Particle.news
Download on the App Store

78 Years On, Retrospectives Revisit Elizabeth and Philip’s 1947 Wedding

Fresh anniversary coverage focuses on personal mishaps and the postwar context that shaped the day.

Overview

  • Princess Elizabeth married Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on Nov. 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey before 2,500 guests, beginning a marriage that endured until his death in 2021.
  • Reports describe two wardrobe crises: Queen Mary’s Russian Fringe tiara snapped during preparations and was repaired in time, and pearl earrings were retrieved just before official photographs.
  • Royal wedding florist David Longman says the bride’s bouquet went missing before group portraits, leading to re-staged photographs with a replacement during the honeymoon.
  • Coverage notes postwar rationing pressures, with public coupon offers returned as unlawful and a government allocation of 200 extra coupons enabling Norman Hartnell to make the dress.
  • After the ceremony, the newlyweds received the titles Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Earl and Countess of Merioneth, and Baron and Lady Greenwich.