During their marriage, Prince Philip made sure to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday every year in a special way.
The queen, who died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96, had a birthday tradition with the Duke of Edinburgh, who seemed to be a romantic and knew how to mark a special occasion — without exception. And now, as the world honors Queen Elizabeth, the tradition serves as a reminder of the care they had for one another.
In 1976, a story by UPI, published just before the queen's 50th birthday bash, noted that on “birthday morning the queen will find a flower on her breakfast tray," calling it "a token her husband never forgets" on her birthday.
In fact, if anything, it seems that Prince Philip only made the gesture grander as the years went by.
In 2020, as Elizabeth approached her 94th birthday, Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward spoke to Sky News about the couple’s sweet tradition and said, "Prince Philip always brings her a beautiful bouquet of flowers."
And, after 73 years of marriage, he always knew which blooms to get.
"I think she likes white flowers, and there's always some lily of the valley,” the royal expert mentioned. “She loves flowers, so that is what she will have.”
It's also what she made sure that Prince Philip had as he was laid to rest last Friday — his coffin covered in white flowers at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
In Seward's interview, she also noted that even though the queen's birthday celebration in 2020 had to be streamlined for the queen, that it wouldn't have been a problem.
“I don't think the Queen will mind too much because, because she once said there are so many birthdays and so many anniversaries that ‘we as a family are only really inclined to celebrate every 10 years.’” And Seward added, “She is very much thinks of others rather than herself. She's got that wonderful sense of duty, and she's very humble."
However, Seward said that she believed someone would "definitely" carry on his tradition of delivering flowers to the queen.
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Last year, the queen's birthday was different than past celebrations, of course, as Prince Philip had died on April 9, 2021 and the monarch was in mourning.
There was no 41-gun salute in Hyde Park, no 21-gun salute in Windsor Great Park and no 62-gun salute at the Tower of London. There were no plans for the annual public celebration, Trooping the Colour, to take place in the months ahead. But those were all canceled in 2020, as well, due to the pandemic.
During that time, her majesty shared a message on social media that spoke more of Philip’s death than her own special day.
“I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate,” she wrote.
“While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and round the world. My family and I would like to thank you for all the support and kindness shown to us in recent days. We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life.”
In April, right before her 96th birthday, Queen Elizabeth and the royal family honored Prince Philip on the one-year anniversary of his death.
“Remembering His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on the first anniversary of his death,” the tweet read, sharing a link to a memorial page of the prince.
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