1947: News - Announcement of the Royal Betrothal
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The 'Seven O'Clock News' reports the formal announcement of Princess Elizabeth's engagement to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten. As was customary at the time, newsreader Ronald Fletcher delivers the text of the court circular before offering best wishes to the happy couple on behalf of the listeners at home.
Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten was the only son of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece, but in the spring of 1947 he renounced his Greek royal title and became a naturalised British subject. Mountbatten was the Anglicised surname of his maternal grandfather, whose second name was originally Battenberg.
Originally broadcast on 10 July 1947.