Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, serving as consort from 6 February 1952 to 9 April 2021.
Biography[]
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in Mon Repos, Corfu, Greece on 10 June 1921, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He was a member of the House of Glucksburg, and he was born into both the Greek and Danish royal families. His family was exiled from Greece when he was an infant, and he was educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, where he joined the Royal Navy in 1939. Philip served with the Mediterranean and Pacific fleets during World War II, and he was granted permission to marry his younger third cousin Princess Elizabeth by King George VI of Britain in 1947.
Marriage to the Queen[]
Philip on the Britannia in 1956
Philip abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and became a naturalized British subject, adopting the surname Mountbatten from his maternal grandparents. He was created Baron of Greenwich, Earl of Merioneth, and Duke of Edinburgh before his marriage, and he left the military in 1952 at the rank of Commander before marrying Elizabeth. In 1957, he became a British prince, and he would have four children with Elizabeth.
Early in his marriage to Queen Elizabeth, Philip struggled with his lack of influence at court, as he was frustrated with the fact that he had to kneel before his wife at her coronation, that the "moustaches" at court sent him orders, and that he was outranked by his son Charles, as Charles would one day inherit the throne. In 1956, he was separated from his wife for five months after he was sent to open the Olympics in Australia, embarking on a world tour aboard the Britannia. During this trip, the adultery committed by Philip's private secretary Mike Parker led to rumors that Philip himself was also adulterous and that the royal marriage was fragile, but Philip dealt with this by forcing Parker to resign and by making peace with Queen Elizabeth in exchange for the title of Prince. He continued to remain a dutiful husband for several decades, always walking behind his wife at events. Philip retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017 at the age of 96, and he died on 9 April 2021 at the age of 99.
Gallery[]
