Queen Elizabeth II is the subject of a documentary that seems to mainly focus on her romantic life when she was a princess, her engagement, and some of the hardships she went through after marrying Prince Philip.
Much like the bombshell book about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Queen Elizabeth now has friends and family members talking about her private life and sharing details she probably would have preferred to keep under wraps.
In the documentary called Being the Queen, it was revealed that her majesty and her husband had a very tough period during their 72 years of marriage, where some did not expect the romance to survive.
According to Prince Philip’s cousin, Lady Pamela Hicks, after the pair exchanged vows in front of their families and God in 1947 — it was smooth sailing — they were madly in love, and not much else seemed to matter.
However, things took a turn for the worse once Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952 following her father, King George VI‘s death.
Hicks said it was a devastating period for the young couple for these reasons: “This extremely active, enthusiastic young man who suddenly finds his whole life will be taken away from him and probably thinking he will become a “yes man” for the rest of his life. This really devastated their lives as a married couple.”
Executive Producer Tom Jennings added: “I’m sure it was very strained at first and for someone like Philip to acquiesce to the nation and basically give up his bride to the world and take a backseat to everything that’s going on. I think he managed to get through it, but I’m sure it was a very strained time for them.”
Hicks also spoke about the first time the pair met. The Queen was only 12 years old when she laid eyes on Philip during a trip with her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, to Dartmouth Naval Academy to meet the cadets. The young Elizabeth fell for Philip whom she compared to a Greek god.
Hicks explained: “My father (Lord Louis Mountbatten) happened to be there when the King and Queen took the two girls to Dartmouth when, I think, Princess Elizabeth was only 12 years old. And as Prince Philip was almost a senior cadet. And, of course, this absolute Greek God. And I think the princess fell headlong in love with him at that moment.”
The Countess of Longford added that not many expected the romance to blossom. She revealed: “The Queen was too young. Nobody thought of her falling in love and remaining in love with that person for the rest of her life. I mean, she was a child.”
Being the Queen airs on National Geographic on August 31 at 9 p.m. ET.
