I remember writing, "Do fairy tales come true? Do fairy-tale marriages last "until death us do part'? They do only if they end immediately after Prince Charming arrives from nowhere on a galloping white stallion to pick up the damsel in distress and the pair vanishes into the sunset to live happily ever after." However, instead of focusing on the world of disposable relationships and short-term marriages, I present here a couple who had a fairy-tale wedding; this couple epitomizes an enduring relationship.

Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary in November 2007 with a moving thanksgiving service in Westminster Abbey, where the 21-year-old princess married the Royal Navy Lt. Philip Mountbatten, a prince of Greece and Denmark and a distant cousin five years her senior, on 20 November 1947. On this occasion, Westminster Abbey reportedly looked just as it did for the original ceremony 60 years ago.

Prince Phillip sat next to Queen Elizabeth II. Also in attendance were about 30 members of the royal family and the 2000-strong congregation invited for the occasion; all listened as Oscar-winning British actress Judi Dench read the poem "Diamond Wedding," written by the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, a poem on the subject of love and duty tempered by tenderness: "The years stacked up and as their weight increased / they pressed the stone of time to diamond--immortal, mortal, in its brilliant strength."

At the conclusion of the service, the queen and her husband viewed the wedding register that they had signed 60 years ago. Then the monarch greeted 10 other couples who had married on the same day and had also been invited to the service. The celebration service was held a day early so that the couple could leave on their diamond anniversary for a return visit to the Mediterranean island of Malta, their first home as a married couple. Phillip was stationed there as a Royal Naval officer from 1949-51.

The queen's life may appear to be bed of roses; however, the roses certainly have not been free of thorns. The love of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip has run its course and withstood the tests of time.

Born on April 21, 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary discovered a decade later that she was destined to lead an empire because of a fluke of history. The abdication announcement broadcast on Dec. 10, 1936, marked the dramatic climax of the romantic relationship between King Edward VIII, her uncle, and the American divorcee Mrs. Wallis Simpson. As a result, Elizabeth's father became king. Elizabeth was an accidental heir; this circumstance filled her with a sense of duty. On the occasion of her 21st birthday, Princess Elizabeth told the British people in a radio address that she would serve them d.jpgully. Elizabeth became queen upon the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952.

The Victorian writer Walter Bagehot famously advised the royal family: "We must not let in daylight upon magic." He realized that the institution of the monarchy depended on the mystery it conveyed to the public. Queen Elizabeth has upheld the dictum by keeping the curtains closed on her personal life.

The queen is admired for never putting a wrong foot in front of her. She has always led a model life, quiet, private, observing her duties, despite a succession of controversies centering on other members of the royal family, including widespread rumors of infidelity on the part of her husband, reports of his propensity for verbal gaffes, and scandals involving her children, three of four have been divorced. The infidelities and divorce of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana were splashed throughout the media. The marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson was quite a scandal. It is hard to imagine what Queen Elizabeth must have gone through and how many of her principles and ideals she was forced to sacrifice while striving to keep her family together in peace.

As Simone Signoret states, "Chains do not hold marriages together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years. That is what makes a marriage last." Obviously, the Queen has succeeded in finding that ideal component to keep her love and family together. Though many royal marriages have turned sour or been tainted by scandal, with illegitimate children, divorces, sordid affairs and tragedies, the queen exemplifies the old belief: "Marriages are made in heaven."

The diamond wedding anniversary made the queen the longest-married monarch in British history. The Archbishop of Canterbury praised the royal couple's commitment to each other as well as to the nation, and voiced his admiration for their endurance of the pressures of a marriage lived in "the full light of publicity." One may wonder how she has endured this long. The answer is simple. She has chosen love over hate and good over evil. Her faith in goodness has transcended her every defeat, fear, and illness. Jesus said, in Mark 5:34, "Your faith has made you well." She has studied the words and faithfully applied the principle from Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, endures all things, hopes all things." The Queen has passed the test of love, as set forth in the scriptures, with flying colors. And her successful passing of the test is the secret of her celebration of her diamond wedding anniversary.

May Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip be blessed with many more years of healthy and peaceful life filled with love.

In a culture in which many couples bail out when things get tough, to see this couple maintain the sanctity of marriage is inspirational.

Happy Valentine's Day to us.

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