(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-19 07:19

 

London -- Buckingham Palace released official photographs on Sunday to mark the diamond wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip. The pictures, one of which shows the queen looking into Philip's eyes with their arms linked, were taken earlier this year at Broadlands, the stately home in southern England where they spent their wedding night in 1947.

Heir to the throne Prince Charles was due to host a banquet in his parents' honour later Sunday before the 60th anniversary on Tuesday.

Queen Elizabeth, who has reigned since the death of her father King George VI in 1952, is the first British monarch to celebrate a diamond wedding anniversary.

She was 21-year-old Princess Elizabeth when she married young naval officer Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, 26, at Westminster Abbey on Nov 20, 1947.

More than, 2,000 people, including senior royals and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, are due to fill the abbey on Monday for a service celebrating the anniversary.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will lead prayers, second in line to the throne Prince William will give a reading and actress Judi Dench will read verses written for the occasion by poet laureate Andrew Motion.

The guest list includes 20 ordinary Britons who married on the same day as the queen and prince.

Philip was born into the Greek royal family and is related to many of Europe's royal clans. Relatives from the German side of his family were scheduled to attend Monday's service.

They were not invited to the wedding in 1947 because of British hostility to its recently defeated World War II enemy.

On the couple's golden anniversary in 1997, Elizabeth praised her husband as 'my strength and stay'. Philip - renowned for his blunt and occasionally politically incorrect comments over the years - praised his wife's character.

'I think the main lesson that we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage,' he said. 'You can take it from me that the queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.'

Britain's postal service has issued a series of postage stamps to mark the diamond anniversary, and the Royal Mint has produced 21 jewel-encrusted Faberge eggs adorned with the couple's names.

The mint said the eggs - made from red enamel set with 18-carat gold and diamonds and priced at 29,950 pounds (S$88,552)) apiece - have been reserved by buyers.

The royal couple will spend Tuesday on a private visit to Malta, where Philip was based with the navy in the early years of their marriage. From there, they travel to Uganda for a summit of leaders from the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies.

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