#princephilip

PRINCE PHILIP

10 June 1921 - 9 April 2021

            Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born in Greece into a Greek and Danish royal family. He joined the Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18. During World War II, he served in the British Mediterranean and Pacific fleets. He left his military career when he married Elizabeth.

            Philip started corresponding with Prince Elizabeth, 13 in 1939, who was the heir to King George VI of England. Philip was a handsome, attractive and charming young man, and no surprise that Elizabeth had fallen in love with him. In 1946, George VI permitted Philip, 26, to marry Elizabeth, 20 and they married on the 20 November 1947. The couple had four children, Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward.

            In 1996 Charles and Diana got a divorce after separating in 1992, due to Charles long-term affair with Camilla. There was a letter which was allegedly written to Diana from Philip, which revealed that he disapproved Charles affair with Camilla. ‘Charles was silly to risk everything with Camilla. We never dreamt he might feel like leaving you for her. I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind leaving you for Camilla. Such a prospect never entered our heads.’ He also wrote, ‘Can you honestly look into your heart and say that Charles’s relationship with Camilla had nothing to do with your behaviour towards him in your marriage?’ A year after their divorce, Diana was killed in a car crash in 1997. During her funeral procession, Philip, William, Harry, Charles and the Earl of Spencer walked through London. Mohamed Al-Fayed accused Philip of ordering the death of Diana, there’s no evidence to back his claims.  

            Philip was known for his sense of humour and being blunt. In 2001, Prince Philip visited the University of Salford; there he met a boy, 13, who said he wanted to become an astronaut. Philip replied by telling the boy that if he wanted to be an astronaut he would have to lose weight to fit in the spaceship.

            Philip died of old age, aged 99 at Windsor Castle in 2021; Elizabeth died in 2022 and the couple were interred in St George’s Church.

Prankster, but extremely dedicated to duty. He attended Harry's wedding walking without stick or crutches 6 weeks post-op for hip surgery and having sustained a cracked rib days before the wedding.

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Thinking about him in contrast with the Archetypes post I put up earlier, I cannot begin to imagine Prince Philip...

-- holding forth with a heater fire story

-- months/years after the event