By — Njeri Jackson

April 9, 2021, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, a royal consort, and father to the heir of the throne, passed away at Windsor castle in the morning. He was a heavy participant in affairs that included education, the environment, and athletics in addition to being the longest-serving royal consort in British history. In honor of what he left behind, here is a history of Prince Phillp, Duke of Edinburgh.

Prince Phillp was born in Corfu, an island in Greece. He was originally the prince of Greece and Denmark, with his parents being Prince Andrew and Princess Alice in Greece. He had four sisters named Cecille, Sophie, Margarita, and Theodroa. A military government saw the King, Constantine l, leave the throne  after being forced, and the military government arrested Prince Phillip’s father. A court banned their family from Greece for good, and they decided to head to France where his father went off to the south of France and his mother was sent to a psychiatric institution. He first went to Macjannet American school before he was sent to Great Britain to study. He then moved to Germany where much of his family remained, while he decided to go to Scotland’s Gordonstoun School. He then attended the Royal Naval College and proceeded to serve in the royal navy during World War ll.

Prince Phillip was already tied to the throne distantly with his maternal grandfather Prince Louis of Battenbergm died as a naturalized British citizen. In addition to this, he had distant ties with Queen Victoria.

The Prince met Queen Elizabeth, who wasn’t queen at the time, when she was a tennager after her parents took her to visit the naval school he was at. They began sending each other letters and Prince Phillip asked for her hand in marriage to her father in 1946. Before the marriage, he left his former Greece and Denmark titles behind, began following anglicism, and changed his last name to Mountbatten (from his mother’s family).They got married November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony that was broadcast by the radio all over the globe. She became the Queen after her father died in 1952, and he became her royal consort. They had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Charles in the heir to the throne.

Prince Phillip took part in multiple organizations that helped with the environment, education, and athletic pursuits. He started the Duke of Edinburgh Award for youth achievement. He didn’t get too involved with anything scandalous. He got involved with his son Charle’s relationship to Diana in terms of marrying her or not. Their marriage was difficult on Diana and Charles. 

He had many medical issues throughout his life that include: abdominal issues, infections, and hip replacement. Before he died he was feeling unwell and residing in the hospital. He was being treated for already-existing heart problems and endured a surgery to aid it on March 3, 2021 He returned home shortly after. He passed away that April at age 99 peacefully the morning of the 9th.