Greek-Danish-British husband of Queen Elizabeth II from 1947 until his death in 2021, he was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch (1952-2021, 68 years) and, having died at age 99, the oldest ever male member of the British royal family.
He served in the British Navy during World War II and was a pilot-Captain General of the Royal Marines. He was also an enthusiastic yachtsman and polo player, and known for his concern for wildlife conservation. Philip was notorious in the media for colourful verbal gaffes. No one, public or private, was safe from his volcanic temper and withering wit.
Born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, he was 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 Glücksburg, the ruling house of Denmark, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from George I of Greece and Christian IX of Denmark, and he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones.
Philip adopted the family name of ‘Mountbatten’ (English version of the German ‘Battenberg’) when he renounced his royal title in 1947 and became a naturalized British citizen. He was related to many of Europe’s royal families. The prince and Queen Elizabeth both had Queen Victoria as a great-great-grandmother, and were second cousins once removed.
He was educated at schools in France, England and Germany, and attended Gordonstoun School which all three of his sons also attended. In 1939, he left Gordonstoun and joined the Royal Navy as a cadet. He was appointed Commander of the Frigate HMS MAGPIE in 1952, but ended his naval career with the death of his father-in-law, King George VI.
Philip married then Princess Elizabeth of England on 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey. In April 1952, the Queen made the Duke of Edinburgh a Knight of the Thistle. In February 1957, he was made a prince of the United Kingdom, being known from then on as “Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.”
Though he had no official role in the monarchy, it is said that he assumed the strong hand of raising Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. As manager of the royal estates, he computerised the Sandringham and Balmoral royal residences, and his own study was said to have looked “like the cockpit of the Concorde.”
A patron of some 800 organizations, Philip played a prominent part in many aspects of British national life. His special interests were in scientific and technological research, the encouragement of sports, and conservation and the environment. He was the first President of World Wildlife Fund-UK from its formation in 1961 to 1982, and International President of what later became the World Wide Fund for Nature from 1981 to 1996. He became President Emeritus of the WWF.
At the age of 79, he fulfilled a staggering 557 official engagements and he delivered, on average, seven speeches a month for 50 years.
Prince Philip was admitted to hospital on 4 April 2008 with a chest infection and was released two days later. Philip retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.
On 9 January 2021, Philip and the Queen were vaccinated against COVID-19 by a household doctor at Windsor Castle. On 16 February 2021, Philip was admitted to King Edward VII’s Hospital as a “precautionary measure” after feeling unwell.
On 1 March 2021, Philip was transferred by ambulance to St Bartholomew’s Hospital where he underwent a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition on 3 March, and was transferred back to King Edward VII’s Hospital on 5 March. He was discharged on 16 March.
Prince Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle on the morning of 9 April 2021 at the age of 99.
Link to Wikipedia biography