Queen Elizabeth II's Poignant Photograph On First Father's Day Without Husband Prince Philip

Jun 21, 2021 by apost team

Across the world, people celebrated Father's Day on June 20, 2021, including members of the royal family. This is a difficult year for the royals, as the death of Prince Philip left the family and the country in mourning for a few weeks. While the senior member of the royal family have once again resumed work, the loss of Philip will be felt for a long time. 

For Father's Day this year, Queen Elizabeth shared a rare photo of her father, George VI, as well as the late Duke of Edinburgh, which has made many people on the internet emotional. Elizabeth was known to be remarkably close to her father growing up, and no matter how old you become, a person never forgets the pain of losing a parent. Prince Charles also took to social media to share a post for Father's Day. This is sure to be a difficult day for him as well after losing his father in April 2021. 

Philip lived an incredibly full life until he died at the age of 99 earlier this year. Not only was his life an extraordinary one, but his marriage was too —Elizabeth and Philip celebrated 73 years of marriage together, officially making theirs the longest royal marriage on record. Always by each other’s side, the couple endured a lot in their over seven-decade-long relationship. They remain a beacon of inspiration for people around the world.

It is certainly poignant that Philip, as well as his father-in-law Geroge VI, are in the rare photograph shared by the official Twitter account of the royal family. 

In the Twitter Post, the queen wrote, "To all dads everywhere, we wish you a very special Father’s Day. To mark #FathersDay we are sharing this photograph of The Queen with her father, King George VI, and Prince Philip watching a young Prince Charles sitting on a statue at Balmoral in 1951."  In the black and white photo, the monarch stands next to her father and the Duke of Edinburgh, who looks young and saying in the snap. The three of them look on and smile as a young Charles sits on a statue in the shot taken at Balmoral in 1951.

Good Housekeeping reported that Elizabeth shared a particularly close relationship with her father, and they spent a lot of time together as George prepared a young Elizabeth to take the throne one day. In fact, George wrote Elizabeth a letter after she married Philip, and he was saddened to lose his little girl to Philip during her wedding.

A never-before-seen letter that George wrote to Elizabeth read, "I was so proud and thrilled at having you so close to me on our long walk in Westminster Abbey. But when I handed your hand to the Archbishop, I felt I had lost something very precious... Your leaving us has left a great blank in our lives."

Independent UK reported that George had loved both of his daughters deeply, and was quoted as saying, "Lilibet is my pride. Margaret is my joy." It is certain that even after all these years, Elizabeth surely feels the loss of her beloved "Papa."   

apost.com

It must have also been difficult for Elizabeth to go through Father's Day this year without her devoted husband by her side. Philip died peacefully at age 99 according to an April 9 Buckingham Palace announcement. Having been married to Elizabeth for more than 70 years, he was the longest-serving spouse of any British monarch. The Duke of Edinburgh left behind his wife of 73 years, as well as their four children Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

Philip's death left the royal family in deep mourning, and photos from the funeral show a very grief-stricken Charles holding back tears during the procession and after the service. Charles paid tribute to his late father with his own Twitter and Instagram post, which read, "To all Papas everywhere, and to those who may be missing their Dads today, we are thinking of you and wishing you a special #FathersDay."

The post featured four photographs; the first showed a young Prince Charles with Philip in a black-and-white portrait, the second photo showed Charles with his own sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, at a polo match, and the remaining two photographs Duchess Camilla and her father, Bruce Shand. 

Considering the ongoing feud between Harry and his family, many people are commenting on the fact that Charles still chose to share a picture of Harry on social media. The entire family is set to reunite once more this year when Princess Diana's statue will be unveiled on July 1, 2021. Royal commentator and founder of True Royalty TV Nick Bullen told Us Weekly that Harry and Meghan's newborn daughter Lilibet Diana could bring the royal family closer after the difficult year they have had. 

What do you think of the beautiful photo shared by the queen for Father's Day? Did you celebrate Father's Day this year? Tell us about it, and be sure to pass this on to others as well.