Queen put foot down to include beloved cousin at family event

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Queen Elizabeth II requested that her young cousin Princess Alexandra have a key role within the bridal party for her wedding to Prince Philip, as the young royal had “almost been there” in the early months of their courtship. Her Majesty and Prince Philip would visit Coppins, the family home of Alexandra, to spend time with one another in the 1940s. 

Daisy McAndrew told the Channel 5 documentary ‘Princess Alexandra: The Queen’s Confidante’: “Alexandra as a little girl was well aware of the courtship that was going on between Philip and Princess Elizabeth because a lot of that courtship actually happened in Alexandra’s own garden.

“That was one of the reasons that was cited at the time why Elizabeth wanted young Alexandra to be one of the bridesmaids because she’d almost been there as part of the courtship process.”

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met in 1939, when the young naval officer was tasked with escorting the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth around the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. 

They began to exchange letters and maintained correspondence whilst he fought in the Second World War. 

After the war, Prince Philip and the then-Princess Elizabeth would regularly meet at Coppins, the Buckinghamshire home of Princess Alexandra’s family. 

As a cousin to both the Queen and Prince Philip, the young royal was well-accustomed to spending time in their company. 

Princess Alexandra is first cousins with the Queen through their fathers, King George VI and Prince George, the Duke of Kent. At the time of her birth, Princess Alexandra was sixth in line to the throne and was born two weeks after the abdication of her uncle, King Edward VIII. 

Her father was the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary of Teck, and both she and the Queen are direct descendants from Queen Victoria. 

Prince Philip and the Queen announced their engagement in April 1947, and Princess Alexandra was swiftly named as one of the eight bridesmaids. 

At the time of the royal wedding on November 20, 1947, Princess Alexandra was only 11 years old whilst the Queen was 21. 

Along with the other bridesmaids, including Princess Margaret and Lady Pamela Mountbatten, Princess Alexandra helped the Queen prepare for her special day and appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony with other members of the Royal Family. 

The wedding was broadcasted to an estimated 200million people by BBC Radio and hundreds of thousands gathered outside the Palace to cheer the newlyweds. 

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On April 24, 1963, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the wedding of Princess Alexandra to the Right Honorable Sir Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey. 

The wedding was televised and was viewed by an estimated 200 million people, with the Queen’s young daughter Princess Anne playing the role of bridesmaid. 

Several members of the Royal Family were in attendance, including the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. 

Since her childhood, Princess Alexandra has dedicated her life to supporting the Royal Family, and is currently a patron to over 100 charities and organisations. 

She has long been recognised as a close confidante to the Queen and was one of the few Royal Family members selected to attend Prince Philip’s funeral on April 17, 2021.

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