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Cayman Islands
25th Anniversary of the Marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
1972
BU Silver 25 Dollar 45mm (52.99 grams) 0.925 Silver (1.5271 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 9, Y# 9
Certification: NGC
MS 68 2863757-014
CAYMAN ISLANDS ELIZABETH II 1972, Elizabeth II facing right.
SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY 1947-1972 · TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS ·, Conjoined Elizabeth over Philip to right above value.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
 The wedding of Princess Elizabeth, elder daughter of King George VI and heir presumptive to the British throne, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a former Greek and Danish prince, took place on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London. Philip had been made Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich on the morning of the wedding.
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh married at 11:30 GMT on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. Princess Elizabeth became the tenth member of the Royal Family to be married at the Abbey.
Bridal party
Princess Elizabeth was attended by eight bridesmaids: The Princess Margaret (her younger sister), Princess Alexandra of Kent (her first cousin), Lady Caroline Montagu-Douglas-Scott (daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch), Lady Mary Cambridge (her second cousin), Lady Elizabeth Lambart (daughter of the Earl of Cavan), Lady Pamela Mountbatten (Philip’s first cousin), Margaret Elphinstone (her first cousin), and Diana Bowes-Lyon (her first cousin). Her cousins Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent served as page boys. The bridesmaids wore wreaths “in their hair of miniature white sheaves, Lilies and London Pride, modelled in white satin and silver lame”, while the pages wore Royal Stewart tartan kilts.
The best man was the Marquess of Milford Haven, the groom’s maternal first cousin. The Marquess was a grandson of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine; and a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
Wedding attire
For her wedding dress, Elizabeth still required ration coupons to buy the material for her gown, designed by Norman Hartnell. The dress was “a duchesse satin bridal gown with motifs of star lilies and orange blossoms.” Elizabeth’s wedding shoes were made out of satin and were trimmed with silver and seed pearl. Elizabeth did her own makeup for the wedding. Her wedding bouquet was prepared by the florist M. H. Longman, and consisted of “white orchids with a sprig of myrtle”. The myrtle was taken from “the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet”. The bouquet was returned to the abbey the day after the service to be laid on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, following a tradition started by Elizabeth’s mother at her wedding in 1923.
On the morning of her wedding, as Princess Elizabeth was dressing at Buckingham Palace before leaving for Westminster Abbey, her tiara snapped. The court jeweller, who was standing by in case of emergency, was rushed to his work room by a police escort. Queen Elizabeth reassured her daughter that it would be fixed in time, and it was. Elizabeth’s father gave her a pair of pearl necklaces, which had belonged to Queen Anne and Queen Caroline, as a wedding present. On her wedding day, Elizabeth realised that she had left her pearls at St James’s Palace. Her private secretary, Jock Colville, was asked to go and retrieve them. He was able to get the pearls to the princess in time for her portrait in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace.
Wedding service
The royal parties were brought in large carriage processions, the first with the Queen and Princess Margaret and later a procession with Queen Mary. Philip left Kensington Palace with his best man, the Marquess of Milford Haven. Princess Elizabeth arrived at the Abbey with her father, the King, in the Irish State Coach.
The ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, and the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett. The ceremony was recorded and broadcast by BBC Radio to 200 million people around the world.
Wedding ring
Like her mother’s, Princess Elizabeth’s wedding band was made of Welsh gold. The ring was made from a nugget of Welsh gold from the Clogau St David’s mine, near Dolgellau; this nugget had been given to the then Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, and used to make her wedding ring and subsequently the wedding rings of both of her daughters. The same nugget was later used to create the wedding rings of Princess Anne and Lady Diana Spencer.
 The Cayman Islands is an autonomous British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea. The 264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile) territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the south of Cuba and northeast of Honduras, between Jamaica and the Yucatán Peninsula. The total population of the three islands is approximately 60,765. The capital city is George Town, situated on Grand Cayman.
 The Cayman Islands is considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean Zone as well as the Greater Antilles. The territory is often considered a major world offshore financial haven for international businesses and many wealthy individuals.
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