Queen Elizabeth's husband was born in Greece but grew up in France and Britain • He fought in World War II and advanced rapidly in the navy, only to abandon military service to side with his queen wife, and even converted to it for her • Prince Philip, portrait
Prince Philip in military uniform // Photo: AFP
He has been mostly known for his marriage to Queen Elizabeth for the past 70 years, but not much is known about Prince Philip who passed away today (Friday) at the age of 99.
Prince Philip was born Philip Andreas of Greece and Denmark on June 10, 1929, on the Greek island of Corfu.
Young brother to 4 sisters - Sisley, Sophie, Margarita and Theodora, son of Prince Greece and his wife Alice.
His grandmother Victoria was the incoming British Queen Victoria.
Following a family dispute between his uncle and father during which Prince Andreas was arrested, the family was deported to France several months after he was born and the family settled in France.
Upon arrival his father degenerated into alcoholism and gambling and his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Philip was educated in Paris, England and at the age of 12 was sent to Germany but was forced to return to England where he graduated from the rigid educational institution of Dr. Kurt Hahn, an educator who fled Germany and established his own educational institution in Scotland. The Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, functioning for the party.
At the start of World War II, after graduating, Philip enlisted in the British Royal Navy.
At the age of 21 he was promoted to the position of deputy captain of the warship HMS Waltz and was the youngest man to be appointed to the post in any British navy.
During the war he operated in many sectors in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
He first met Princess Elizabeth in 1934 during a family wedding of his cousin, Princess Marina, who married Elizabeth's Duke of Kent.
About five years later the two met again during a visit by King George I to the British Navy Academy where Philip studied.
After the meeting, the two began exchanging letters and continued to do so during the war years.
In 1946, after Phillip returned from a mission in Japan, he asked for Elizabeth's hand from her father.
King George twice refused but finally agreed and sought to postpone the official marriage declaration for a year until she reached the age of 21. On July 9, 1947, the couple was officially declared married and the two were married at Westminster Abbey on November 20 of that year, in a ceremony Live on radio around the world.
Although Elizabeth agreed to the proposal, the royal and political elite in the British Isles were not happy about the marriage due to Philip's German roots, and there were even some who questioned his loyalty to who would become the next queen.
Due to being the prince of Greece and Denmark, before the marriage Philip was forced to convert Orthodox Christianity religions to Anglican and declare allegiance to the British kingdom, so that he could become a citizen of the kingdom.
On the eve of the wedding, King George awarded him the titles of Duke of Edinburgh, Count of Marionette, and Baron Greenwich;
And Philip also received the title of "His Majesty."
After their marriage, the couple moved to Clarence's home in London.
Duke Philip sought to pursue a career in the Royal Navy, and returned to service after the honeymoon.
He was promoted to the rank of captain and commander of his own frigate, the HMS Magfei.
In 1952, during Philip and Elizabeth's royal visit to Kenya, King George VI died, and Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen of England.
Due to this groundbreaking event, Philip was forced to end his military career and from that time became fulfilled his obligations as the Queen's spouse.
Until the 1980s, the couple used to fly for official visits around the world together, and the duke was rarely sent alone to represent his wife.
In addition, the Duke was president and member of more than 780 different organizations dealing mainly with the environment, industry, sports and education of young boys.
In 2017, at the age of 96, Philip announced his retirement from public life.
The couple had four children: the heir, Prince Charles (72), Princess Anne (70), Prince Andrew (61) and Prince Edward (57).