The British royals have made grand romantic gestures for their partners – but also expressed love in low-key ways . In celebration of Valentine’s Day, here are 10 of the most romantic gestures the royals have made over the years … 1. Prince Philip gave up smoking on his wedding day Prince Philip’s valet John Dean told Vanity Fair that the prince quit smoking “suddenly and apparently without difficulty” on the day of his wedding since he knew how much Queen Elizabeth hated her father’s cigarette addiction. 2. Queen Elizabeth and Philip shared a blanket at the Braemar Gathering in 2015 While watching competitors in running, lifting weights, solo piping and solo dance, Queen Elizabeth and Philip got cosy under a checked blanket. 3. Married for 73 years before Philip’s death in 2021, he always held her umbrella It’s been said that Princess Elizabeth had been in love with Prince Philip since she was 13. Even decades later, they could still be spotted laughing together and he made a point of always holding an umbrella for her. Princess Fadzilah of Brunei’s 10-day royal wedding celebration, wrapped 4. Princess Diana’s wedding shoes contained a hidden tribute to Prince Charles In addition to being covered by 542 sequins and 132 pearls, Diana’s wedding shoes contained a hidden “C” under one heel and a “D” under the other for Charles and Diana. 5. For Camilla’s 60th birthday, Charles surprised her by conducting London’s Philharmonia Orchestra “They are a remarkable orchestra,” Prince Charles said in an interview with BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions . “He was terribly keen I should conduct it. I said, you must be out of your mind. Finally he persuaded me against my better judgment and we did it as a special surprise.” 6. Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with his mother’s engagement ring Princess Diana picked out her engagement ring – a sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds – from a Garrard catalogue. Even though she wasn’t there to see Prince William meet and marry the love of his life, her memory lived on when he proposed to Kate Middleton with the same ring. Middleton continues to wear it daily. How Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will take 2022 by storm 7. On a trip to the French Alps, William and Kate got into a playful snowball fight While the royal couple is usually very composed and refrain from affectionate gestures in public, they have occasionally goofed around and shown PDA. 7. Meghan Markle’s wedding veil contained fabric from the dress she wore on her first date with Prince Harry In a clip from Queen of the World , a documentary about Queen Elizabeth, Markle revealed that the piece of blue fabric had been her “something blue” on her wedding day. Her 4.9-metre, silk tulle veil also featured a trim of hand-embroidered flowers, representing each of the 53 countries in Britain’s Commonwealth, as well as a California Poppy, the official flower of her home state California. 8. Harry is often spotted fixing Markle’s hair when it gets blown out of place or stuck in her collar On several occasions, Prince Harry was filmed covertly fixing Markle’s hair on royal engagements. He smoothed down her hair from the wind during her charity cookbook launch in 2018, and adjusted her ponytail when it got stuck in her dress collar on a visit to Cape Town, South Africa, in 2019. Meet India Hicks, Prince Charles’ cousin and Princess Diana’s bridesmaid 9. Markle wrote a children’s book inspired by Harry and Archie’s relationship The Bench is about the connection between father and son as seen through a mother’s eyes, inspired by Prince Harry’s relationship with two-year-old Archie. Released in June, it became a New York Times bestseller. “ The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” Markle was quoted as saying in the press release. “That poem became this story,” she added. 10. Princess Eugenie posts heartfelt messages to husband Jack Brooksbank on Instagram Princess Eugenie is one of the only royals who maintains a personal Instagram account. She occasionally shares sweet photos of her and her husband. “Happy Birthday to you, my one and only Jack,” she captioned a snapshot of the two of them posted on Brooksbank’s birthday. “You are one of a kind and totally extraordinary. Nine birthdays and counting … to quote you from a few months ago, ‘you light up my life’.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Princess Eugenie (@princesseugenie) She also posted a throwback engagement photo in 2020, two years after she said “yes”, and a wedding photo marking their third anniversary in October. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .