Philip and the Queen have been married since 1947 and they recently celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary. Many royal fans believed the famous couple met properly in Dartmouth, in Devon in 1939. Philip, still known then as Prince Philip of Greece, was 18 while Elizabeth was 13 at the time.

She was said to have set her sights on him straight away. They had met a handful of other times, however, due to their family connections – for instance, they both attended George VI’s coronation in 1937.

Yet, in Philip Eade’s 2011 biography, ‘Young Prince Philip: His Turbulent Early Life’, the author explained a day which had “special significance” for the future Duke of Edinburgh – the very first time they met.

According to Mr Eade, that was the wedding between Prince George, Duke of Kent – Elizabeth’s uncle – and Princess Marina of Greece – Philip’s cousin which took place in 1934.

The biographer explained: “The day held a special significance for Philip, although he would not have known it at the time, in that the bridegrooms’s niece, Princess Elizabeth, then aged eight, was one of the bridesmaids. 

“This was almost certainly the first time that she and Philip had come across one another.”

According to Devon Live in May 2018, their meeting in Devon in 1939 was just the first time an interaction between the two was publicised. 

King George VI’s official biographer Sir John Wheeler-Bennett also said it was that occasion that clinched it for the future Queen even though she was only just a teenager.

He wrote: “This was the man with whom Princess Elizabeth had been in love from their first meeting.”

Apparently, Philip showed off by jumping over the tennis nets.

Elizabeth’s governess Marion Crawford claimed: “She never took her eyes off him the whole time.”

However, Philip was not quite as taken. 

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He told biographer Basil Boothroyd: “Well, we’d met at Dartmouth, and as far as I was concerned it was a very amusing experience, going on board the yacht and meeting them, and that sort of thing, and that was that.”

He ended up pursuing several other relationships before settling down with the heir presumptive.

One of his rumoured flings included the American actress Cobina Wright, who he apparently fell for.

He also dated Osla Benning, the Canadian-born debutante, for a time, but after meeting Elizabeth again in the Christmas of 1943, that apparently fizzled out.

That Christmas showed the beginning of a romance between the future Queen and the Greek prince. 

Speculations over an engagement continued through the rest of World War 2, but nothing was confirmed and Elizabeth’s family suggested many other suitors as she came of age.

Yet, she still kept an image of Philip with a beard on her mantlepiece, so he could not easily be recognised by her household.

They did not announce their engagement until 1946.

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