Here's how Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are actually related

This may come as a surprise to many, but British monarch Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are cousins.

The royal couple, who have been married for seven decades, are actually related, according to the Royal Family tree.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are second cousins once removed through husband and wife, King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel.

Also, they are third cousins through Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

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In 1934, then future Queen Elizabeth first became acquainted with Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. It was the royal wedding Prince Philip’s cousin, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark who exchanged vows with Queen Elizabeth’s paternal uncle, Prince George, Duke of Kent.

Her Majesty was only eight years old then and Prince Philip was 13.

The pair met again years later in July 1939 at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

Even though the Queen was only 13 years old at the time, she said she had already fallen for Prince Philip, who was then 18 years old. After that second meeting, they started to exchange love letters.

It took eight years of courting before Prince Philip finally proposed to Queen Elizabeth in the summer of 1947. Queen Elizabeth was already of age then at 21.

The engagement was a bit controversial back then since Prince Philip had no financial standing and he was not born in England but in Corfu, Greece.

A British author named Marion Crawford wrote in his book entitled The Little Princesses: The Story of the Queen's Childhood by her Nanny, Marion Crawford, ‘Some of the King's advisors did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Some of the papers played long and loud tunes on the string of Philip's foreign origin.’

Despite the scandal, the wedding pushed through. Prince Philip renounced both his Greek and Danish royal titles just to marry the love of his life. He also carried the name Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, which had the surname of his mother’s British family.

The pair finally exchanged vows on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey in London.