--- title: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip: Photos From the Royal Wedding, 1947 description: On the 65th anniversary of Elizabeth and Philip's 1947 royal wedding, LIFE.com offers a series of photographs — including some that did not originally run in LIFE — from the long-ago nuptials. canonical: https://time.com/3875029/queen-elizabeth-and-prince-philip-photos-from-the-royal-wedding-1947/ author: Liz Ronk article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-11-19T21:54:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:54.647Z og:title: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip: Photos From the Royal Wedding, 1947 og:description: On the 65th anniversary of Elizabeth and Philip's 1947 royal wedding, LIFE.com offers a series of photographs — including some that did not originally run in LIFE — from the long-ago nuptials. og:url: https://time.com/3875029/queen-elizabeth-and-prince-philip-photos-from-the-royal-wedding-1947/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18ec4419e91c3375/698685e8d0b6f2f4eb303432/14_00522520.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Royal Wedding 1947 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip: Photos From the Royal Wedding, 1947 twitter:description: On the 65th anniversary of Elizabeth and Philip's 1947 royal wedding, LIFE.com offers a series of photographs — including some that did not originally run in LIFE — from the long-ago nuptials. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18ec4419e91c3375/698685e8d0b6f2f4eb303432/14_00522520.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elizabeth and Philip: Photos From the Royal Wedding, 1947 by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) ## Liz Ronk Nov 19, 2012 9:54 PM UTC  Not originally published in LIFE. Royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace: (l. to r.) King George VI, Princess Margaret Rose, unidentified, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother Mary after wedding of Elizabeth and Philip, Nov. 20, 1947. Not originally published in LIFE. Royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace: (l. to r.) King George VI, Princess Margaret Rose, unidentified, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother Mary after wedding of Elizabeth and Philip, Nov. 20, 1947.William Sumits—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) ## Liz Ronk Nov 19, 2012 9:54 PM UTC Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for so long (60 years) and of course has been in the public eye for even longer (she’s 86 years old) that it can be a bit disconcerting to encounter photographs of her as a bride, or a newlywed. After all, unlike the engaging young couple whose royal wedding in London sparked a media frenzy in the spring of 2011, Elizabeth has always appeared more distant, more removed, from the sort of everyday pleasures and pains that define the lives of mere commoners. [**\[Buy the LIFE book,** **_Queen Elizabeth II: 60 Years on the Throne_** **.\]**](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/161893029X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=161893029X&linkCode=as2&tag=trackgallery-20) But in November 1947, when she wed Prince Philip (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark), Elizabeth allowed the world to glimpse, briefly, another side — a less severe and less purely ornamental side — of her life. In photographs made that day, Elizabeth looks like brides all over the world have looked, from time immemorial: a bit nervous, a bit self-conscious, a bit overwhelmed … and _happy_. [**\[MORE: See all of TIME.com’s coverage of Queen Elizabeth II.\]**](http://topics.time.com/queen-elizabeth-ii/) Here, on the 65th anniversary of that long-ago royal wedding, LIFE.com offers a series of photographs — including some that did not originally run in LIFE — made by magazine staffers like Nat Farbman and Frank Scherschel (pictured at left, on the day of the nuptials). In an article that ran in the Dec. 1, 1947, issue of LIFE, meanwhile, the magazine’s editors took pains to remind readers that, two years after the end of the Second World War, England and Europe — while on the mend from war’s ravages — were still, in some regards, reeling from the aftereffects of the conflict. What’s also so clearly evident in the language of the piece (below) is the enduring respect the magazine’s editors had for what England had achieved when, for a good part of World War II, the island nation had, in essence, stood alone. The verbiage might be over-the-top — but the sentiment is straight from the heart. --- > “” --- --- > “” ---  Not originally published in LIFE. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding, Nov. 20, 1947. William Sumits—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Traditional British reserve is cast aside by these revelers who dance in streets while others stake out claims for vantage points." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Choir boys who came by bus form a line outside Westminster Abbey." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Beefeaters adjust their uniforms." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Immaculate gentlemen-at-arms carry their brightly plumed headgear." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Premiere Jan Christian Smuts represents the Dominion of South Africa." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Queen and King of Denmark arrive." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "The Countess Edwina, wife of Earl Mountbatten, is helped from her car." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Servants from the King's household don gloves before entering the abbey." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "An Ethiopian representative pauses before starting into the Abbey." Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not originally published in LIFE. Crowds try to get a glimpse of the royal wedding, London, Nov. 20, 1947. Nat Farbman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not originally published in LIFE. Exterior of Buckingham Palace on the night of royal wedding, Nov. 20, 1947. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not originally published in LIFE. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip leave Westminster Abbey after their wedding, Nov. 20, 1947. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not originally published in LIFE. Royals on the balcony of Buckingham Palace: (l. to r.) King George VI, Princess Margaret Rose, unidentified, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother Mary after wedding of Elizabeth and Philip, Nov. 20, 1947. 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