--- title: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip: Inside Their Marriage description: The Netflix series, The Crown, portrays Prince Philip as both supportive and resentful. Here's how TIME reported on Philip in the 1950s. canonical: https://time.com/4555148/queen-elizabeth-prince-philip-marriage-crown-netflix/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-04T15:31:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T06:53:07.837Z article:section: History og:title: Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s Complicated Marriage og:description: As told by TIME in 1957 og:url: https://time.com/4555148/queen-elizabeth-prince-philip-marriage-crown-netflix/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19a48e21b67daad2/6988ac82cf40a8a72fc4563d/the-crown-netflix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1600 og:image:height: 900 og:image:alt: the-crown-netflix og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s Complicated Marriage twitter:description: As told by TIME in 1957 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19a48e21b67daad2/6988ac82cf40a8a72fc4563d/the-crown-netflix.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Inside Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s Complicated Marriage > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=8a3890cf-9822-4f4f-ab55-1b0bc16450f1&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=8a3890cf-9822-4f4f-ab55-1b0bc16450f1&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 'The Crown' Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): 'The Crown' Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hI4h78wi.m3u8) (4:02)  _Published 2016-01-06. 'The Crown' Trailer_  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Nov 4, 2016 3:31 PM UTC 'The Crown' Trailer  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Nov 4, 2016 3:31 PM UTC The new Netflix series [_The Crown_](http://time.com/4557482/the-crown-review-netflix-queen-elizabeth/) chronicles the early years of Queen Elizabeth II’s long reign. Much of the first season examines how Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne impacted her relationship with her husband, Prince Philip, who is alternately supportive of the young monarch (she was crowned at 25) and resentful. Early on, he is told by aides that he must walk behind her, and the English government refuses to allow the couple to give the children Philip’s name. Biographers have written that Philip chafed under these guidelines, perceiving them as a challenge to his manhood. But a 1957 [cover story in TIME](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,937935-10,00.html), written on the occasion of the queen’s first visit to the United States since her coronation, credits Philip with modernizing the royal family and connecting with the common people of England. --- > “” --- While Elizabeth grew up surrounded by the royal family and private tutors, Philip was “a relatively impoverished princeling, reared as a commoner, has washed dishes, fired boilers, even played on a skittles team organized by the owner of a local pub.” He is the nephew of King Constantine of Greece and a descendent of Queen Victoria, but when he was just a year old, his father was condemned to exile. Philip never even learned Greek. His family fled to Paris and his mother eventually went to a sanatarium in Germany. His father lived with a girlfriend in Monte Carlo and shipped Philip off to England to be raised by a grandmother. He went to British schools and eventually joined the military. Philip met Elizabeth, his third cousin, when they were children. From the time she was 13, she was besotted, according to the article. She never fell for another man, though he had other relationships while she grew into adulthood. As suggested in the first episode of _The Crown_, Elizabeth’s family did not approve of the match. --- > “” --- But Elizabeth won out, and the two married when she was 21 (after her father asked the couple to wait a year to be sure they wanted to wed). The TIME article concludes by accounting the ways the two have changed one another, though not in the most flattering terms: --- > “” --- ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] It's not as easy as it looks. That's exactly what the king said. Do you suppose I might borrow it for a couple of days just to practice? Borrow it ma'am? From whom? If it's not yours whose is is? Big smiles. Your uncle has lead us all down. He has put pleasure before duty. Brother has indeed turned against brother. The best thing for everyone would be if you said your goodbyes quietly, privately, and disappeared into the night. To think you've turned all that down. [ MUSIC ] That chance to be a god. I turned it down for something greater still. [ MUSIC ] For love. [ MUSIC ] Time to man your stations old boy. [ MUSIC ] Dearly beloved, Since the country split down the middle [ UNKNOWN ] free to choose our partners like anyone else. No one wanted Phillip. She dug her heels in, got the man she wanted didn't she? We have a new sovereign young and a woman. Let us give her a correlation that is befitting of the winds of change that she represents. Modern and forward looking. Be firm, just lay down the law, I know he's Winston Churchill and all that, but remember who you are. You're- Nobody. The Queen of England. Why was government not consulted? Because it's a private matter. Nothing you or His Royal Highness does is a private matter. Do not look for perfection In him or in yourself? Winston still thinks he is the father of the nation. Let us not forget, times are changing. Morality is changing. The country is changing. And one has lost one's hope. What is the purpose? Of the crown. What is the purpose of the Monarchy? The decision is yours to make . >> You've taken my career from me. You've taken my home. You've taken my name. What kind of marriage is this? What kind of family? Are you my wife or my queen? I'm both. I want to be married to my wife. I am both and a strong man would be able to kneel to both. I will not kneel before my wife. Your wife is not asking you to. But, my queen commands me? Yes. I beg you make an exception for me. No. [ MUSIC ] Who wants transparency, when you can have magic? Who wants prose when you can poetry? That's why we have family, hm. To a link in a chain that can never be broken. Pull away the veil and what are you left with? An ordinary young woman of modest ability and. Little imagination. We'll wrap her up like this. Anoint her with oil, and hey, Presto. What do you have? A goddess. I, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, become your liege man of life and limb, and [ INAUDIBLE ] through worship. In faith and truth, I will bear unto you. To live and die against all manner of facts, so help me God. Two rings, two marriages, two lives. 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