Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip Had Some Major Problems In Their Marriage

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As anyone will tell you, marriage is hard. Living with another person's habits and manias takes a toll on everyone, and apparently, it wasn't any different for two of the most famous members of the British royal family. At least this is what the book "The Windsor Legacy," written by Robert Jobson, exposes (per Page Six). From the looks of it, the book makes the case that the late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, had some fights that escalated to the point of throwing objects.

You may think you know the story of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's relationship, but Jobson's book sheds new light on the couple, including their younger years. During this time, Philip's dreams of becoming an active Royal Navy officer were halted (per Warfare History Network) due to being considered a "neutral foreigner." Also, once Elizabeth ascended to the British throne in 1952, when she was just 25 years old, Philip suddenly had a whole new set of duties, which didn't necessarily match his military service ambitions.

There is one particular fight between the couple that became infamous to the point it was dramatized in the Netflix series "The Crown," with Claire Foy and Matt Smith starring as the couple. Back in 1954, Elizabeth and Philip were supposed to record a video with koala bears in Australia, so a film crew was already on location. However, the pair allegedly got into an argument, which escalated so much that Queen Elizabeth threw a pair of shoes and a tennis racket in Philip's direction — and it was all caught on camera.

Being the spouse of a high-ranking individual often means you sometimes have to just stand, smile, and wave during various occasions. Prince Philip was put in this position, which some men would probably not have tolerated in the '50s. According to Robert Jobson's book, once Philip abandoned the life he had before he met Queen Elizabeth, he felt weaker.

It is claimed in "The Windsor Legacy" that Philip "clashed with palace courtiers because of his independence and ideas for modernizing the monarchy." One of his most frustrating moments was apparently when he tried to fight tooth and nail for his kids to have his last name ("Mountbatten"), but lost the battle because heirs to the U.K. throne had to take the last name "Windsor" – and they take the rules seriously. Philip allegedly said (per Daily Mail): "I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his children ... I am nothing but a bloody amoeba."

Despite all those problems, the couple stuck together, and they eventually figured each other out — even dealing with major affair rumors that plagued Elizabeth and Philip's relationship. As the book reports, Philip moved to a cottage on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk in 2017, but returned to Windsor Castle in 2020 when the pandemic erupted. Jobson wrote: "He and the queen spent precious time together, giving her a 'new lease on life' ... The couple settled into a routine, sharing afternoon tea most days, which delighted the queen."