On Friday, Queen Elizabeth II shared a private, never-before-seen photo of herself with her husband Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 last Friday. Taken in 2003, the sweet photo shows the married couple at the top of the Coyles of Muick, Scotland on the Balmoral estate.
"A place they felt unburdened, happy, relaxed," royal editor Chris Ship tweeted. He also added that the image was taken by Sophie, Countess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
“The queen has been left absolutely devastated,” NBC News royal contributor Camilla Tominey told Weekend TODAY last Saturday about the death of her husband.
The queen returned to work Tuesday and resumed her royal duties at Windsor Castle following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. The queen is also preparing for Saturday's funeral, which is expected to include her son Prince Charles and his sons, Prince Harry and Prince William, walking behind Prince Philip’s coffin. Due to COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom, only 30 people will be allowed to attend the event, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. London time.
After the announcement of Prince Philip's passing, the Twitter account for the royal family shared another sweet photo of the royal couple, shot by renowned photographer Annie Lebowitz in 1997.
“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," the caption for the pic says, a quote attributed to the queen herself.
Queen Elizabeth and Philip had a decades-long love story, celebrating their 73rd anniversary last November and enjoying a longer union than any other couple in the history of the British monarchy.
After spending the first years of their marriage in Malta, where Philip was stationed as a naval officer, the couple returned to England when King George VI died. The princess became the new monarch in 1953.
"This was something that was revolutionary, frankly," British historian Andrew Roberts told TODAY. "He was a man who was a highly competitive person and for the whole of the rest of (his) life, he's got to stand two or three paces behind the most famous woman in the world."