tribute to the vital role Prince Philip has paid played in her life, saying: “throughout he has been a constant strength and guide.”
GETTY IMAGES: The royal couple share a joke over the Singer sewer machine presented as a wedding gift from the Provost and Council of Clydebank, where the Singer factory was based
GOFF PHOTOS: The Queen celebrates their 50th wedding anniversary at the Guildhall, London in 1997
REX FEATURES: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh celebrate their Golden wedding anniversary
REX FEATURES
EPA: Royal Family at Trooping the Colour in 2015
GETTY IMAGES: Tender moment . . . baby Anne seems to be trying to silence doting father Philip in the first colour photo of the Princess, taken in 1951, in the arms of her mother the Queen. Her brother Prince Charles in more interested in the camera
GETTY IMAGES: His gentle side . . . Prince Philip was something of a James Bond character in the Forties, but grew into marriage
GETTY IMAGES: In full regalia at the State Opening of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, during their 1977 Silver Jubilee tour
GETTY IMAGES: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip married in 1947 and had four children
GETTY IMAGES: Prince Philip stood down from public engagements after 70 years of Royal service
CORBIS: Prince Philip escorts his new bride Elizabeth out of Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947
GETTY IMAGES: Arm-in-arm and gazing into each others eyes, honeymooners Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip enjoy a stroll at his uncle’s home, Broadlands, Hampshire
GETTY IMAGES: Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth on board the destroyer Crusader, bound for Victoria in British Columbia on their 1951 Commonwealth tour
EYEVINE: Appropriately-dressed Prince Philip is clearly enjoying a country dance with Princess Elizabeth in Ottawa on their visit to Canada in 1951
GETTY IMAGES: Prince Philip admires the view from a bridge at Sagana Lodge in Kenya on the eve of the death of the Princess’s father George VI in 1952
PA:PRESS ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE: A young Charles and Anne being pushed on a swing by their father Prince Philip in the grounds of Balmoral in the 1950s
GETTY IMAGES: Cheery salutes from the Queen, holding a young Prince Edward, husband Philip, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles and Princess Anne from the steps of royal retreat Frogmore House in Windsor in April 1965
GETTY IMAGES: Prince Philip wearing a bold Hawaiian top with the Queen aboard Britannia during their silver wedding celebrations in 1972
CAMERA PRESS: The Duke, Queen, Prince Charles and Princess Anne meet US President Nixon during the filming of a BBC documentary, The Royal Family, in 1968
GETTY IMAGES: Cosying up for their wedding photo at Balmoral in 1972 – a loving snap used for a Silver Jubilee stamp in Oz five years later
GETTY IMAGES: The Duke and Queen laugh at the expense of recruits performing for them at a military camp in Wales, in May 1963
and then