The Queen has presented the Duke of Edinburgh with a rare honour as a special anniversary present as they celebrate 70 years of marriage.
As the royal couple reached their milestone platinum wedding anniversary, Elizabeth II appointed Philip a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) for services to the sovereign.
The touching gesture will be seen as the Queen's recognition of the devotion Philip has shown through the decades, supporting her publicly and privately.
Philip, 96, retired from his public role in the summer after years of royal duty alongside the monarch.
He is the longest serving royal consort in British history, and the Queen, the nation's longest reigning monarch, is the first to celebrate a 70th wedding anniversary.
Awards in the Royal Victorian Order are made personally by the Queen and bestowed independently of Downing Street.
The monarch presented Philip with the honour at Windsor Castle, where they are marking their anniversary privately.
They are celebrating with close family and friends at a special dinner at the Berkshire residence on Monday evening.
Philip is already a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG), a Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT) and a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE). Now with his GCVO he will have four UK order of chivalry breast stars. The last UK citizen to equal this was his uncle Lord Mountbatten of Burma.
Philip also has many other honours including the Order of Merit (OM), Order of New Zealand (ONZ), and Knight, Order of Australia (AK).
Elizabeth II was a 21-year-old princess when she married her consort Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on November 20 1947 at Westminster Abbey.
The fairy-tale royal wedding was a morale booster in the tough years that followed the Second World War and millions of people tuned in to listen to the ceremony on the wireless.
What is the Royal Victorian Order?
The Royal Victorian Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1896.
It is a dynastic order of knighthood that recognises personal services to the British monarch or members of the royal family and admission is at the sole discretion of the Queen.
The Order has five grades and one medal with three levels representing different levels of service.
The Order's badge is a Maltese Cross with a central medallion depicting on a red background the Royal Cypher of Queen Victoria surmounted by a Tudor Crown.
As a Knight Grand Cross, Philip will now wear the Order's badge on a sash passing from the right shoulder to the left hip.
The young princess wore a Norman Hartnell dress made of duchesse ivory silk-satin which was hand-embroidered with more than 10,000 pearls and crystals.
Wartime leader Winston Churchill summed up the occasion as 'a flash of colour on the hard road we travel'.
Less than five years after the royal wedding, the Princess became Queen on the death of her father George VI.
Together, the Queen and Philip have celebrated the Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees of the Queen's reign, and faced ups and downs over the years including the breakdown of three of their four children's marriages, and the backlash which followed the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
With their family growing year by year, the Queen and Philip are preparing to welcome their sixth great-grandchild in April - a third child for the the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
They already have five great-grandchildren - Savannah and Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, as well as eight grandchildren - Peter and Zara Phillips, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and Viscount Severn, and their own four children the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex.
Bells at the historic Abbey in central London have rung out in tribute on Monday, with a full celebratory peal lasting around three hours and 20 minutes.
The Queen and Philip attended thanksgiving services at the Abbey to commemorate their silver, golden and diamond wedding anniversaries, but this occasion is not being marked which such a service.
Prime Minister Theresa May sent her congratulations to couple on their 'special' anniversary, while other messages came from the Women's Institute, of which the Queen has been a member longer than she has been married to the Duke, joining the Sandringham branch as a princess in 1943.
In 2007 on their 60th anniversary, the Queen bestowed the Royal Victorian Chain upon the Duke as a sign of her affection.
A series of portraits of the Queen and Philip taken by British photographer Matt Holyoak was released to mark the platinum anniversary.
The portraits show the monarch wearing a yellow gold, ruby and diamond scarab brooch, given as a personal gift from Philip to the Queen in 1966.
Commonwealth Realms
Appointments
Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, England, 1947
Personal Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty The King, British Empire and Commonwealth, June 1948 - February 1952,
Member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, United Kingdom, 1951
Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Scotland, 1952
Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, United Kingdom, 1953
Privy Councillor of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Canada, 1957
Member of the Order of Merit, Commonwealth realms, 1968
Order of the Dogwood, British Columbia, 1971
Extra Companion of the Queen's Service Order, New Zealand, 1981
Companion of the Order of Australia (Military Division), Australia, 1988
Royal Chief of the Order of Logohu, Papua New Guinea, 2005
Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, New Zealand, 2012
Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Canada, 2013
Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada, 2013
Knight of the Order of Australia (General Division), Australia, 2015
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Commonwealth realms 2017
+6
Decorations and medals
King George VI Coronation Medal, British Empire and Commonwealth, 1937
1939–1945 Star, United Kingdom, 1945
Atlantic Star, United Kingdom, 1945
Africa Star, United Kingdom, 1945
Burma Star, with Pacific clasp, United Kingdom, 1945
Italy Star, United Kingdom, 1945
1939-45 War Medal, with Mentioned in Despatches oak leaf, United Kingdom, 1945
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, Commonwealth, 1953
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, Commonwealth realms, 1977
Canadian Forces Decoration, with five bars, Canada, 1954
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, New Zealand, 1990
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Commonwealth Realms, 2002
Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada, 2005
Royal Victorian Chain, Commonwealth realms, 2007
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (both the British and Canadian versions), Commonwealth realms, 2012
Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with six bars, United Kingdom, 2016
+6
Other Commonwealth Countries
Appointments
Member First Class of the Order of the Brilliant Star, Zanzibar, 1963
Member of the Most Distinguished Order of Izzuddin, Maldives, 1972
Honorary Member of the Darjah Utama Temasek, Singapore, 1972
Member First Class of the Esteemed Royal Family Order, Brunei, 1972
Decorations
Sultan of Brunei Silver Jubilee Medal, Brunei, 1992
Malta George Cross Fiftieth Anniversary Medal, Malta, 1992
Foreign honours
Orders
Collar of the Royal Family Order of Saints George and Constantine with swords KSGC, Greece, 1941
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Redeemer Greece, 1947
Knight of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark, 1947
Knight Grand Cross with Swords of the Royal Order of George I, Greece, 1950 – 1975
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Phoenix, Greece, 1950
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles, Monaco, 1951
Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav, Norway, 1952
Grand Cross of the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero, Panama, 1953
Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim, Sweden, 1954
Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Queen of Sheba, Ethiopia, 1954
Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword, Portugal, 1955
Member First Class of the Order of King Faisal I, Iraq, 1956
Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, France, 1957
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic, Italy, 1958
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion, Netherlands, 1958
Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germany, 1958
Member of the Order of Ojaswi Rajanya, Nepal, 1960
Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose, Finland, 1961
Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence, Tunisia, 1961
Grand Band of the Order of the Star of Africa, Liberia, 1961
Grand Cross Extraordinary of the Order of Boyaca, Colombia, 1962
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit, Ecuador, 1962
Grand Cross in Brilliants of the Order of the Sun of Peru, Peru, 1962
Grand Cross of the Order of the Condor of the Andes, Bolivia, 1962
Collar of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Chile, 1962
Grand Cross of the National Order of the Southern Cross, Brazil, 1962
Grand Cross Extraordinary of the National Order of Merit, Paraguay, 1962
Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin, Argentina, 1962
Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold, Belgium, 1963
Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon, Iceland, 1963
Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexico, 1964
Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Jordan, 1966
Grand Commander of the Order of Maritime Merit of the San Francisco Port Authority, United States, 1968
Member First Class of the Order of the Supreme Sun, Afghanistan, 1971
Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, Japan, 1971
Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, Luxembourg, 1972
Yugoslav Great Star of the Order of the Yugoslav Star, Yugoslavia, 1972 – 1992
Star of Palestine, Palestine, 1972
Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Leopard, Zaire, 1973
Grand Collar of the Order of the Infante Dom Henrique, Portugal, 1973
Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark, Netherlands, 1979
Member First Class of the Military Order of Oman, Oman, 1979
Collar of the Order of Independence, Qatar, 1979
Grand Cross of the Order of Aviz, Portugal, 1979
Member Special Class of the Order of Muhammad, Morrocco, 1980
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Carlos III, Spain, 1986
Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, Poland, 1991
Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, Portugal, 1993
Order of the Federation, United Arab Emirates, 2010
Member of the Distinguished First Class of the King Abdul Aziz Order of Merit, Saudi Arabia, 2010
Decorations
Greek War Cross, Greece, 1945
Croix de Guerre with Palm, France, 1945
Decoration of the Republic, First Class, Sudan, 1964
Decoration for Service to the Republic of Austria, Grand Star, Austria, 1966
Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire, Iran, 1971
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