A milestone! Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip will celebrate 73 years of marriage on Friday, November 20 — and their great-grandchildren may have been the first to congratulate them.
The 94-year-old monarch and her 99-year-old husband were photographed admiring a homemade wedding anniversary card from Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2, in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle on Thursday, November 19.
Queen Elizabeth and Philip, who share four kids, tied the knot at Westminster Abbey in London in November 1947. Six decades later, Prince William and Duchess Kate exchanged vows at the same church in April 2011.
The queen has eight great-grandkids, including daughter Princess Anne’s grandchildren Savannah, 9, and Isla Phillips, 8, and Mia, 6, and Lena Tindall, 2. In addition to Will and Kate’s three kids, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, is the youngest member of the queen’s family at 18 months.
Sources previously told Us Weekly that Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, were set to celebrate Archie’s 1st birthday with the queen in May before the couple were forced to cancel their trip to the U.K. amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who officially moved to Los Angeles in March after stepping down from their royal duties, haven’t returned to London for eight months.
“The queen would love to have a relationship with Archie,” a source previously told Us, noting that she’s “heartbroken over the thought of not getting to see her great-grandson. The queen’s worst fear is that she may never see Archie again. She’s trying to stay optimistic about this situation and would never stoop to casting any aspersions on Meghan’s character – even after everything that’s happened.”
While Harry and Meghan were set to reunite with the queen for Christmas in December, the twosome are staying in the United States as the COVID-19 crisis continues, per sources.
“Everyone was so looking forward to catching up with them, as well as Archie,” an insider told Us earlier this month. “They’re looking forward to making the most of things regardless.”
The queen will become a great grandmother for the ninth time in 2021 as Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank are expecting their first child together. The youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson announced her pregnancy last month.
