‘WHILE she wore the crown, he wore the trousers.’

The Duke of Edinburgh was, apparently, the only man who could say to the Queen “Shut up.”

True or not, I am sure the Queen gave as good as she got.

I’m not a royalist by any means, but I have to take my hat off to the Queen and Prince Philip, for sticking together, through thick and thin, for 73 years.

It’s quite an achievement, considering the average marriage in the UK lasts for a mere 30 years, ending through divorce, separation or death of a partner.

Forty two per cent of marriages end in divorce, around half of these occurring in the first ten years of marriage.

They don’t teach you about marriage in school - perhaps they should, because it’s one of the biggest challenges many of us will face.

It’s no bed of roses. You have to take the rough with the smooth and, often, there’s far more rough.

The success of the Queen and Prince Philip’s long-lasting union was put down to their compatibility. They shared interests and had the same dutiful royal training. Both had similar passions - they loved horses and the outdoor life.

Yet in character, the Queen and Philip were quite different. She was passive, cautious and conventional; he was more adventurous, tempestuous and active.

They say opposites attract. My own marriage - which has had its ups and downs in the 27 years we have been together - reflects that. My husband is not unsociable but is happy in his own company, accepts anything that comes his way and doesn’t get worked up about things. I am the complete opposite.

For these reasons we both find the other incredibly annoying, but strangely it works. What we do share is interests - nature, art, walking. A relationship in which people are carbon copies of each other in character as well as interests would be hugely dull.

We married on April 30, the same date as my parents, who this month celebrate 61 years together. Last year, they received a card from the Queen, to mark their diamond anniversary. Another marriage that has lasted, and is as strong as ever.

Marriages often fail as couples’ expectations are high and they are not prepared to work at it when things go wrong - it’s nothing new, look at Henry Vlll.

You start off in seventh heaven but after a few years of having to deal with his smelly socks and wet towels dumped on the floor, and him having to put up with your own bad habits as well as your nagging, the romance doesn’t just fade, it flies out of the door.

Of course there won’t have been any smelly socks or damp towels for the Queen to pick up - she has staff to do that. In fact, it’s unlikely Her Majesty will have ever set eyes on a man’s discarded sock - they are thought to have separate bedrooms - explained as being ‘an upper class tradition’. More like it’s an all-round better way of getting a good night’s sleep, and many of us would if we could.

Maybe this made married life easier, maybe not, but for all their privileges, the royal couple have pressures that we mere mortals would find overwhelming.

To live a life constantly in the public eye can’t be easy. It’s hard enough managing your own marriage in private, where only the neighbours and cat can hear you yelling at one another, but to be conducting it surrounded by and watched by, other people, must be so difficult.

It’s hard to imagine how the Queen feels without her constant companion of seven decades. I wish her well.