Royal Photographer Reveals the Touching Sacrifice Prince Philip Made for Queen Elizabeth in His 90s
The couple would have celebrated their 77th anniversary on Nov. 20.
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth had been married for 73 years when the Duke of Edinburgh died in 2021, and through the decades he showed steadfast support for The Queen. One person who watched their dynamic flourish through the years is royal photographer Arthur Edwards, and he recently revealed a particularly poignant story about the couple.
Speaking to the Sun's Royal Exclusive show, the famed photog shared how Prince Philip, who had a successful naval career, "gave all that up to serve The Queen and the country."
"For sort of 70 years, he was walking behind The Queen, shaking hands with the mayoress while The Queen was talking to the mayor," Edwards continued. "And he did that with total commitment forever, until he retired a few years before he died."
One occasion that "sums it all up" was in 2017 when the late duke attended the annual Remembrance Day ceremony with Her Majesty despite being 96 at the time. "His hip was really hurting him and he was in great pain and The Queen pleaded with him to go, to go, and he wouldn't do that," Edwards shared. "To him being there was his duty."
Prince Philip was in significant pain during the 2017 Remembrance Sunday ceremony.
The royal couple were married for more than 70 years.
Adding that Prince Philip "was in so much pain," the photographer said, "I remember as he left a puff of his cheeks, he was getting away to get some relief. That to me summed it all up about that man."
The show of support for The Queen and the fallen soldiers they were honoring touched Edwards, who said, “Even into his nineties, he was doing his duty for this country." The photographer also shared a story from the royal couple's final trip to Australia in 2011, when Prince Philip picked a child up and "lifted her over the barrier" so she could give Queen Elizabeth some flowers.
"The look between the two of them when he did that, I mean, it was something special," the photography legend said of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh.
However, Edwards was candid about the late duke's disdain for the media, telling the show, "Photographing the Queen for many years was an absolute joy" but when it came to the Duke of Edinburgh, it was "not so good."
At the end of the day, Edwards—who has been a fixture at royal events for decades—said "although he didn't like me very much, I quite admired him a lot.”
