We owe him a
PRINCE PHILIP DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO THE MONARCHY, A STEADY PRESENCE THE FAMILY DEPENDED ON, AS THE QUEEN PUT IT...
FROM the moment they met when she was just 13, Prince Philip was the constant in the Queen’s life. He knelt before Elizabeth at her coronation and promised to be her “liege man of life and limb”.
He vowed to “live and die for her” and, for 67 years, he honoured that pledge to his wife, his Queen and her people.
Just how much she relied on Philip became clear at their Golden Wedding celebrations in 1997.
She told the world: “He has, quite simply, been my strength and my stay all these years. I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know.”
But his reply was just as telling – when the Duke praised her for having “tolerance in abundance”.
The Queen certainly tolerated Philip’s infamous irascibility and foot-in-mouth gaffes. One former member of the royal household said the Duke was “as constant a presence in our lives as the Queen, walking three steps behind her… just with a lot less diplomacy”.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: “Philip only ever had two aims: to support the Queen and the institution of monarchy, and these he succeeded brilliantly.
“He determined early on that he would never let Elizabeth down.”
The couple spent their first years of married life in Malta, where Philip was based as a naval officer. They were blissfully happy. Baby Charles arrived in 1948, followed by Anne in 1950. But these years of relative normality were cut short in 1952 when King George VI died and Elizabeth became Queen.
For loyal Philip, there was no question of not taking up his duties as consort, even though it meant he had to resign from the Navy.
Charles and Anne were joined by Andrew, born on February 19, 1960, and then Edward, on March 10, 1964.
After the Queen’s “annus horribilis” of 1992, when Charles and Andrew’s marriages ended and Windsor Castle was hit by a fire, Philip helped improve the royals’ PR. It was his idea to open Buckingham Palace to the public to help pay for repairs at Windsor.
Philip was a man of contradictions. He was both an authoritarian and a caring hands-on dad, he was media-savvy but with a distrust of the press, a public figure who resented any curiosity about his life and a champion of the stiff upper lip who became devoted to the fragile Princess Diana.
His partnership with the Queen relied on a sense of humour and determination not to suffer fools uniform, 1946
The Queen gladly. He gave her the nickname “Cabbage”, thought to have originated from the French phrase “mon petit chou”, which means both “my little pastry puff” and “my little cabbage”. The pair often squabbled, too. The Queen’s private secretary Lord Charteris once said: “It’s not unknown for the Queen to tell the Duke to shut up.”
Despite his devotion to the Queen, rumours abounded about the Duke’s roving eye. Over the years he was linked to a string of other women. Some went as far as claiming that the Queen and Philip led separate lives.
But others insist they were a devoted couple who simply chose not to live in each other’s pockets. Once, when asked what was the secret of their successful marriage, Philip replied: “Different interests. It’s one thing not to argue about.”
But if anyone dared to question his devotion to the Queen they got short shrift. A female journalist once plucked up the courage to ask him about the rumoured affairs – and felt the full blast of Philip’s wrath.
“Good God, woman,” he stormed. “Have you ever stopped to think that for years I’ve not moved anywhere without a policeman accompanying me? How the hell could I have got away with anything like that?”
In May 2017, Philip stepped down from public life at the age of 96 – having completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.
His final royal duty saw the Duke attend a parade for the Royal
Marines at Buckingham Palace that August.
In November 2017 Prince Philip and the Queen celebrated 70 years of marriage – their platinum anniversary.
They marked the occasion with a private dinner at Windsor Castle and the bells of Westminster Abbey in London, where they married in 1947, rang out on celebration.
Poignantly, just seven days later, his grandson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly arranged for his nuptials to happen just months later to ensure his beloved grandfather could be present.
There were concerns that Philip’s hip surgery in April 2018 might stop him attending – and fears mounted further when he cracked his ribs in a fall days before the ceremony.
June 10, 1921 Born in Corfu to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Sixth in line to the Greek throne. Sept 1922 Philip’s family is banished from Greece after Prince Andrew is court-martialled over his part in Greece’s defeat during the war with Turkey. 1922-28 They settle in Saint-cloud near Paris after a Royal Navy warship takes them to safety. 1928 Philip is sent to school in Britain and lives with his mother’s family the Mountbattens. His mother is diagnosed with schizophrenia and spends eight years in hospital before becoming a nun. His father moves to Monte Carlo with his mistress. 1933 Philip moves to boarding school in Germany. The school’s Jewish founder flees the Nazis and sets up Gordonstoun in Scotland, where Philip is sent shortly afterwards. He spends the rest of his school days at Gordonstoun. 1961 Philip becomes UK president of the World Wildlife Fund but is criticised after he shoots a tiger during a hunt in India. Mar 10, 1964 The couple’s fourth child, Prince Edward is born. July 1, 1969 The investiture of Charles as the Prince of Wales takes place at Caernarfon Castle. Nov 14, 1973 Wedding of Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips. 1977 Philip goes on a three-month tour of Britain with the Queen to mark her Silver Jubilee.
Becomes a grandad when Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips is born. Aug 27, 1979 Philip’s uncle and Charles’s mentor Louis Mountbatten is killed by an IRA bomb on a boat in Ireland. July 29, 1981 Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s. June 21, 1982 Prince William is born, followed two years later by Prince Harry. 1992 Charles and Diana’s marriage breaks down. Philip tries to help them reconcile, but they separate. Aug 31, 1997 Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris. A week later, Philip walks behind her coffin with Charles, William, Harry and her brother, Earl Spencer. 2002 A month after the Queen Mother’s death, Philip and the Queen embark on tours around the UK and abroad to mark her Golden Jubilee.
The couple celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary. April 29, 2011 Attends Prince The Queen and Prince William’s wedding to Philip on their diamond Kate Middleton. Two wedding anniversary months later, after his in 2007 90th birthday, Philip announces he will reduce his public duties. June, 2012 Celebrates the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at a pageant on the Thames. Falls ill with bladder infection and is taken to hospital. July 27, 2012 The Queen and Philip open the London Olympics. July 22, 2013 Great-grandson Prince George is born and becomes third in line to the throne. Aug 2, 2017 Philip retires from royal duties and three months later celebrates his 70th wedding anniversary. May 19, 2018 Attends the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. Jan 17, 2019 Walks away unhurt after his car overturns near Sandringham estate. Mar 16, 2021 Leaves hospital after a month-long stay. April 9, 2021 Prince Philip dies at Windsor Castle, aged 99.
With his mother after she became a nun 1937 His sister Cecile, her husband and three children are killed in a plane crash. 1939 He leaves Gordonstoun and joins the Navy. He meets his future wife when she visits Dartmouth Royal Naval College with her father King George VI. 1941 Sees action during the Battle of Crete and is mentioned in dispatches after the Battle of Cape Matapan. 1942 Promoted to be one of the Navy’s youngest lieutenants. 1943 Takes part in the invasion of Sicily as second in command of destroyer HMS Wallace. 1944 Joins the Pacific Fleet fighting the Japanese.
July 9, 1947 Engagement to Princess Elizabeth is announced 18 months after his return to UK. Nov 20, 1947 Marries Princess Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey in a service that is broadcast to more than 200 million people around the world. Prince Charles is born a year later. 1950 Philip is promoted to Lieutenant Commander and Princess Anne is born. Feb 6, 1952 King George VI dies while Philip and Elizabeth are on tour in Kenya. June 2, 1953 Elizabeth is crowned Queen with Philip as her consort. 1956 Philip and his old Gordonstoun mentor Kurt Hahn launch the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. 1957 Philip is given the title of His Royal Highness. Feb 19, 1960 Second son Prince Andrew is born.
outrageous flirt, with one courtier claiming “all the girls in his office had to be 36-24-36”.
And in his life before and after he met Elizabeth, Philip had a number of close female friends.
A SOLID MARRIAGE