My job first, second and last
during a royal visit in 1939. Their meeting later sparked a flurry of letters and eventually a romance – leading to their marriage eight years later.
He served with distinction in the Royal Navy during the Second World War on ships in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific. At the Battle of Matapan in March 1941, he was mentioned in despatches for spotting an enemy vessel with a search light.
Then on a drab day in November 1947, he and Princess Elizabeth walked down the aisle, lighting up ration and bomb-damaged Britain and creating one of the century’s greatest marriages.
Since then, while playing a subordinate role in public, usually walking one step behind her with arms folded behind his back, he has been her “strength and stay” in all she does.
He has mocked himself as the world’s most experienced plaque unveiler. But he has been one of the busiest royals annually, clocking up 22,219 solo engagements, 5,496 speeches, representing more than 750 charities or other bodies as their patron and making 637 official visits to 143 countries. Even in his final year of public service the Duke has remained more active than the Queen or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
He has spent 52 days this year carrying out public duties, compared to 49 for the Queen, and 45 and 39 days respectively for William and Kate.
His first solo engagement, was on March 2, 1948, when he presented prizes at the London Federation of Boys’ Clubs Boxing Finals at the Royal Albert Hall.
When the Queen acceded to the throne in 1952, he was thrown in at