Elizabeth II's husband Philip - biography

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Elizabeth II's husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, lived for 99 years. His biography is very interesting. He stubbornly refused to celebrate his centenary, despite his wife's ambitious plans for this landmark event. Until his centenary, he did not live only 2 months - he died on April 9. And on June 10, he would have turned exactly 100 years old. On the official Twitter account of the royal family, it was reported that the prince died peacefully at Windsor Castle.

Childhood and youth

Elizabeth II's husband Philip, whose biography now occupies the pages of all news publications, was born in Greece almost a century ago, was the only son of a large high-ranking family, therefore from the moment of birth he received the title of Prince of Greece and Denmark. His mother Alisa was the niece of the last Russian empress, a second cousin of Emperor Nicholas II. His father, although he belonged to the Glucksburgs, one of the branches of the Oldenburg dynasty, was by his mother, Olga Romanova, the great-grandson of Nicholas I.

Elizabeth II's husband Philip, whose biography began on the island of Corfu, was the great-grandson of a representative of the Romanov dynasty, Nicholas I, King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Victoria of England. Unsurprisingly, after his birth at the Mon Repos palace, he was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church. Father, Prince Andrew, was the younger brother of the Greek king. A year after his birth, his uncle signed an abdication, and his father's family was forced to leave for Europe and settle in Paris.

Family events did not please the boy. His father, Prince Andrew, divorced his mother and chose Monte Carlo as his place of residence, and his mother could not stand all the troubles that fell on the family and lost her mind. All that is known about Philip's older sisters is that they successfully married in Germany (where the boy later studied).

After 6 years, Philip was sent to his relatives in London, where he studied at school for several years, and then was forced to continue his studies in Germany and Scotland.

Before World War II, Prince Philip studied in Dartmouth (a small town in Devon), at the Royal Naval College, receiving the rank of midshipman after graduation.

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War and marriage

The navy became a field for his military activities. He spent all the years of the war on the ship and finished it with the rank of captain of the third rank. He showed himself in the most worthy way by taking part:

• in the operation in Crete and Sicilian;
• the battle of Matapan - between the Italian fleet and the Mediterranean;
• the battle with the Japanese militarists in the Pacific Ocean.

As the deputy commander of the destroyers, he was present at the signing of the surrender, which took place in Tokyo Bay. A well-known case was when Prince Philip came up with a clever move, thanks to which the destroyer managed to get away from the German bombers. The military set fire to a wooden raft, and the Germans mistook it for a ship, which in the meantime had escaped from the pursuers.

During his studies at college, the future officer met his relatives - they came to the educational institution with their father, King George VI. He corresponded with his future wife for several years until he asked for her hand in the then king of Great Britain. Noble birth and family ties with the most famous European dynasties made him an ideal contender for the hand of the future heiress to the throne.

More than a year has passed since this landmark event, but very little time has passed between the engagement, which was announced in July 1947, and the wedding in November of the same year.

Before the wedding, in preparation, he converted to Anglicanism, abandoning Greek Orthodoxy, and took his mother's surname, converted into English. Therefore, the wedding, as is customary among the ruling dynasty of Great Britain, took place at Westminster Abbey.

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Titled person

Elizabeth II's husband Philip, whose biography contains interesting facts, but later connected with Great Britain and the royal wife, accepting British citizenship, was forced to renounce the previously existing title of Prince of Greece and Denmark. Therefore, he was simultaneously awarded the titles:

• Duke of Edinburgh (this is one of the youngest ducal titles, just over 3 centuries old);
• Count of Merionet (a county that existed almost until the end of the nineteenth century);
• Baron of Greenwich (the historic district of modern London).

Three years later, he was appointed commander of the sloop, and 7 years later, the husband of the royal daughter was granted the title of prince, previously assigned only to direct descendants of the ruling royal dynasty. In some sources, Philip is called the Prince Consort. This title is given to the husband of the reigning queen. But Prince Philip never accepted him, although he fulfilled all his duties to the royal family.

Marriage and coronation

According to some reports, the magnificent wedding was accompanied by the arrival of numerous relatives from Elizabeth's side, and Philip had only his mother, also of royal blood. The sisters, who were married to aristocrats from Germany, were not invited. Two years later, on duty as the prince, the royal couple went to Malta, where Prince Charles and Princess Anne were born. Subsequently, Elizabeth called this time the happiest in her life.

While traveling in Kenya, they heard about the death of King George VI and returned to their homeland. But the coronation took place only a year later, and Elizabeth left her last name on the advice of the then Prime Minister, W. Churchill. The purpose of this act was to settle differences in the royal court.

The prince's personal life was rather stormy, but carefully hidden. His constant infidelity and illegitimate children are known only at the level of rumors. He was credited with having affairs with the actress E. Cordet, a cabaret dancer, and even with the famous Soviet ballerina G. Ulanova. However, he always took an active part in the life of his 4 legitimate children (3 sons and a daughter), and it was he who insisted on the marriage of the Prince of Wales and Diana Spencer.

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Responsibilities and illnesses

Queen Elizabeth's husband was a very busy man: he headed the International Equestrian Federation and the World Wildlife Fund, traveled the world, visited the Soviet Union, visited Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. Philip visited Russia three times, was in China, represented Great Britain at the funeral of Josip Broz Tito and American President Kennedy.

With age, annoying incidents began to happen in the life of a member of the august family - for example, heart disease, which resulted in coronary stenting performed 10 years ago. In 2018, he underwent surgery on his hip, but it was a pre-planned operation. There were other incidents - an accident in 2019, but the prince was not injured, and people from another car received minor injuries.

The official cause of death is deeply advanced age. But the media recalled that at the beginning of this year, the royal couple were demonstratively vaccinated to set an example for their subjects. It was in January 2021, in February the prince was hospitalized (the reason for the hospitalization was kept secret). However, according to some sources, he was being treated for an infection. And, if you remember that his son had been ill with COVID-19, we can assume that it was a coronavirus.

Other sources, after it was published that Prince Philip had died, recalled that there was an official announcement of another heart operation, but at the end of March he was discharged from the clinic and returned home. A few days later, the royal family tweeted that Prince Philip had died. It contained some factual data - the time and circumstances of death. At the same time, there was not a word about the reason for the death of Elizabeth's husband, with whom she had been married for more than 70 years.

The merits of the prince were noted more than once, honorary titles and positions were awarded to him in different countries: in Great Britain - the Lord High Admiral, in Australia and New Zealand - the admiral of the fleet and field marshal. There is a cargo cult on Tanna Island in Vanuatu that recognizes the prince as a divine being.

Outcomes

Despite the absence of a royal title, Prince Philip was a great man, whose death the British are especially worried about:

1. He had numerous responsibilities, ceremonial and charitable.
2. For over 7 decades, he helped his wife, the Queen of Great Britain.
3. He devoted a lot of time to the conservation of wildlife and the development of equestrian sports and art.
4. He lived for almost a century, since his coronation fulfilling the role of the august patron of more than 800 different organizations.