Official Wedding Photo, 1947

This photo is charming for a lot of reasons but also because I think you can see on both their young little faces that this has been a LONG DAY already.  Philip was, as we all know, very handsome and dashing, and I always want to high-five Her Majesty -- you know, theoretically -- for kicking off this branch of the royal family's habit of Marrying Hot People. She was no dumb-dumb on that front. (I guess it's also easier to Marry Hot People when you're not obligated to Marry A Person With Very Useful Land Holdings, or A Person Whose Dad Is Usually Super Pissed At Us, In Hopes It Will Help.) Also: I love her veil.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's Wedding, 1947

Information Caption identifies everyone for us: "From left to right: King George VI, Princess Margaret, Lady Mary Cambridge, the bride and bridegroom, Queen Elizabeth [the Queen Mum, to us] and Queen Mary [Elizabeth's grandmother]." 

MUCH TO DISCUSS HERE, namely: I am into those headpieces on Margaret and Lady Mary Cambridge, and the hats on the Queen Mum and Mary of Teck are AMAZING, and I love how they're just standing there and chatting and ignoring everyone. The King does not look particularly well here (as I believe he was not, of course), and you can see that he is holding a cigarette.

I also, obviously, looked Lady Mary Cambridge up on Wikipedia. She's cousin to Margaret and Elizabeth, and she apparently did nothing scandalous or dramatic, which was probably nice for her but rather boring for ME. (Her father, who also didn't do anything dramatic other than deciding to have a real job, was one George Cambridge; her grandfather, at least, had an exceptionally long name -- Adolphus Charles Alexander Albert Edward George Philip Louis Ladislaus -- and was once considered for the throne of Hungary, and also allegedly fathered the British woman who was Coco Chanel's muse and also a (possible) British spy who told everyone that Chanel was a Nazi sympathizer.)

The Family Photo, 1947

This photo is amazing. You can enlarge it for a better look if you tap on it (on mobile) or click on the little arrow icon on the right (on desktop). Informative Caption is both VERY helpful and quite long here, so strap in: "The three boys in front, from left to right are: Prince William of Gloucestershire, Prince Michael of Kent, both pageboys, and Prince Richard of Gloucestershire. First row, from left to right, commencing third person: Princess Margaret, The Marquess of Milford Haven (the best man), the bride and bridegroom, Princess Alexandra of Kent (bridesmaid), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Duke of Gloucestershire, the Duchess of Gloucestershire. Woman seated and woman standing behind are unidentified, Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden at far right, wearing spectacles. Second row, from left to right, commencing third person: Countess Mountbatten, the Duchess of Kent, Princess Juliana (regent of Netherlands), Queen Frederika of the Hellenes, Queen Mary, ex-Queen Ena of Spain, Queen Ingrid of Denmark, Queen Frederika of Norway, remainder unidentified. Third row, from left to right, ex-King Peter of Yugoslavia, Earl Mountbatten, Prince Bernhard of Netherlands, King Haakon of Norway, Prince George of Greece, unidentified person, King Frederik of Denmark, King Michael of Romania, remainder unidentified." Almost all of those people look unprepared for this photo to be snapped.

Visiting Paris, 1948

These two look very jovial; the Queen is pregnant with Charles here, but barely (he was born seven months later), which may be why they look so jovial.

In Malta, 1950

This was in Malta, where Philip was stationed, before King George died. Philip was really VERY good-looking; I always think Harry resembles him.

Clarence House, 1951

Princess Anne, calling for silence from men even then.

Balmoral, 1951

For a moment, I truly did think they had plonked little Prince Charles onto an actual deer. King George looks very dashing in his kilt, although he could not have been particularly well here (he died six months letter); he was also a very handsome person.

Braemar Highland Games, 1952

Philip looks like he's regretting the previous night's drinking, right? We're in what I'm calling The Kilts Portion of this slideshow. Some of these black and white photos have exceptional Informative Captions, because they tell us what color everything is, and use a lot of unruly capital letters. To wit: "The Queen Is In Grey And Her Hat Is Trimmed With Yellow Tassels; Prince Philip Wears The Mauve And Grey Balmoral Tartan. They Are Watching The Games At The Braemar Highland Gathering. Their Arrival Yesterday Was Cheered By A Record Games Crowd Of 40,000."

Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation, 1953

Hello, I just fell into a Wikipedia hole reading about The Many Crowns of the Crown Jewels. Please join me! (The reason I fell into this hole was because she never wears this one, because this is one they only plonk on you at your coronation, if I've read everything correctly. It's VERY DRAMATIC, obviously.) They both look very glamorous here.

The Fly Past at the Queen's Coronation, 1953

This photo of the fly-past is rather amazing.  Informative Caption did NOT tell me who everyone is here. That's Charles and Anne in front of Her Maj and Phil, and the Queen Mum and Margaret over there just past Philip, but the rest of these people are mostly mysteries to me. Like, who is The Random Dude In His Ermine Cape? When this photo was published, do you think all of these ladies in waiting (I assume) slammed the paper down next to her toast rack and bitched, "GOD, I look so SLOUCHY here. That tiara was really extremely pokey."

1953

This photo is fabulously dramatic. Here comes Informative Caption of Yore to tell us what color everyone's outfit was, which I appreciate: "The Queen is Seen in A Yellow Tulle Evening Gown Decorated with Sprays of Mimosa and Gold Paillette Embroidery: She is Wearing the Blue Ribbon and Star of the Garter. These Are Some Details of Her Majesty's Diamonds Shown in the Portrait: the Necklace is A Wedding Present From the Nizam of Hyderabad; the Tiara Also A Wedding Present From Queen Mary; the Bow Brooch, Drop Earrings, Bracelet, and Platinum Wristwatch Are Also Set in Diamonds. The Duke of Edinburgh is Wearing the Uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, with Flying Badge On His Sleeve, Having Qualified As A Pilot in the Royal Air Force." To whoever wrote this caption sixty-four years ago: Thank You For Your Service, Sincerely. Also, I think many of these gowns from the early years were part of the exhibit of Her Majesty's outfits that was curated in 2016.

Royal State Visit To Nigeria, 1956

It's sort of fun to see the tiaras that we're so used to seeing on QEII's current head sitting there on her young head. These two have certainly seen a lot of the world together.  I'm sure it's complicated to be married to a ruler, but you can't complain about the travel.

Windsor Castle, 1959

This is a rather wonderful photo. It has EVERYTHING: the Queen's purse, a corgi, a guardsman, a castle, a houndstooth blazer, and I swear to God she just wore that pin the other day. 

John F Kennedy and Jackie Visit London, 1961

This is another one for the piano. We had a conversation recently in which we lamented that we don't think any of the current Younger Royal Women could fit into the Queen's old gowns -- she was TINY TINY, both of waist and in height -- and it's a shame that we probably won't see this number again, because it's DISHY. (You would want to bring out the big sartorial guns for Jack and Jackie.) You can totally tell that Philip is DELIGHTED to get to go escort Jackie Kennedy into dinner on this occasion.

Order of the Thistle, 1962

There are so many opportunities for wearing a plume upon your head when you are a Queen, or married to one.

Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand, 1963

See? EVERYONE has problems with the wind and her skirt on royal tours.

In Windsor, 1963

"Darling, here's a cup for winning this polo thing. Very many congrats."

Leaving St Paul's, 1965

This hat is something else. 

Visiting Tortola, 1966

I must admit, I enjoy that in several of these photos, the Queen looks mildly annoyed with Philip. I doubt that even the happiest of marriages lasts 70 years without a bit of annoyance at one's spouse on occasion.

With Pele in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1968

I mostly included this for Pele. ("Is Pele still alive?" I asked myself. He is VERY still alive.)

Visiting Toronto, 1973

This is a broom-making exhibit during a visit to what Informative Caption is calling "Old Canada" in Toronto. I hope the Queen got a broom to take home and chase the corgis with.

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee, 1977

This is a great photo for a lot of reasons, in part because you can see the amazing light fixture in the room behind them. (I'm surely not the only person who cares about royal light fixtures...am I?)

Everyone But Anne! 1977

The Queen looks SO IRKED with all of these people here; this is also a good reminder that Prince Andrew (who looks about 35 here but is only 17!) was a very handsome young man. 

Royal Windsor Horse Show, 1982

"NO, I am NOT buying a horse named KING PHILIP. Don't be absurd."

The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, 1981

If I may be frank, I mostly included this photo because Princess Anne's hat back there is BONKERS.

Visiting San Francisco, 1983

This is a great picture, all around, from Philip's grin to Elizabeth's VERY 80s sleeves. (Nancy Reagan's outfit, on the other hand, has kind of circled around into being in style again, I feel like.)

The Funeral of the Duchess of Windsor, 1986

First, Kate might pop out wearing this outfit of Diana's at any moment. Second, I feel like Her Majesty's face here very eloquently says, "I KIND OF RESENT HAVING TO HOST A FUNERAL FOR SOMEONE I DISLIKED SO THOROUGHLY." (Although, of course, by the time she died Wallis Simpson had been bedridden with dementia for years, a state which would certainly engender sympathy from anyone, and I don't think the Queen is a hard-hearted person; I do think Wallis Simpson was a real piece of work in addition to being, you know, rather a Nazi, and QE2 allegedly never really forgave her uncle for abdicating and [in her mind] hastening her own father's death, and if it seems odd when we say things like, "the British royal family is one of the world's longest running soap operas," please refer to that sentence.) She's buried at Frogmore, and if you have time for another Wikipedia Deep Dive today, I just fell into a list of royal people whose bodies they keep digging up and moving to other places. FESTIVE!

The Wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, 1986

I was 11 when this wedding happened and I got up in the middle of the night to watch it. I LOVED Fergie's dress and, frankly, still do. Doesn't the woman lavender behind the Queen look like the Dowager Countess back there?  As for the Queen herself, I appreciate that hat.

Trooping the Colour, 1988

Tiny Harry's plotting SOMETHING; Little William is not impressed.

Visiting Washington, DC, 1991

We have perhaps officially found my least favorite gown in the Queen's wardrobe.

Visiting Tampa, 1991

WHAT IS THIS HAT.

Some Event, 1992

Find yourself a man who's this impressed by your ability to read aloud.

Bill Clinton Visits the UK, 1994

This was "a formal photo session for leaders of Allied nations who took part in D-Day, in Portsmouth" and everyone looks like they were up too late the night beforehand. Also, by the time you've been married to the Queen for 70 years, it IS possible you might think, "I've been to so many World War Whatever events, there cannot possibly be another event that I need to attend. BYE."

The Eve of Princess Diana's Funeral, 1997

This was the night prior to Diana's funeral.

The Windsor Horse Show, 1998

This is a great candid shot. 

The Millennium New Year

Here's to a new millennium, and also to this hat.

Charles and Camilla Finally Make It Legal, 2005

I appreciate how both Her Majesty and Camilla's daughter Laura chose to subtly salute the bride's affection for wearing giant feathers on her head with via own chapeaux. I also appreciate how UTTERLY DELIGHTED Wills looks by this entire turn of events. (The Queen ALSO looks super jovial. "FINALLY, we can cross THIS LITTLE ISSUE off my list of things to deal with.")

Visiting the University of Sheffield, 2010

Behold, my new online dating profile pic.

Wills and Kate's Wedding, 2011

Hi, everybody! This was a fun day.

Braemar Gathering, 2012

No one loves traditional log tossing (or whatever) like the Queen.

Visiting Williamsburg, USA, 2007

I'm sure this relationship has had its own ups and downs -- some like any relationship, and some unlike any but a very few in the world -- but these two certainly still seem very fond of one another. It must be very comforting to have a person in your life who has known you so extremely long, and who has been present for the best and worst parts, and is still with you. I read an article in People that noted that one of the things Elizabeth liked about Philip is that he wasn't going to be boring, and I suspect that's true -- and I also respect her for perhaps privately enjoying a splash of drama in her men.

The Obamas Visit London, 2011

Michelle and Her Majesty both look great here (although I don't think she or the Queen knew the photo was being snapped at this exact moment), but my favorite part of this photo is the optical illusion that makes it appear that Philip is saluting. I, too, would salute the Queen's metallic accessories and Michelle's amazing jewelry.

The Obamas Visit London, 2011

Informative Caption tells us, "President Barack Obama holds the chair for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II before she signs a guest book, as First Lady Michelle Obama and Prince Philip stand at right after a reciprocal dinner at Winfield House in London." I also want to salute the optical illusion in THIS photo that made me think, for one thrilling moment, that Michelle went inside and put on a HUGE and dramatic hat.

Official 70th Anniversary Portrait, 2017

The Palace has released several fetching new portraits to mark this anniversary. Informative Caption tells us this is "Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip framed by the Thomas Gainsborough's portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte from 1781. The Queen is wearing a cream day dress by Angela Kelly and a 'Scarab' brooch in yellow gold, carved ruby and diamond, designed by Andrew Grima and given as a personal gift from the Duke to the Queen in 1966."

Official 70th Anniversary Portrait, 2017

This is the third of the other three photos, and it's my favorite of the three. Congrats, you two crazy kids! Rumor has it, they're "celebrating privately" with the rest of the family, so I can only assume everyone except Kate is gonna be HUNGOVER tomorrow. Try not to break anything priceless, you guys.

Retro Royals: It's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's 70th Wedding Anniversary

They've literally been married for a lifetime.