Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II, elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, was born in London on 21st April 1926. After the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 her father, who was Duke of York, became King. Her sister Princess Margaret, her children Prince Andrew and Princess Anne, and her grandson Prince William were all married in Westminster Abbey.
She was the first sovereign to reach the Sapphire Jubilee of her coronation and in 2015 she became the longest-reigning British monarch. Later she became the world’s longest-reigning sovereign and the first to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
The reigning monarch is Sovereign of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (the Order has its chapel in the Abbey). In 2018 she opened The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries, a display of treasures and historical items in the Abbey triforium. In September 2018 a new stained-glass window, designed by David Hockney, was unveiled in the north transept. In vivid colours this represents the Yorkshire countryside and celebrates the reign of Elizabeth II.
At services in the church the Sovereign and consort nearly always sit in specially made chairs presented by the Canada Club. As the Abbey, or Collegiate Church of St Peter Westminster, is a Royal Peculiar it has ecclesiastical independence and is under the direct governance of the Sovereign, who is called the Visitor. (Services to mark the various Jubilees during her reign were held at St Paul’s Cathedral).
Marriage
Princess Elizabeth was married on 20th November 1947 to Prince Philip of Greece, (who received the title of H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh). She was the tenth royal bride to be married in Westminster Abbey.
The bells of St Margaret’s church hailed the arrival of the carriage procession. The ceremony started at 11.30am, the bride having arrived in the Irish State Coach from Buckingham Palace with her father. For austerity reasons, after years of war, very little extra seating was provided and about 2,000 guests attended.
The wedding dress was designed by Norman Hartnell and made of ivory silk decorated with 10,000 pearls (obtained from America). The star patterned train, woven in Braintree, Essex, was 15 feet (4.6m) long. The bouquet consisted of white orchids with a sprig of myrtle from a bush grown by Prince Albert at Osborne House. The veil was held in place by a diamond fringe tiara, lent by the Queen.
The bride’s procession, with eight bridesmaids (Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, Lady Mary Cambridge, Lady Elizabeth Lambart, Hon.Margaret Elphinstone, Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Lady Pamela Mountbatten and Diana Bowes-Lyon) and two pages (Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent), entered the Abbey to a fanfare specially composed by Sir Arnold Bax and the hymn “Praise my soul, the King of Heaven”. The bridegroom, Lt. Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, had already entered the Abbey quietly by the Poets’ Corner door with his groomsman Lord Milford Haven. He was dressed in naval uniform.
In contrast to later royal weddings the only flowers in the Abbey were in large vases either side of the High Altar (white lilies and chrysanthemums, pink carnations, roses, variegated ivy and camellia foliage). The Altar was hung with the white dorsal given in 1911 by King George V and Queen Mary for their coronation and the 1937 coronation frontal given by the Princess’ parents. The Abbey plate was displayed on the altar. The King and Queen took their seats on the south side of the Sanctuary with royalty from overseas on both sides. The Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, politicians (including Winston Churchill) and other officials were seated in the choir stalls, with distinguished guests and overseas representatives in the nave. Other special guests occupied the transepts and the BBC and Palace staff were high up in the triforium.
The Dean of Westminster, Dr Alan Don, read the opening sentences of the service according to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, by permission of the Dean, conducted the
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
He was the son of Prince Andrew of Greece (who was born a Prince of Denmark and was descended from the Kings of Greece, Denmark and Prussia as well as Emperors of Russia) and Princess Alice of Battenberg [later Mountbatten], and was born in Corfu on 10th June 1921. His grandmother was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. He was educated in France, England and Scotland and served with distinction in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. After the marriage, the couple lived for a while in Malta where he was posted. In 1956 he set up the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
He was President and Chairman of the Westminster Abbey Trust, set up in 1973, to raise funds for the restoration of the exterior of the Abbey. To mark the restoration of the west towers a small stone head of the Duke was carved, with others, high on the north west tower in 1991. This amusing piece shows him wearing his coronet and holding a model of a yacht and a hobby horse, reflecting two of his many interests. The Duke was involved with a great many charities and organisations until his retirement from royal duties and was created GCVO by the Queen. He died on 9 April 2021 aged 99. The Abbey bell tolled 99 times in his memory and a requiem Eucharist was held on the eve of the funeral. The funeral was on 17 April 2021 at St George’s Chapel Windsor Castle where the Duke is buried. A memorial service was held in the Abbey on 29 March 2022.
