Queen Elizabeth has been blessed by the good health and loyalty of her consort, Prince Philip, who will be at her side today as he has been these past 63 years. Without him her task would have been so much harder, as the Queen herself acknowledged on their golden wedding anniversary. “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.” Theirs has been a singular partnership.