Prince Philip

Prince Philip was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and a long-serving member of the British Royal Family. Born into both Greek and Danish Royal Families, Philip's initial Royal title was Prince of Greece and Denmark. Philip's family was forced to leave Greece when Philip was just a baby (his uncle, King Constantine I was forced to abdicate after the Greco-Turkish War), and eventually settled in France. At the age of 18, in 1939, Philip began corresponding with his second cousin once removed Elizabeth of England. Elizabeth was 13 at the time and over the ensuing years the two would fall madly in love. Philip entered the British Royal Navy at the breakout of World War II in 1939. Throughout the war he would serve in fleets in both the Mediterranean and the Pacific. In 1946, after WWII ended, Philip asked Elizabeth's father, King George VI of England, for his daughter's hand in marriage. King George VI agreed but first Philip was asked to renounce his Greek and Danish Royal titles, which he agreed to. Philip and Elizabeth were married on November 20, 1947. On the morning of their wedding Philip was made the Duke of Edinburgh. Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, Prince Charles, on November 14, 1948. After the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, Elizabeth became the Queen of England. After a decade of marriage to Elizabeth, Philip was formally given the title of British Prince in 1957. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II had three more children, Anna, Andrew and Edward. After 70 years in British Public life, Prince Philip officially retired from all Royal duties in the summer of 2017 at the age of 96. In addition to being the oldest male member of the British Royal Family, he also became the longest serving consort of a British monarch, given his 70-year marriage to Queen Elizabeth. Given his high profile public image as a member of the British Royal Family, Prince Philip was portrayed by numerous actors in both films and TV shows throughout his life, including James Cromwell in the Oscar-winning drama "The Queen" (2006), and by Matt Smith and Finn Elliot in the Emmy-winning Netflix historical series "The Crown" (Netflix, 2016-). Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021 in Windsor, United Kingdom at the age of 99.