A new photograph of The Queen and Prince Philip has been released to celebrate the Duke’s 99th Birthday on Wednesday.
In the poignant image, which was taken on Monday, Her Majesty, 94 and The Duke of Edinburgh, who have been married for more than 70 years, were pictured standing side-by-side in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle.
The Queen can be seen wearing a grey and yellow floral-patterned Angela Kelly dress with the Cullinan V diamond brooch, while Prince Philip looks smart in a navy blazer, light grey trousers and a Household Division tie.
The royal couple have spent more time under the same roof together during lockdown than they have in many years, a royal expert has said.
The duke had been spending much of his retirement at his cottage, Wood Farm, in the sanctuary of the Sandringham estate, more than 100 miles away from the Queen, who was usually at Buckingham Palace or at Windsor.
The Queen, 94, and Prince Philip photographed in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle ahead of his 99th birthday on Wednesday. Her Majesty is wearing an Angela Kelly dress with the Cullinan V diamond brooch and the Duke a Household Division tie
Princess Anne in the arms of Princess Elizabeth, with the Duke of Edinburgh, holding Prince Charles, in the grounds of Clarence House, their London residence on 9 August 1951
Prince Philip and the Queen are all smiles as they arrive at a Royal Ascot race meeting on 19 June 1962
One of three official photographs that Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston released from their wedding day on 18 May, 2019. The image was taken at Frogmore House, Windsor after the wedding at St George’s Chapel and shows Lady Gabriella and Mr Thomas Kingston in the Duchess of Kent’s Drawing Room at Frogmore House
The Duke of Edinburgh leaves King Edward VII Hospital in London, after being admitted Friday for observation and treatment in relation to a pre-existing condition on 24 December, 2019
But they were reunited at the Berkshire castle three months ago for their safety after Philip was flown there by helicopter on March 19 ahead of lockdown.
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: ‘This must be the longest they’ve been under the same roof for many years, I would say.
‘But it’s an opportunity for them in their later years to reconnect.’
He added: ‘It is the perfect royal cocooning.’
The Queen and the duke are staying with a reduced household of around 20 staff, dubbed Operation HMS Bubble, and Mr Little said the monarch and Philip most likely have lunch or dinner together each day while spending other time on their separate interests.
Philip keeps himself busy reading, writing and painting, and even released a rare public statement in April – his first since his retirement – praising key workers and those making sure that essential services are kept running during the coronavirus pandemic.
The then Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten posing for their engagement pictures at Buckingham Palace on 10 July 1947
The Duke of Edinburgh, when he was a serving officer in the Royal Navy, on 5 December 1946 (pictured left), and escorting his mother, the Princess Alice of Battenberg, upon arriving at Westminster Abbey on July 3, 1960
Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947, waving to the crowds on their wedding day, from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London
Prince Philip is greeted by some of the students of St. Mary’s College, in Cheltenham on 10 March 1957, as he left the playing fields of St. Paul’s College
Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle, joined by Sugar, one of the Royal corgis, in a photograph taken on 2 June 1959
In this photo dated September 1960, the Queen and Prince Philip can be seen with their children, Prince Charles, right, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, on the lawn of Balmoral Castle, in Scotland
The Duke of Edinburgh pulls his mount up sharp during a polo match at Windsor on 20 June, 1965. His team won the match
The royal couple wave to people at Nassau’s Clifford Park after their arrival in Nassau, Bahamas in this photograph from 15 October 1977
As well as enjoying riding her fell ponies in Windsor Home Park, the Queen – the nation’s longest reigning monarch – has her official duties to deal with, including her red boxes of papers and regular telephone audiences.
The royal couple have been pictured at Windsor throughout the years including in the grounds of the castle more than 60 years ago in 1959, accompanied by Sugar, one of the many royal corgis.
The success of the Queen and Philip’s long-lasting marriage has often been put down to their differing personalities.
‘The Queen is a much more laid-back character, while the duke has never suffered fools gladly,’ Mr Little said.
‘The Queen is much less confrontational so I suppose they are opposites in many ways but clearly the chemistry has worked for them as they are now in the 73rd year of marriage so that itself is quite remarkable.’
The royal commentator added that the Queen and duke had admitted tolerance is essential for their happy marriage.
‘As they have said publicly at times of wedding anniversaries, it’s tolerance in abundance and plenty of patience as well,’ Mr Little explained.
‘I suppose for them perhaps it’s always been a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder. They would go through periods of not really seeing much of each other.’
He added: ‘They will make a fuss of him on Wednesday, as much as you can make a fuss of the Duke of Edinburgh.’
The Duke of Edinburgh (centre) accompanied by Lord Derby (right) and Mr David Ross, Manager of Knowles Safari Park, meeting with “Chota” the oldest elephant in the herd at the North West Safari Park on 8 July 2000
The Duke of Edinburgh as he arrived at the laying up of the Colours of the Queen’s Own Highlanders, to remember fallen soldiers from the regiment, at the Scottish National War Memorial in Crown Square at Edinburgh Castle on 25 November 2003 (pictured left). Prince Philip riding a mini motorbike around the Royal Windsor Horse Show on 16 May 2002 (right)
The Duke of Edinburgh before competing at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, Windsor, on 17 May 2002
The Queen and Prince Philip at Broadlands in 2007, where the royal couple spent part of their honeymoon after their wedding in 1947
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wearing 3D glasses to watch a 3D film, at the Pinewood Studios in Toronto, Canada on 5 July 2010
Her Majesty sits next to Prince Philip in the House of Lords as she waits to read the Queen’s Speech to lawmakers in London on May 9, 2012
Prince Philip inspecting troops outside Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour parade, in central London on 16 June 2012 (pictured left), and arriving to greet the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the Royal Dais in Windsor, as he begins a State Visit to the UK, on 30 April 2013 (right)
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visiting the Tower of London’s Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation on 16 October 2014
The Duke of Edinburgh after presenting campaign medals to members of 40 Commando who completed their first tour of Afghanistan, at Norton Manor Camp, Somerset, following their return on 16 May 2013
The romance of Prince Philip of Greece and Princess Elizabeth sprang out of a summer encounter at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1939.
Philip, who was just 18, was introduced to 13-year-old Elizabeth, who was visiting with her parents, King George Vi and Queen Elizabeth.
Handsome, blond-haired, athletic Philip caught Lilibet’s eye as he entertained her by jumping over tennis nets, and the young princess was smitten.
The pair, who are distant cousins, maintained a regular correspondence and met on several more occasions, with Philip later spending Christmas with the royals at Windsor in 1943.
But, by the end of the war, newspapers were already speculating about their romance, and their engagement was confirmed after the princess turned 21 and returned from a royal tour to South Africa.
Philip applied for British nationality and in February 1947 became a naturalised British subject, renouncing his Greek royal title, adopting the surname of Mountbatten and becoming known as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
The couple married in Westminster Abbey on November 20 1947.
The Duke of Edinburgh being greeted by well-wishers during a visit to the Royal Dockyard Chapel in Pembroke Dock, Wales, on 29 April 2014
Her Majesty accompanied by husband the Duke of Edinburgh attending the Braemar Gathering in the Scottish Highlands on 7 July 2013
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh attending a garden party in Paris, hosted by Sir Peter Ricketts, Britain’s Ambassador to France, ahead of marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings during World War II, on 4 June 2014
The Duke of Edinburgh (centre), Crossrail Chief Executive Andrew Wolstenholme (right) and Project Manager Linda Miller during a tour of the new Crossrail station 30 metres below Farringdon in London on 4 November 2015
The Duke of Edinburgh standing in an open-topped Range Rover as part of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations in The Mall, London on 12 June 2016
The Queen wearing a sparkling diamond brooch with an 18.8-carat heart-shaped stone as she attends a garden party at Buckingham Palace in London on 10 May 2016. The monarch picked the Cullinan V – one of her favourite pieces of jewellery – for a special celebratory portrait with the Duke of Edinburgh, her husband of more than 70 years at Windsor Castle
While on honeymoon, Philip wrote to tell his mother-in-law Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother, of his deep love for his new wife.
‘Lilibet is the only ‘thing’ in the world which is absolutely real to me and my ambition is to weld the two of us into a new combined existence that will not only be able to withstand the shocks directed at us but will have a positive existence for the good,’ he said.
Philip has devoted his married life to supporting his wife, giving up his successful naval career to be by her side when the King’s health grew worse.
On the Queen’s accession, the duke watched her become the single most important woman in the country.
But Lord Charteris, the Queen’s former private secretary, once recalled: ‘Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being.
‘He’s the only man who can. Strange as it may seem, I believe she values that.’
In 2007, the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary by travelling to Malta, where they had lived for a short time as a young couple.
In 2012, they marked their blue sapphire anniversary – 65 years – and in 2017 passed the rare, personal milestone of 70 years of marriage – their platinum wedding anniversary.
The Prince of Wales, Princess Eugenie, Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and The Duke of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, in central London, following the Trooping the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, on 17 June 2017
The Duke of Edinburgh waves as he is discharged from the King Edward VII hospital in central London, Britain, 09 June 2012
The Duke of Edinburgh can be seen smiling during a garden party which took place on 23 May 2017 at Buckingham Palace in London
Her Majesty wearing the sparkling diamond brooch with an 18.8-carat heart-shaped stone. The Queen sits between Anna Wintour (right) and Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council (BFC) as they view Richard Quinn’s runway show before presenting him with the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design as she visits London Fashion Week’s BFC Show Space on 20 February 2018
The Duke of Edinburgh talking to the Duke of Sussex as they leave following the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on 18 May 2019