Prince philip

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark;[1] 10 June 1921[fn 1] – 9 April 2021) was a member of the British royal family as the husband of Elizabeth II.

Tenure

6 February 1952 – 9 April 2021

Born

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

10 June 1921[fn 1]

Mon Repos, Corfu, Kingdom of Greece

Died

9 April 2021 (aged 99)

Windsor Castle, Windsor, United Kingdom

Spouse

Elizabeth II ​(m. 1947)​

Issue

Detail

Charles, Prince of Wales

Anne, Princess Royal

Prince Andrew, Duke of York

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex

House

Glücksburg (until 1947)

Mountbatten (from 1947)

Father

Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark

Mother

Princess Alice of Battenberg

Signature

Prince Philip's signature

Military career

Allegiance

 United Kingdom

Service/branch

 Royal Navy

 British Army

 Royal Air Force

Years of service

1939–1952 (active service)

Rank

Admiral of the Fleet

Field Marshal

Marshal of the Royal Air Force

Captain General Royal Marines

Commander (active service)

Commands held

HMS Magpie

Battles/wars

Second World War

Battle of Crete

Battle of Cape Matapan

Allied invasion of Sicily

Operation Dragoon

Operation Robson

Operation Lentil

Battle of Okinawa

Awards

Mentioned in dispatches

Croix de Guerre with Palm

War Cross 

Philip was born into the Greek and Danish royal families. He was born in Greece, but his family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. After being educated in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18. From July 1939, he began corresponding with the thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, whom he had first met in 1934. During the Second World War he served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Pacific Fleets.

After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, he abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and styles, became a naturalised British subject, and adopted his maternal grandparents' surname Mountbatten. He married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. Just before the wedding, he was granted the style His Royal Highness and created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich by the King.

  Philip left active military service when Elizabeth became queen in 1952, having reached the rank of commander, and was made a British prince in 1957. Philip had four children with Elizabeth: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. Through a British Order in Council issued in 1960, descendants of the couple not bearing royal styles and titles can use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, which has also been used by some members of the royal family who do hold titles, such as Anne, Andrew and Edward.

 

A sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He was a patron, president or member of over 780 organisations, and he served as chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a self-improvement program for young people aged 14 to 24.[2] He was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. He retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and 5,493 speeches since 1952.[3] Philip died on 9 April 2021, two months before his 100th birthday.