Elizabeth II, Prince Philip celebrate 70th anniversary

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, celebrated 70 years of marriage Monday, the longest union of any monarch in British history.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was one of many to jump on social media to congratulate the royal couple. “They have devoted their lives to the service of the UK and the Commonwealth — my best wishes to them both on this special occasion,” she tweeted.

Elizabeth was a 21-year-old princess when she married Lt. Philip Mountbatten, a 26-year-old Royal Navy officer, in an elaborate ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947.

Then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously described the occasion as “a flash of color on the hard road we travel.”

The queen is the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary. On their 50th, the queen described Prince Philip as “someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments, but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.”

The duke, who is famous for his off-the-cuff clangers, once joked the secret to a long marriage was to “spend plenty of time apart and have different interests.”

The queen, 91, is Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, having surpassed the record set by her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. Prince Philip, 96, is Britain’s longest-serving consort.