Were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip Cousins? (2024)

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Were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip Cousins? ›

In fact, they were distant cousins. Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on Thursday. Her husband, Prince Philip, died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99. Philip and the Queen were married for 73 years and were third cousins through Queen Victoria.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were married for more than 70 years, but their relationship went much further back. In fact, they knew each other from childhood—and they were cousins.

An 8-year-old Elizabeth met Philip in 1934 while attending a wedding for Princess Marina and Prince George. Five years later, the pair reconnected at ages 13 and 18 while they were at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. Their second encounter is where they fell in love and began exchanging letters.

Princess Anne of Denmark was Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin by way of her father, John Bowes-Lyon. Interestingly enough, Princess Anne was born stateside (Washington, D.C., to be precise) in 1917.

Queen Victoria was Queen Elizabeth II's great-great-grandmother. Victoria was born in 1819 and succeeded her uncle, King William IV, to the throne in 1838. With Prince Albert, she had many children – including her oldest son Albert Edward, who grew up to become King Edward VII – and Elizabeth's great-grandad.

Monarchs were often in pursuit of national and international aggrandisem*nt on behalf of themselves and their dynasties, thus bonds of kinship tended to promote or restrain aggression. Marriage between dynasties could serve to initiate, reinforce or guarantee peace between nations.

How did Philip, duke of Edinburgh, become famous? Prince Philip was born into the Greek and Danish royal families and gained greater fame when he married his distant cousin Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom) in 1947.

Perhaps part of what attracted the Queen to Philip was that he didn't try too hard to impress others, Ford noted. "He was a perfectly natural young sailor and very much in love with the girl of the house," Ford said. "But he would not in any way fawn on the elders and say, 'What a suitable husband I am going to be.

While the Queen was born on April 21, 1926, her husband was born on June 10, 1921, which made them only five years apart. However, the young then-Princess was only 13 when she began sending letters to Philip who was, at that time, serving in the Royal Navy.

Who are the hidden cousins of the royal family? ›

However, the breakdown of the Prince of Wales' marriage was not the most shocking incident the family had to deal with, as in 1987, it was discovered that Queen Elizabeth II had two “hidden” cousins: Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon. But, who were they and why were they kept apart from the royal family?

In 1909, it was discovered that John had epilepsy. In 1916, as his condition deteriorated, he was sent to live at Sandringham House and kept away from the public eye. There, he was cared for by his governess, Charlotte "Lala" Bill, and befriended local children whom his mother had gathered to be his playmates.

Enter Angela Kelly ‒ the queen's most loyal aide for the past three decades. She's also known as her hairdresser, dresser and “best friend”, as claimed by various media.

Her son, Edward VII succeeded her.

Historians suggest that the cause of her death is likely related to her carrying the gene for haemophilia, a blood-clotting disease passed down from her parentage. Victoria also passed this genetic disorder onto three of her nine children. Haemophilia is sometimes called "the royal disease" for this reason.

Elizabeth I - the last Tudor monarch - was born at Greenwich on 7 September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.

Meanwhile, ancient Egyptian royals sometimes married their siblings — a practice that may have reflected religious beliefs — and pharaohs sometimes married their own daughters.

Margaret Rhodes, Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin and intimate friend since childhood. We had settled down for lunch at a pub near The Garden House, her home in Windsor Great Park.

On 10 February 1840, Victoria Married her first cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The royal couple had first met a few days before Victoria's 17th birthday, four years earlier. Victoria and Albert are known for their incredibly close relationship, inspiring dozens of books, films and series.

Elizabeth II only had one younger sister when her father, George VI, died, but if she had had a brother, even a younger one, he would have become king.