Surprising Facts About Prince Philip You Didn’t Know
The Duke of Edinburgh and partner to the Queen of England, Prince Philip passed away on April 9, 2021, aged 99, just months away from his 100th birthday.
The Queen of England and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh had a marriage for 73 years. Despite some speculations about their marriage, the Duke had been a constant support to the Queen and the Royal family. Here are some fascinating facts about the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.
Prince Philip Was Related To Queen Elizabeth
Five years younger to him, Queen Elizabeth II was actually the third cousin of Prince Philip. The two met each other in 1939 for the first time when the Queen was just a teenager of 13 years. The Queen was already taken to him from the beginning. However, the Prince took her on a tour of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth which really seemed tohave impressed her. Following this, the two began writing to each other and after seven years the Prince asked for the Queen’s hand in marriage from her father, King George VI. The King asked them to wait a year before getting married and once the Queen had turned 21, the two were bound in holy matrimony.
Prince Philip’s Birthday Is Not His Real Birthday
In 1921, Prince Philip was born at Mon Repos one the Corfu island west of the Greece coastline. The Prince was born during the Greek Royal family’s summer retreat. However, until 1923, the Greeks followed the Julian calendar and not the Gregorian calendar. Taking cue from that, it the difference between the two calendars suggest that the Prince was born on May 28 in Greece and not on June 10.
Prince Philip Had A Hard Surname
It was not until 1947 that Prince Philip took up his mother’s last name, Mountbatten, as his surname. Prior to that, the Prince probably went by his father’s family surname which is quite a mouthful. The surname that the Prince had before taking on Mountbatten was Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gluksburg.
Prince Philip Is The Fifth Male Consort In The History Of The Royal Family
For centuries, the British throne had male heirs occupying it. It has been only a few handful occasions when the throne had been passed on a queen. Consequently, Prince Philip happens to be only the fifth male consort to the throne in the history of the British Royal family.
