Royal romance: The bizarre thing Prince Philip did to woo young Queen Elizabeth II

Philip and the Queen have known each other for more than 80 years, having met for the first time when the young princess was only 13 years old. Elizabeth was visiting Prince Philip’s naval college in Dartmouth in 1939 when, according to royal watchers, it was love at first sight. The couple reportedly exchanged long letters before they officially started dating.

According to a 2007 report by the Daily Mirror, Philip did something a bit unusual to woo the then-princess when the two were just friends.

Royal correspondent James Whitaker revealed: “They sealed their friendship over ginger biscuits and lemonade.

“Then Philip demonstrated his athleticism by jumping over the nets of the college tennis courts.”

Royal correspondent Ingrid Sewart echoed Mr Whitaker’s comments in the 2014 documentary “The Majestic Life of Queen Elizabeth II” , suggesting the young princess was particularly drawn to Philip’s strength and confidence.

Ms Seward said: “Prince Philip was very alpha male.

“Quite controlling, but very positive.

“I don’t think Princess Elizabeth ever met a man like that in her life.

“She was used to going out with Lord-this, Lord-that and you know people being very deferential to her.

“Suddenly someone comes along and tells her what to do, and drives too fast and does all these sort of things.

“I think he was just so male and she was so incredibly in love with him.”

Writer and broadcaster Hugo Vickers added that the Queen also quite enjoyed being told off by Philip.

Mr Vickers said: “The thing with the Queen and Prince Philip is that they both are very, very well matched.

“She took on somebody her own size.

“He is the one person who can categorically tell her if something is not going well.

“He can talk to her directly and he does.”