We look back at the incredible life of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburg, who became the longest-serving consort in historythrough this story.
Prince Philip, the consort of the Queen of England- Elizabeth II, was one of the most senior and active members of the British royal family who passed away at the ripe old age of ninety-nine in April 2021. Born in royalty, he was the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his wife Princess Alice of Battenberg on June 10, 1921. Since there was a political upheaval in Greece at the time of his birth, the king of Greece was forced to abdicate the throne, and the royal family was banished from the country in 1922. An infant prince was transported in a makeshift cot made from a crate of oranges in a ship and sent by King George V of England.
He had a difficult childhood. His family was exiled, and their privileges were gone. His family had to suffer hardships after eventually settling down in France. His older sisters were married into German royal families soon. His father, Prince Andrew, left the family, and his mother suffered mental sickness to the extent of being institutionalized in a psychiatric facility. The young prince spent his growing years in various boarding schools around England, Germany and Scotland. After the unfortunate demise of his elder sister and his family in an aeroplane accident in 1937, he was devastated. His other sisters were Nazi sympathizers, and he automatically drew away from them as he was a naval officer in the English Army. The latter was against Germany in World War II.
He met the heir apparent of England, the daughter of then King George VI, Princess Elizabeth when she was a teenager, and he was a young naval officer. The young princess fell in love with the handsome officer, and they were married on November 20, 1947.
Prince Philip was the nephew of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Last Viceroy of India who oversaw the independence and partition of India. His mother, Princess Alice, was the sister of Lord Mountbatten. Before his marriage to Elizabeth II, he abandoned his birth titles of being a prince of Greece and Denmark. He took on the simple name as Philip Mountbattenfrom his mother’s family instead of his birth name-Philippos Andreou of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderberg-Glücksburg. Prince Philip was made the Duke of Edinburg by his father-in-law, George VI, on his wedding day.
He remained married to the queen for 73 years till his death and became the longest royal consort in history for 69 years. Prince Philip officially retired from his active duties at the age of 96 and passed away peacefully at Windsor with his loving wife by his side.
