Royal couple 'have got chemistry' after 70 years

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh still have chemistry after 70 years of marriage, her former press secretary has said.

Dickie Arbiter revealed that while Philip makes the Queen laugh, she, in turn, also amuses him.

The Queen, who is the first British sovereign to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary, was a 21-year-old princess when she walked up the aisle on November 20 1947 to wed Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in London's Westminster Abbey.

Arbiter told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "There was love and adoration when they were driving back from Westminster Abbey.

"That exists today. They've got humour. They've got affection for each other. They've got chemistry."

He added: "She does make him laugh. What you see in public is very different from the person that you see in private.

"They are two people that are pretty much wrapped up in each other, although they do give each other space.

"She's got a job to do. He's got a role and they allow each other to get on with it."

He described Elizabeth and Philip as being like "pretty much a normal married couple".

"The fact that the Queen is head of state and head of nation is neither here nor there when they're sitting across the table from each other," he said.

The royal couple's relationship has lasted the longest of any British sovereign, and Philip has been at the Queen's side throughout the decades, supporting her as she devotes herself to her duties as head of state.