The general public loves to witness a royal wedding. However, romance isn’t always smooth sailing, and the same can be said of many of the Royal Family‘s unions. In fact, one famous royal couple faced pushback from their parents regarding their intention to marry.

In the book Queen Elizabeth II: A Concise Biography of an Exceptional Sovereign, royal historian David Cannadine revealed that, according to a well-connected courtier, Queen Elizabeth II‘s parents weren’t enamored with Prince Philip at first.

“On active wartime service in the Royal Navy, he was soon spending some of his shore leave at Windsor, staying in the castle over Christmas 1943,” Cannadine wrote. “Not long after, according to one account, Philip told his cousin, King George of Greece, that he wished to marry Princess Elizabeth, and urged him to ask George VI, on his behalf, if he was an appropriate spouse for his daughter.”

Unfortunately for Philip, Elizabeth’s parents allegedly weren’t excited about the idea of their daughter’s prospective suitor. “But according to Tommy Lascelles [private secretary to King George VI and later Queen Elizabeth II], The King and Queen thought Prince Philip to be ‘rough, ill-mannered, uneducated, and would probably not be faithful,’ views that Lascelles undoubtedly shared,” the royal historian wrote.

Per Cannadine, Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, tried to put a stop to a romance between Philip and his daughter. In fact, he apparently warned Philip that he “had better not think any more” about getting married to Elizabeth.

In spite of the warnings, Philip and Elizabeth reportedly continued to write to one another, and “Elizabeth kept a photograph of a bearded Prince Philip on her desk in the suite of rooms she had recently been assigned in Buckingham Palace,” per Cannadine.

In 1946, Elizabeth’s parents “invited Philip to spend three weeks at Balmoral, and while staying there he proposed to Elizabeth, and she accepted,” per the royal historian. However, Elizabeth’s father “urged delay before any formal announcement was made, fearing his daughter was still too young, unworldly, and inexperienced to know her own mind or be clear about her feelings.”

Luckily, Elizabeth’s choice of spouse appears to have been the right one. Philip and Elizabeth tied the knot on November 20, 1947, and they remained together until the former Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021.