The Changing Face of Marriage – 70 Years of Strength and Stay

On November 20^th 2017 Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Phillip will celebrate their Platinum wedding anniversary, the longest Royal marriage in British history. Her Majesty the Queen described Prince Phillip as her “strength & stay” throughout the last 70 years. The royal couple have lived through so much together during their reign, seeing the country and the world change, but another thing that has probably changed a lot in the last 70 years is the face of marriage – so what is the secret to a happy marriage?

To investigate what makes a happy marriage and how marriage has changed over the last 70 years, The London Mint Office conducted a study surveying 2000 couples of varying ages, with some very interesting findings.

Changing Face of Marriage: Key Findings

The study carried out by The London Mint Office has since been used by several major media outlets. Click below to find out more:

One in ten grooms now take their wife’s surname, study finds – The Telegraph

Keeping up with the Smith-Joneses: you no longer have to be posh to be double-barrelled – The Guardian

Patience, doing everything together and kisses at bedtime – The Daily Mail

To further investigate the information gathered, The London Mint Office spoke with four couples who, like The Queen, are also celebrating their 70^th anniversary this year. Conducting the interview was former Royal Commentator Jennie Bond.

To commemorate the Royal Platinum wedding anniversary, The London Mint Office have struck a FREE Royal Platinum Wedding Anniversary Photographic Coin featuring a picture of Her Majesty The Queen and Prince Phillip on their wedding day.

The London Mint Office Royal Platinum Wedding Anniversary Coin

Greg Prosser, The London Mint Office Managing Director, says: “It’s hard to imagine spending 70 years with one individual. To reach this milestone is testament to the tremendous character of the royal couple and their unswerving dedication to one another and the nation, since their wedding on 20^th November 1947. We wanted to celebrate their historic achievement and so we are launching this commemorative coin, beautifully inscribed with ‘strength and stay’, the words the Queen has used to describe her spouse”.

Commenting at the launch of the coin, Journalist and former Royal Commentator and Broadcaster, Jennie Bond, said: “Over the years, I have witnessed and reported on many important royal milestones from a very close range. As we celebrate the Queen’s 70 years of marriage to Prince Philip I am proud to reveal The London Mint Office’s beautifully crafted coin, a gift to the nation. It captures The Queen and Prince Philip, on their wedding day, a true symbol of romance for our modern day and provides us with a wonderful way of commemorating the first royal wedding to last 70 years.”

We will never, in our lifetimes, celebrate another Royal Platinum Wedding Anniversary. So to mark this record-breaking occasion the Platinum Wedding Photographic Coin features an original wedding portrait of Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh from the archives of the National Portrait Gallery.