The great love of Queen Elizabeth II – Part I

Close friends of the Training Centre Raya London, Great Britain has experienced its expected, but nevertheless sad, hour of great loss.  Even we, until recently guests of the Isles, felt sorrow at the passing of the Queen, whose path was an example of renunciation and dedication to the good of the United Kingdom.

Her long dignified life, which spanned many eras and world events, was filled with numerous series of official meetings, visits, charity events and foreign trips that Her Majesty had little personal time for the ones closest to her.

And despite the countless tasks of a queen, she managed to steal time for her personal life and not only that – she received the blessing of true love.  The death of her beloved Prince Philip dealt an irreparable blow to the world of, the otherwise, always steadfast ruler. Let’s follow the romantic royal history of their rich and long relationship!

For the first time, eight-year-old Elizabeth, who was not even in the line of heir to the throne, met thirteen-year-old Philip, at a royal wedding.  Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Duke of Kent, Prince George were getting married.  The year was the distant 1934.  Elizabeth became heir to the throne two years later when she turned 10 and her uncle – Edward VIII – abdicated in favor of his brother, Elizabeth’s father.  The two – Elizabeth and Philip – through their relationship with Queen Victoria, were third cousins, so inevitably family events were an occasion for a new meeting.  But they had to wait another 6 years.  In 1939, Philip (back then 18 years old), was a Royal Officer Cadet in the British Naval Forces.  His task was to accompany the then 13-year-old Elizabeth on her walk through Dartmouth’s Royal Navy College.  After this exciting meeting for the young future queen, she shared with her father, King George VI, she would dedicate her feelings to Philip alone.  The prince with a difficult fate, whose family was forced to leave Greece, became her dream. Obviously, the young princess’ intentions found a suitable echo in Philip’s heart and 8 years later their engagement was officially announced in 1947.  According to biographers, the prince proposed at Balmoral Castle, the same place from which the queen set off on her eternal journey. To make the ring he gave her, a diamond was taken from the tiara of his noble mother – the exiled princess Alice of Battenberg.

Consequently, in the autumn of the same 1947, the royal wedding took place in London’s Westminster Abbey – a place that had already welcomed nine other members of the royal family in their marriage ceremonies. However, unlike the other events, this was the first to be televised. Thus, people from all over the world became witnesses of this historical moment. Princess Elizabeth’s stunning, crystal-embroidered dress was paid in food stamps, as the world was at war at the time.  Even the famous “peaceful warrior” Mahatma Gandhi sent a wedding gift from India.

As a place for the honeymoon of the two, the picturesque Hampshire was chosen, as well as the Balmoral estate.  Photographs from that time show their faces illuminated by the happiness of love and youth. Unlike the “obligatory” royal marriages, described even in fairy tales, this one was filled with love and mutual admiration.

Dear friends, diligently learning English, to read the beginning of this story in English use the button in the upper right corner on our website! Compare the two texts and find the unknown words in the translation. Learn them and wait for the next part about the dream come true of our remarkable monarch!

Photo: nbcwashington

Author: Iveta Radeva