Love, Duty and Diplomacy: The Mixed Response to the 1947 Engagement of Princess Elizabeth

Abstract

This chapter examines the mixed public response to rumours of Princess Elizabeth’s betrothal to Prince Philip of Greece in 1947. It focuses on a selection of letters written by members of the British public to the Sunday Pictorial newspaper in response to its pioneering poll on the suitability of the royal engagement. Some respondents viewed the betrothal with suspicion in light of recent political developments in Greece, while others believed the princess’s emotional fulfilment would offset the burdens of royal public life. The chapter then explores how, in the lead up to the official announcement of the couple’s engagement in July 1947, royal aids and the mass media drew special attention to Elizabeth’s burdensome duties and her ostensible ‘normality’ in order to generate sympathy for her and support for her choice of Philip as a husband among a public who could identify with her romantic ambitions.