The Queen and Prince Phillip have grown closer due to the Coronavirus pandemic

The Queen and Prince Phillip have grown closer, due to the pandemic, a royal expert has claimed, and used the time to 'rediscover the happiness of their early years together'.

• According to the expert the Queen initially found the Covid-19 crisis tough and was 'down' about not being able to carry out her duties
• However it has meant the royal couple have had more time to spend together, including their recent anniversary, which has helped them grow closer
• In other royal news Meghan Markle fans have called her miscarriage story 'brave' and 'moving' after she lost her second baby in the summer 

The global pandemic and ensuing lockdowns have been hard on all of us, but according to royal sources it has bought the Queen and her husband Prince Phillip closer together.

The royal pair have spent the second lockdown together at Windsor Castle, meaning they've had lots of 'quality time' together - and according to royal expert Katie Nicholl they have 'really enjoyed' their time together.

She also told 9Honey that it was a different story at the start of the lockdown: "I remember speaking to a very well-placed source at the time who said while the Queen was, like the rest of the country, very down about the pandemic, the real upside for her was the time that she got to spend with Philip."

She went on to say that, even though the Queen had some royal duties, during the pandemic, the couple made a point of eating dinner together every night - something which, because of their busy schedules, they haven't been able to do for a while. 

"It's almost like they rediscovered some of the happiness of their earlier years together," Katie added, "While some couples may have found that intensity of being together stretching or testing, they clearly got on very well... they really enjoyed that time together."

The Queen and Prince Phillip have just celebrated a massive milestone - 73 years of marriage. They celebrated it by releasing a photo via their Instagram page - showing them reading a handmade card from their grandchildren.

The couple initially met in 1934, at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark to Prince George, Duke of Kent. They married at Westminster Abbey 13 years later. The couple have four children - Prince Charles, 72, Princess Anne, 70, Prince Andrew, 60, and Prince Edward, 56.