Prince Philip’s secret wedding message to the Queen as they approach 73rd anniversary

Prince Philip gifted the Queen with a personalised message in the form of an engraved ring when they married and no-one knows what it says, with the exception of three people.

• The couple will mark their 73rd wedding anniversary next month.
• When they married on 20 November 1947, the Duke of Edinburgh presented the Queen with a ring made of Welsh gold.
• In other royal news, The Countess of Wessex marked a royal first as she ran the marathon for a special reason.

Prince Philip wedding message to the Queen

Only three people know what the inscription on the Queen's wedding ring says; Prince Philip, the Queen and the engraver.

Royal author Ingrid Seward has addressed the background to the mysterious ring in a new book, Prince Philip: A Portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh.

In the book, she writes how the Queen “never takes it off, and inside the ring is an inscription.”

The Duke of Edinburgh is also thought to have been gifted the ring and therefore spared of any expense.

Royal expert Ingrid claims the Duke was “supplied a nugget of Welsh gold” by the people of Wales.

The Queen’s engagement ring was also gifted to Philip. The ring was made from a tiara that belonged to Prince Philips’ mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg.

Prince Philip and the Queen first met in 1934 while attending the wedding of two other royals – Princess Marine of Greece and Denmark and Prince George, Duke of Kent.

They became engaged in 1947 and married just four months later in a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey.

At the time, it was broadcast to over 200 million people around the world by BBC Radio.

With the country still abiding by social distancing rules due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is unclear how the Queen and Prince Philip will celebrate their anniversary this year.