The Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947: Historic photos

As we pay tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkable life and reign, we look back at the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947…

The Queen’s wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in November 1947, when HM Queen Elizabeth II, then the Princess Elizabeth, was just 21 years old. Their long marriage was a mainstay of the queen’s long reign.

On the 20 November 1947, royals from around the world arrived in London for the one of the biggest events of the decade, the wedding of Elizabeth II. The ceremony, held at Westminster Abbey, was attended by royals from Spain, Norway, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands. The Queen was the 10th member of the Royal Family to be married in the Abbey. The first royal wedding to take place there was when King Henry I married Princess Matilda of Scotland on 11 November, 1100.

And, made clear during the moving tribute she made to her husband in a speech at London’s Guildhall in 1997 to mark 50 years of marriage, this relationship has long been a strong and successful one: “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments,” she said. “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know.”

Here are a selection of the most iconic images of this incredible royal couple: