At this moment the greyness lifts for an hour, like a promise of the future, as the girl who may be the future Queen of England […] comes to the Abbey Church of Westminster to marry the Prince with whom her great destiny is linked’. - H. V. Morton, 1947.

Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, is on her left and her young cousins and page boys, Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent, are holding her veil.

Group photos taken at Buckingham Palace after the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, 20 November 1947.

‘I remember clearly being asked and I think the first thing that went through my head was “Oh Lord, I’m going to have to wear a dress” […] This is the dress that my mother wore as a bridesmaid to Princess Elizabeth. It’s a very fairy-tale dress, I love the little tiny flowers that have been embroidered on. Of course my mother is far too good-mannered to ever mention that in fact, being netting, it’s actually quite a scratchy dress. I did, unfortunately, get the 1980s, so that [dress] is quite a puffball. It was possibly a time in fashion that I didn’t necessarily respond to. - India Hicks, A Very Royal Wedding (ITV, 2017).

King George VI helps his daughter Princess Elizabeth out of The Glass Coach as she arrives at Westminster Abbey on her wedding day, 20 November 1947.

Colour footage of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten’s wedding day on 20 November 1947.

While older cousin Princess Margaret appears to give Michael some gentle encouragement, Philip’s mother Princess Alice takes a more stern approach to William’s fidgeting. 

King George VI walks his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, down the aisle of Westminster Abbey on her wedding day to Philip Mountbatten, 20 November 1947.