Prince Philip 2

Duke of Edinburgh (1921 - 2021)

Philip was born into the Greek and Danish royal families. He was born in Greece, but his family was exiled from the country when he was an infant.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, part of the House of Oldenburg. The Danish Act of Succession 1953 removed the succession rights of his branch of the family in Denmark. Philip's four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised in the Greek Orthodox rite at St. George's Church in the Old Fortress in Corfu.

Shortly after Philip's birth, his grandfather, Prince Louis of Battenberg, died in London. Louis was a naturalised British subject, who, after a career in the Royal Navy, had renounced his German titles and adopted the surname Mountbatten, an Anglicised version of Battenberg, during the First World War, owing to anti-German sentiment in Britain.

During the Greco-Turkish War, on 22 September 1922, Philip's uncle, King Constantine I, was forced to abdicate, and the new military government arrested Philip's father Prince Andrew, along with others. The commander of the army, General Georgios Hatzianestis, and five senior politicians were executed. Prince Andrew's life was believed to be in danger, and his wife Alice was under surveillance. In December, a revolutionary court banished Prince Andrew from Greece for life. The British naval vessel HMS Calypso evacuated Prince Andrew's family, with Philip carried to safety in a cot made from a fruit box. Philip's family went to France, where they settled in the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud in a house lent to them by his wealthy aunt, Princess George of Greece and Denmark.

Because Philip left Greece as a baby, he does not speak Greek. In 1992, he said that he "could understand a certain amount". Philip has stated that he thought of himself as Danish, and his family spoke English, French, and German. Philip, who in his youth was known for his charm, was linked to a number of women.

After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18.
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In July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13 year old Princess Elizabeth, whom he had first met in 1934.

During the Second World War he served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Pacific Fleets. After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. He abandoned his Greek and grandparents surname Mountbatten. He married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. Just before the wedding, he was created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich. Philip left active military service when Elizabeth became queen in 1952, having reached the rank of commander, and was formally made a British prince in 1957.

The accession of Elizabeth to the throne brought up the question of the name of the royal house, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name upon marriage. The Duke's uncle, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, advocated the name House of Mountbatten. Philip suggested House of Edinburgh, after his title. When Queen Mary, Elizabeth's grandmother, heard of this, she informed the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, who himself later advised the Queen to issue a royal proclamation declaring that the royal house was to remain known as the House of Windsor. Prince Philip privately complained....

"I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. I am the only

man in the country not allowed to give his name to

his own children."

As consort to the Queen, Philip supported his wife in her new duties as sovereign, accompanying her to ceremonies such as the State Opening of Parliament in various countries, state dinners, and tours abroad. As chairman of the Coronation Commission, he was the first member of the royal family to fly in a helicopter, visiting the troops that were to take part in the ceremony. Philip was not crowned in the service, but knelt before Elizabeth, with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her "liege man of life and limb".

In 1956, Philip and Kurt Hahn, founded The Duke of Edinburgh's Award in order to give young people "a sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities". He is also patron of some 800 organisations, particularly focused on the environment, industry, sport, and education.

Philip played polo until 1971, when he started to compete in carriage driving, a sport which he helped to expand; the early rule book was drafted under his supervision. He was also a keen yachtsman. Philip and the Queen regularly attended Cowes Week in HMY Britannia. His first airborne flying lesson took place in 1952; by his 70th birthday he had accrued 5,150 pilot hours. He was presented with Royal Air Force wings in 1953.

He has painted with oils, and collected artworks, including contemporary cartoons, which hang at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House, and Balmoral Castle. Hugh Casson described Philip's own artwork as -M

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"exactly what you'd expect ... totally direct, no hanging about. Strong colours, vigorous brushstrokes."

As well as a reputation for bluntness and plain speaking, Philip is noted for occasionally making observations and jokes that have been construed as either funny, or as gaffes: awkward, politically incorrect, or even offensive, but sometimes perceived as stereotypical of someone of his age and background. In an address to the General Dental Council in 1960, he jokingly coined a new word for his blunders: -

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"Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years."

Later in life he suggested his comments may have contributed to the perception that he is -

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"a cantankerous old sod"

At the beginning of 1981, Philip wrote to his eldest son, Charles, requesting him to make up his mind to either propose to Lady Diana Spencer or break off their courtship. Charles felt pressured by his father to make a decision and did so, proposing to Diana in February. They married five months later. By 1992, the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales had broken down. The Queen and Philip hosted a meeting between Charles and Diana, trying to effect a reconciliation, but without success. Philip wrote to Diana, expressing his disappointment at both Charles's and her extra-marital affairs, and asking her to examine both his and her behaviour from the other's point of view. She found the letters hard to take, but nevertheless appreciated that he was acting with good intent. Charles and Diana separated and later divorced.

Prince Philip retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, meeting Royal Marines in his final solo public engagement, aged 96. Since 1952 he had completed 22,219 solo engagements. Prime Minister Theresa May thanked him for "a remarkable lifetime of service". On 20 November 2017, he celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary with the Queen, which made her the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum wedding anniversary.

Philip died on the 9th April 2021, two months before his 100th birthday.