In a letter laden with warmth and affection, Prince Philip told the then Princess Elizabeth how he had fallen ‘unreservedly’ in love with her.
The 1946 letter was one of the adoring notes shared in Philip Eade’s book Young Prince Philip: His Turbulent Early Life.
“To have fallen in love unreservedly, makes all one’s troubles seem small and petty,” he wrote to the then Princess Elizabeth one year before they tied the knot.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away at the age of 99, served in the Royal Navy during WWII and saw active service against Italian, Japanese and German forces.
His early life was also marked by chaos – he managed to escape his home country as a baby by being hidden in a makeshift cot.
The Greek prince’s words were filled with meaning when he told the love of his life how his feelings for her made all his past struggles seem petty.
“To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty,” he wrote.
In a 1943 letter, he wrote of the “simple enjoyment of family pleasures and amusements and the feeling that I am welcome to share them.
“I am afraid I am not capable of putting all this into the right words and I am certainly incapable of showing you the gratitude that I feel.”
Prince Philip also wrote a letter to the Queen Mother, saying: “Lilibet is the only thing in this world which is absolutely real to me and my ambition is to wield the two of us into a new combined existence hat will not only be able to withstand the shocks directed at us but will also have a positive existence for the good… Cherish Lilibet?point 409 | 1
“I wonder if that word is enough to express what is in me. Does one cherish one’s sense of humour or one’s musical ear or one’s eyes?
“I am not sure, but I know that I thank God for them and so, very humbly, I thank God for Lilibet and us.”
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