Queen Elizabeth & Prince Phillip Celebrate 70th Anniversary

Queen Elizabeth And Prince Williams Are Captured In Heartwarming Photos For Their 70th Wedding Anniversary

In honour of the 70th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip this week, the royal family has released some heartwarming photos of the couple as they celebrate the milestones of their union.

Taken by British portrait photographer Matt Holyoak, the images show the couple in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle. The Queen, 91, wears a yellow gold broach that Philip, 96, gave her decades ago in 1966, according to People.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh wed exactly 70 years ago on Nov. 20, 1947, when she was 21 and he was 26. The ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey — the coveted spot for marriages in the Royal Family. The Queen’s parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth wed there in April 1932, and Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, had their ceremony there in 2011. (Queen Elizabeth was the 10th member of the Royal Family to be married there, according to The Royal Family’s official website.)

Two thousand guests attended their ceremony, which was broadcast to millions worldwide by BBC Radio. Then-Princess Elizabeth wore a gown — decorated with crystals and 10,000 seed pearls — designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, according to the Royal Family.

Six years later, the Queen returned to Westminster Abbey for her coronation after the death of her father, King George VI.

In addition to being the world’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth is now the first to have a platinum wedding anniversary. Since they wed, the couple has had four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

According to sources the landmark ceremony was celebrated by the royal family in a private event.