The whole world is closely watching the life of Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain. Causes genuine interest and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In the United Kingdom, he is highly respected. Ashley W alton, a biographer, called Philip a "national treasure" for Britain. The fate of this interesting person will be discussed in our article.
Origin
Philip Battenberg, the future Duke of Edinburgh, was born on June 10, 1921. He became the fifth child in the family of Prince Andrew and Princess Alice of Battenberg. The boy was born on the island of Corfu (Greece), at the Villa Mon Repos. In 1922, on September 22, King Constantine the First, Philip's uncle, abdicated. As a result, Prince Andrei, along with the rest of the royal family, was arrested by the provisional government of the country. He was sentenced to exile from Greece for life. On the British ship of the royal BMC "Calypso" the family of Prince Andrew, along withlittle Philip was taken to France. The boy slept in a crib made from a fruit basket. The exiles settled in the suburbs of Paris, in the estate of Saint-Cloud.
Childhood and youth
Childhood and youth spent very violently Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The young man was not too happy. The scion of the Greek royal family was lonely at first in Britain. The marriage of his parents soon broke up, and the whole family was scattered across war-torn Europe. Prince Andrew settled on the French Riviera, while Philip's mother, having recovered from a serious mental illness, returned to Greece. Philip's sisters married aristocrats from Germany, so at the beginning of the war, the prince was away from all his relatives. In addition, the prince lost some relatives in his adolescence. When Philip was sixteen years old, in 1937, his sister Cecelia, along with her husband, two young children and mother-in-law, got into a plane crash in Ostend. The whole family died. The young prince attended their funeral, which took place in Darmstadt. A year later, his uncle and guardian Lord Haven Milford died of cancer.
Training
In 1928, Philip went to study in the UK. Later he moved to Germany, where he studied in 1933 at a private school. At this time, his mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Then the young man studied at one of the educational institutions in Scotland. In 1939 he entered the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. The prince graduated from1940, and he was awarded the rank of midshipman. He served four months on the battleship Ramillies and later sailed on the ships Shropshire and Kent.
Military service
During World War II, Prince Philip served in the Navy. When in 1940, in October, Italian troops invaded Greece, the young man was transferred to the battleship Valiant, which was part of the Mediterranean Fleet. The young man participated in many military operations, including providing cover for the British-American landing force that landed in Sicily in 1943. In January 1946, when the war ended, Philip returned to the UK and began working as an instructor on the cruiser Royal Arthur, in Wiltshire.
Meet your future wife
In 1939, King George VI of Great Britain visited the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. During this visit, Philip met his fourth cousins. The young man immediately liked Elizabeth, the future Queen of England. A lively correspondence began between her and the prince. At this time, the girl was only thirteen years old. Later, in the summer of 1946, Philip asked George VI for the hand of his daughter.
Family life
Before the marriage, Philip was granted the title of Duke of Edinburgh. The wedding took place in 1947, November 20, at Westminster Abbey. The newlyweds began to live in Clarence House. Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948. Then, in 1950, Princess Anne was born, and later, Prince Andrew (1960) andPrince Edward (1964).
The Queen's Husband
After the death of King George VI in 1952, Elizabeth II, Philip's wife, ascended the English throne. The Duke of Edinburgh became the husband of the current monarch of the country, but refused the title of Prince Consort. He supported his wife in every possible way in her new duties, accompanied her at various ceremonies: trips abroad, dinner parties, at the opening of parliamentary sessions in various countries. Until recently, the prince attended about 350 different ceremonies and events a year and, only celebrating his 90th birthday in 2011, announced that he was going to “slow down”.
Political views
In 1957, on October 14, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh became a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. He bluntly declared his own attitude towards republicanism in this country in 1969, stating that the monarchy should exist in the interests of the common people. And if this system for some reason does not suit the subjects, then they have the right to change it. True, another phrase, thrown by chance by him, does not fit with this statement. Visiting Paraguay in 1971, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, told Alfredo Stroessner, the dictator there: "It's nice to visit a country that is not ruled by its people." Later, the prince said that there was undisguised irony in his words. However, not everyone believed in this version.
Hobbies
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in his youth played well inpolo. He was also successful in sailing. In 1952, the prince received his first lesson in flying. By his seventieth birthday, he had already flown 5150 hours. The Duke was also fond of horse-drawn racing. He stopped participating in these competitions personally only at the age of eighty. In addition, Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was seriously engaged in painting: he painted in oils, collected works of other artists, including contemporary cartoonists. Hugh Casson, a British art historian, called Philippe's work "exactly what you would expect … with a direct message, without beating around the bush." He also noted the vigorous brushstrokes and strong colors in the Prince's technique.
Community activities
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose photographs are presented in this article, until recently was the patron of about eight thousand different associations. He is chairman of the organization responsible for presenting the special Duke of Edinburgh's Award for citizens aged fourteen to twenty-four. The prince has long been one of the leaders of the Wildlife Fund. Such activities have occupied him for a long time, but Philip tries to separate himself from modern environmental activists. Being a conservative person, he states that he is not going to "hug bunnies".
Reputation
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is 1.83 centimeters tall, has an unusual reputation in his country. His,undoubtedly honored and respected, but he is known for never reaching into his pocket for a word. Moreover, it is always expressed with directness unusual for a member of a crowned family. Philip's vigorous phrases are collected by some. A few years ago, even a book was published with the most famous statements of the prince. Much of the Duke of Edinburgh's humor seems tactless because he is an old school man. Sometimes, whether intentionally or out of habit, he ignores the customs of the modern era with its tolerance for everything: racial characteristics, unusual costumes or a couple of extra pounds. Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, often finds himself in comical situations, which, however, do not harm his reputation.
On June 10, 2014, the Prince turned 93 years old. For sixty-two years now, Philip has adequately played the modest and important role of supporting the crowned queen wife. Therefore, it is called the "national treasure" of the UK.
