Possible Husbands for Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II)
 

Were there any other candidates for Princess Elizabeth's hand?

Thanks!

I don't think so; I read she met him when she was very young, and George VI had reservations because he didn't want his daughter to marry the first man she'd met.
He insisted they wait, but they were determined and got their way in the end.

I never heard that she ever thought about anyone else.

Thanks!
That's what I have always read as well... but was just wondering if I had missed something along the way. I actually saw a show on PBS that said she and Prince Philip were actually engaged secretly for a while before they announced it to the public.

was this married for love? or arranged?

Some people say that Elizabeth was in love but not Philip.However some say he grew to love her.

It was definitely a love match. Supposedly, Elizabeth fell in love with Philip when the royal family visited Dartmouth Naval College where Lord Mountbatten arranged for his nephew to escort the princess. It was likely they had met before but were too young to have made an significant impression.

While Elizabeth only had eyes for Philip, other aristocrats were mentioned as suitable candidates. The only one I know of was the William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, son and heir of the 10th Duke of Devonshire. He would marry Kathleen Kennedy, a sister of President John F. Kennedy, in 1944 but tragically died in Belgium from sniper fire four months later. His younger brother Andrew inherited the title to become the 11th Duke of Devonshire.

Wow! Thanks for the info EmpressRouge - I had no idea about Lord Hartington connected to Princess Elizabeth.

I cannot imagine that a man like Prince Phillip would possibly be able to make a living as a consort if he wouldn't deeply love his wife and therefor accept his role like he did for so long now.

I read not long ago that Louis Mountbatten pushed Philip in Elizabeth's direction and that otherwise she might have married Lord Porchester (who is rumoured to be Andrew's father...).who was then the heir of the Earl Of Carnarvon and later became the 7th Earl.

Is she not happy with the one she's got? I guess after 65 years one needs a change :-) Sorry but I laughed a bit at the title of this thread

Thanks Roseroyal and Kataryn! I hadn't heard either of those, either!

I read in one of the Diana books( Diana Chronicles, Diana by Sarah Bradford, Diana the rise and fall of the house of Spencer by Anne Edwards, The Queen and Di by Ingrid Seward, etc), cannot remember which one, or it could have been Elizabeth Behind Closed Doors by Nicolas Davies or The Royal Marriages, by Lady Colin Campbell, that Diana's father the 8th Earl Spencer was considered by the King and Queen.

The King and the Queen weren't to enthusiastic about Prince Phillip as a son in law - so they gave Elisabeth the opportunity to meet the elegible young men of her generation, as Prince Phillip was out of the way for two years (or so) in the east s.w. . But apparently for Elisabeth only Philip would do ;)

I think this topic is 64 years too late.................

Quite so :biggrin:

That may be...... but it was something that I was curious about and there is not much printed on the subject.... so I assumed I could ask here and get some feedback. My bad.....

You don't have to take it too seriously, we were just joking. There probably isn't much written on the subject because The Queen (Princess Elizabeth) never considered anyone else but Philip. She had her mind made up at the age of 13. That's not to say other people (including her parents) didn't have other ideas.............but in the end I think it's safe to say that The Queen made a good choice.

I think I read in Lacey's book that Elizabeth spent a lot of time socializing with the young guards, who were sons of nobles/aristocrats, and that her paternal grandmother, Queen Mary wished that her circle of acquaintances would improve. He also mentioned some names of young men (the guards) that were seen as potential and acceptable suitors.

Thanks for all the info, y'all.

I wonder what kind of person Elizabeth was to fall in love at 13 and to have actually made the right decision. Most people twice that age fall in love and end up getting it wrong.