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19/11/2007
Queen's Diamond Anniversary Celebrations Underway
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have started celebrations in advance of their 60th wedding anniversary tomorrow with a service at Westminster Abbey.
More than 2,000 people attended today's service, which included more than 30 family members, such as Prince William, who gave a reading.
Other guests included representatives from the former Royal Yacht Britannia, the Royal Train and the Royal Squadron, five choristers from the couple's wedding in 1947 and 10 other couples who were married on the same day.
Actress Dame Judi Dench also read the poem 'Diamond Wedding', which was written specially for the service by poet laureate Andrew Motion.
Leading the service, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said: "Every marriage is a public event, but some couples have to live more than others in the full light of publicity.
"We are probably more aware than ever these days of the pressures this brings. But it also means that we can give special thanks for the very public character of the witness and the sign offered to us by this marriage, and what it has meant to nation and Commonwealth over the decades."
Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten married on November 20, 1947. The Queen is the first British sovereign to celebrate a diamond wedding.
(KMcA)
More than 2,000 people attended today's service, which included more than 30 family members, such as Prince William, who gave a reading.
Other guests included representatives from the former Royal Yacht Britannia, the Royal Train and the Royal Squadron, five choristers from the couple's wedding in 1947 and 10 other couples who were married on the same day.
Actress Dame Judi Dench also read the poem 'Diamond Wedding', which was written specially for the service by poet laureate Andrew Motion.
Leading the service, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams said: "Every marriage is a public event, but some couples have to live more than others in the full light of publicity.
"We are probably more aware than ever these days of the pressures this brings. But it also means that we can give special thanks for the very public character of the witness and the sign offered to us by this marriage, and what it has meant to nation and Commonwealth over the decades."
Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten married on November 20, 1947. The Queen is the first British sovereign to celebrate a diamond wedding.
(KMcA)
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