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| Queen celebrates diamond wedding | Queen celebrates diamond wedding |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Queen and Prince Philip have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a service which featured a reading from Prince William. | |
| Prayers were said and the Archbishop of Canterbury asked the couple, in a blessing, to "renew in your hearts promises you made to one another". | |
| More than 30 family members were among 2,000 people at Westminster Abbey. | |
| Other guests included five choristers from the 1947 service, as well as 10 couples who married on the same day. | |
| We can give special thanks for the very public character of the witness and the sign offered to us by this marriage Dr Rowan Williams | We can give special thanks for the very public character of the witness and the sign offered to us by this marriage Dr Rowan Williams |
| The Queen is the first British monarch to reach a diamond wedding anniversary. | The Queen is the first British monarch to reach a diamond wedding anniversary. |
| Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said in his sermon that every marriage is a public event but that "some couples have to live more than others in the full light of publicity". | Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said in his sermon that every marriage is a public event but that "some couples have to live more than others in the full light of publicity". |
| "We are probably more aware than ever these days of the pressures this brings," he will add. | "We are probably more aware than ever these days of the pressures this brings," he will add. |
| "But it also means that we can give special thanks for the very public character of the witness and the sign offered to us by this marriage and what it has meant to nation and Commonwealth over the decades." | "But it also means that we can give special thanks for the very public character of the witness and the sign offered to us by this marriage and what it has meant to nation and Commonwealth over the decades." |
| Dame Judi Dench read the poem Diamond Wedding | Dame Judi Dench read the poem Diamond Wedding |
| During prayers, the congregation were asked to pray "for her majesty and his royal highness - for their life together as husband and wife". | During prayers, the congregation were asked to pray "for her majesty and his royal highness - for their life together as husband and wife". |
| Prince William, in his reading of 1 John 4: 7-16, told the congregation to "let us love one another, because love is from God". | Prince William, in his reading of 1 John 4: 7-16, told the congregation to "let us love one another, because love is from God". |
| Dame Judi Dench, meanwhile, read the poem Diamond Wedding - written especially for the occasion by poet laureate Andrew Motion - which speaks of "a life remote from ours because it asked each day, each action to be kept in view". | Dame Judi Dench, meanwhile, read the poem Diamond Wedding - written especially for the occasion by poet laureate Andrew Motion - which speaks of "a life remote from ours because it asked each day, each action to be kept in view". |
| Psalm setting | Psalm setting |
| There was also be a procession of representatives from different religions including the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh faiths. | There was also be a procession of representatives from different religions including the Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh faiths. |
| Congratulations to them both. However I can't remember voting for them. Jehricou99 Send us your comments | Congratulations to them both. However I can't remember voting for them. Jehricou99 Send us your comments |
| As was the case in 1947, a setting by EC Bairstow of Psalm 67 - God Be Merciful Unto Us And Bless Us - was sung by the abbey choir. | As was the case in 1947, a setting by EC Bairstow of Psalm 67 - God Be Merciful Unto Us And Bless Us - was sung by the abbey choir. |
| Other elements that remained the same included the performance, at the start of the service, of We Wait For thy Loving Kindness O God, composed for the original ceremony by then-organist Dr William McKie. | Other elements that remained the same included the performance, at the start of the service, of We Wait For thy Loving Kindness O God, composed for the original ceremony by then-organist Dr William McKie. |
| Similarly, the hymn Lord's My Shepherd, set to the Scottish tune Crimond and chosen by the then-princess for her wedding, was sung. | Similarly, the hymn Lord's My Shepherd, set to the Scottish tune Crimond and chosen by the then-princess for her wedding, was sung. |
| At the end of the service, the royal couple walked back up the aisle and met 10 couples who were also married on 20 November 1947. | At the end of the service, the royal couple walked back up the aisle and met 10 couples who were also married on 20 November 1947. |
| The couple's actual 60th wedding anniversary is on Tuesday when they will travel to Malta where they lived as a young married couple from 1949 to 1951, while Prince Philip was stationed there as a serving Royal Naval officer. | The couple's actual 60th wedding anniversary is on Tuesday when they will travel to Malta where they lived as a young married couple from 1949 to 1951, while Prince Philip was stationed there as a serving Royal Naval officer. |
| Royal family members turned out for a wedding anniversary dinner at Clarence House.Enlarge Image | Royal family members turned out for a wedding anniversary dinner at Clarence House.Enlarge Image |
| On Sunday, members of the Royal family attended a celebration dinner hosted by Prince Charles at Clarence House. | On Sunday, members of the Royal family attended a celebration dinner hosted by Prince Charles at Clarence House. |
| The 1947 wedding, according to one of the couple's friends, was a moment of "blissful brightness and happiness" after World War II. | The 1947 wedding, according to one of the couple's friends, was a moment of "blissful brightness and happiness" after World War II. |
| The couple received gifts from around the world 60 years ago. | The couple received gifts from around the world 60 years ago. |
| These included a thoroughbred horse, 131 pairs of nylon stockings - a rare commodity at a time of rationing and austerity - and 500 tins of pineapple. | These included a thoroughbred horse, 131 pairs of nylon stockings - a rare commodity at a time of rationing and austerity - and 500 tins of pineapple. |
| However, BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt says Mahatma Gandhi's present caught the disapproving eye of Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth's grandmother. | However, BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt says Mahatma Gandhi's present caught the disapproving eye of Queen Mary, Princess Elizabeth's grandmother. |
| She told a friend the piece of hand-spun lace was "indelicate", mistaking the tray cover for the Indian leader's loincloth. | She told a friend the piece of hand-spun lace was "indelicate", mistaking the tray cover for the Indian leader's loincloth. |