Possible Husbands for Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II)

[Midwestern Mom]

Well at least Elizabeth had the sense to marry a tall man!

MM

 

[nascarlucy]

Interesting blog. I guess Queen Elizabeth as a young woman made up her mind very early on about who she loved.

 

[Grandduchess24]

Were there even other candidates as husband for the future Queen because it was Phillip she first loved and married and has been with presently.

 

[Russophile]

And yes, I do believe she knew from a very early age what she was expected to do.

Funny you should mention that. I am just tucking into Sally Bedell Smith's book "Elizabeth, the Queen" And in her preface am struck by those very same words. Especially in regards to Prince Philip whom she knew, at 13 she was going to marry.

 

[Kataryn]

Funny you should mention that. I am just tucking into Sally Bedell Smith's book "Elizabeth, the Queen" And in her preface am struck by those very same words. Especially in regards to Prince Philip whom she knew, at 13 she was going to marry.

That's an interesting point. I just read an article which said that Elizabeth was 14 when she became heiress presumptive of her father. Before that she was just a minor princess because it was expected that her uncle Edward would get suitably married and have children of his own.

So I wonder if at 13 she had any idea that she was falling in love not only with a minor prince who would make a suitable husband for a princess somewhat removed from the line but with a future consort? And did the view on a potential relationship change when she realised she was to become queen one day? Maybe she had already recognized the enormous strength of character in Philip, so this added a whole new level of longing for his support in her difficult future situation.She surely was a girl of her time, not brought up to become queen and she saw her father struggle with his position and duties. She surely recognized the strength her mother offered her father and had seen the weakness of her uncle. So surely this had an influence in her very early conviction that Philip was the right man for her? As it turned out, she was right and if reports of close relatives are to believed, she could always count on Philip to be a source of strength and support. And surely even a queen wants to be cuddled and spolied at home by her husband when in private and in return letting him believe in his maleness?

 

[NGalitzine]

^^^
Elizabeth became heiress presumptive to the throne at the age of 10 (not 14) so when she met Philip at age 13 she had already known she would likely be a future queen for 3 years.

 

[Iluvbertie]

...an article which said that Elizabeth was 14 when she became heiress presumptive.

Elizabeth was born in 1926. Edward became King and abdicated in 1936. Therefore Elizabeth became heiress presumptive in 1936 aged 10. As the eldest of two daughters with no son she therefore became heiress presumptive on the day of the abdication. She was never a 'minor princess' as from birth until January 1936 she was 3rd in line (the same position Harry is now) and throughout 1936 she was 2nd - the position William is now before moving into 1st position in December 1936.

As her parents ruled out any attempt to try for a son (Elizabeth the Queen Mother by that time was 36 and she had had trouble getting pregnant both times previously anyway - there have been reports that they actually needed to use artificial means to get her pregnant - because of her or him I don't know and she also had to have ceasarians for both deliveries) so from the age of 10 years and 8 months Elizabeth knew that there was an excellent chance that she would be Queen one day.

Falling in love at 13 with her cousin wasn't something she did with an eye for a future consort but simply because she fell in love with a young man - something that happens all the time. That Philip was the ideal consort material for a future Queen as he knew the ropes of royal life, having grown up with it - being related to monarchs, including the British (being a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria himself as is The Queen) and having a grandmother who lived in Kensington Palace - where he often stayed just made it a better match for Elizabeth. Philip's first cousin was also, by then, HRH The Duchess of Kent who was, by 1936, Elizabeth's Aunt Marina having married her father's younger brother.
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[Baroness of Books]

It was always my understanding as well that the young Elizabeth first fell in love with the 18-year-old Philip when she was 13 on a visit with her family to Dartmouth College where he was a student. He apparently made quite an impression on her as he was showing them around. This is an interesting story from the DM along with a photo of their supposed first meeting at Dartmouth:

First meeting: The moment the Queen first set eyes on Prince Philip | Mail Online

 

[Iluvbertie]

I highly doubt that that was the first time they actually saw each other. They definitely both attended the Duke of Kent's wedding and both were frequent visitors to the Kents - whether they ever were there at the same time is of course not known.

I do believe it is the first time they noticed each other in anything other than a 'that's cousin Elizabeth, that's cousin Philip' type of way - like Diana and Charles - knew each other before becoming aware of each other romatically.

Lord Mountbatten was a good friend of the King's who had ambitions for his nephew so it is highly doubtful that he wouldn't have ensure that they were in the same place sometimes in the previous years and he was the one who ensured that Philip was the one who showed Elizabeth and Margaret around.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Oh, yes, Lord Mountbatten - the enterprising matchmaker!

 

[Daria_S]

It was always my understanding as well that the young Elizabeth first fell in love with the 18-year-old Philip when she was 13 on a visit with her family to Dartmouth College where he was a student. He apparently made quite an impression on her as he was showing them around. This is an interesting story from the DM along with a photo of their supposed first meeting at Dartmouth:

First meeting: The moment the Queen first set eyes on Prince Philip | Mail Online

Interesting article. He didn't have an easy life before his marriage, and I think that alone taught him to rely on himself as well as how to be a good support system for someone else who may be in a difficult situation.

 

[Kataryn]

Elizabeth was born in 1926. Edward became King and abdicated in 1936. Therefore Elizabeth became heiress presumptive in 1936 aged 10.

Thank you for the information.
I got it wrong from that article: The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Gloriana for our times - Telegraph

"Although ostensibly heir to the throne, it would have been taken for granted in the 1920s and Thirties that the future Duke of Windsor would have married someone suitable and produced heirs. It was only when she was 14 that the then Princess Elizabeth became heir-presumptive on the abdication of her uncle. "

So obviously not even the Telegraph is trustworthy when it comes to dates....

 

[democratnmonocole]

Elizabeth was born in 1926. Edward became King and abdicated in 1936. Therefore Elizabeth became heiress presumptive in 1936 aged 10. As the eldest of two daughters with no son she therefore became heiress presumptive on the day of the abdication. She was never a 'minor princess' as from birth until January 1936 she was 3rd in line (the same position Harry is now) and throughout 1936 she was 2nd - the position William is now before moving into 1st position in December 1936...

In regards to the whole "major royal" thing... from Ben Pimlott's biography "The Queen": "Why the Home Secretary needed to attend the birth of the child of a MINOR MEMBER of the Royal Family was a mystery..." (pg. 1) While she was only third-in-line until 1936 and Pimlott goes on to write that when she was first born, she had considerable attention, in due course she would have been supplanted (remember that the Princess Anne was second-in-line and very prominent in terms of media exposure until Diana entered the Family) Aside from royal tours of Northern Ireland in 1924, the Near East and India in 1925 and Australia and New Zealand in 1927, the Duke and Duchess of York rarely carried out major public duties and lived quietly in Piccadilly, Windsor and Birkhall. Most of the attention was focused on Edward as heir apparent. It was a MUCH different time. There was much more deference to the Royal Family and a heck of a lot more privacy. I've read in Bradford's biography of King George VI and Lacey's biography of the Queen, that the Yorks were rarely bothered too much by media attention because everyone believed Edward would settle down in due course and produce heirs.
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[ladongas]

...(remember that the Princess Anne was second-in-line and very prominent in terms of media exposure until Diana entered the Family).

Anne was second in line only until Prince Andrew was born, and she fell to fourth in line after Prince Edward's birth.
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[democratnmonocole]

I meant from age 2 to 9, when thee Prince Andrew was born. But my statement is still valid because she was the third highest-ranking woman in the Kingdom after the Queen and the Queen Mother until the Princess of Wales came into the Family. The Princess Margaret took on less importance after her divorce and being pushed down the line of succession to fifth. I miswrote. Apologies for any confusion.

 

[Spheno]

"The most important baby in the British Empire"

This is article from 1928:

Royal Musings: The most important baby in the British Empire
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[Pranter]

I read in a book that the Queen Mother was leaning toward her marrying an Englishman (there were a few Dukes etc that would of been eligible).


LaRae

 

[fandesacs2003]

Very interesting article. Why in 1928, it was very unlikely that he will ever marry? Was he already with Wallis Simpson??

In 1928, the Prince of Wales was 34 years old, not a desperate age to wed? I do not understand how the article can opennly alledge that "seems unlikely" to ever marry.

 

[Spheno]

maybe it is because of his playboy lifestyle

 

[fandesacs2003]

maybe it is because of his playboy lifestyle

And so what? He would not be the first Prince playboy to make a convenience marriage and continue his "happy" life.

 

[NGalitzine]

And so what? He would not be the first Prince playboy to make a convenience marriage and continue his "happy" life.

True, but he did seem to prefer to be involved with women who were already married and showed little to no interest in women who were single and available.
Mrs Simpson was not the first married woman with whom he carried on a long relationship. She was preceded by Freda Dudley Ward and Thelma, Viscountess Furness.

 

[Queen Camilla]

The Chicago Tribune deserves mention for rightly predicting 24 years ahead of time Queen Elizabeth II.

The English people were in the dark for so many years.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Even her birth details in the British papers referred to the possibility that she could become Queen so the above report was hardly suggesting something new when the British papers (I have the editorials from The Times and The Telegraph at the time of her birth somewhere in this house - my grandmother's family would send them to my grandmother every week, along with other stories from Britain and she kept many of them as did my mother) had been saying the same thing for 2 years by 1928.

It was rare for an heir to the throne to not be married by his mid-late 20s so that possibility was already in the minds of people as Edward reached and past 30.

 

[padams2359]

Well considering the fact the PE was childless, unmarried, and there were no viable prospects for a suitable wife at the time of QE2's birth, it was definately a possibility she would rule one day, with or without the accession of KGVI.

 

[BritishRoyalist]

I think HM the Queen knew she would marry Philip from the day she meant him. I think her heart was always set on him.

There no doubt that The Queen probably had a few requests for her hand in Marriage. I am sure for a lot of parents In Aristocracy classes like the thought of their son marrying the Future Queen. But The Queen always had her mind set on Philip.

 

[Alison H]

Everyone seems to agree that the Queen was only ever interested in Philip.

She was 13 when war broke out and 19 when the war ended, and it was a good year after that before all the men were demobbed, so the usual social events where she might have met other potential suitors just didn't happen, and it sounds as if she and Philip had an "understanding" before the end of the war anyway.

I think it's a lovely story, actually . They've been married for nearly 66 years, and "together" for around 70 years - not many couples can say that! Setting eyes on "the one" when you're 13 and being together when you're 87, he's 92 and you're great-grandparents is amazing .

 

[QueenElizabeth2Fan]

Everyone seems to agree that the Queen was only ever interested in Philip.

She was 13 when war broke out and 19 when the war ended, and it was a good year after that before all the men were demobbed, so the usual social events where she might have met other potential suitors just didn't happen, and it sounds as if she and Philip had an "understanding" before the end of the war anyway.

I think it's a lovely story, actually . They've been married for nearly 66 years, and "together" for around 70 years - not many couples can say that! Setting eyes on "the one" when you're 13 and being together when you're 87, he's 92 and you're great-grandparents is amazing .

I agree. How beautiful is that, especially when the great-grandmother is the Queen of the UK!

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Hey, any chance the Queen will dump Philip now and pick up a younger guy, kinda like the Duchess of Alba????

Hey, if you say no, why not?

 

[Lee27]

It is a remarkable love story. At 13 Princess Elizabeth was still in the nursery, so her first meeting with Phillip may have really been the first time they were around each other.

Phillip was too distant a family member to have been invited to intimate Royal family events.

 

[Osipi]

It is a remarkable love story. At 13 Princess Elizabeth was still in the nursery, so her first meeting with Phillip may have really been the first time they were around each other.

Phillip was too distant a family member to have been invited to intimate Royal family events.

Its amazing when you think about it. To lay eyes on a person at the age of 13 and just kind of KNOW that person is the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. At 13, do any of us really know what the rest of our lives are supposed to be like?

Come to think of it, this story would make a great movie.