Prince Philip Passes Away At 99, Interesting Facts About The Duke Of Edinburgh

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and the husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, passed away on Friday morning, 10 April 2021. He was 99 years old at the time of his demise. The news of his demise was broke in a statement given by Buckingham Palace on the behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. In a statement, it was mentioned that Britain's longest-serving Royal consort died at Windsor Castle.

While the entire countrymen of Great Britain are mourning the loss of their Royal consort, we are here to tell you some of the lesser-known facts about him. To know more about Prince Philip, scroll down to read more.

1. Prince Philip was born on 9 June 1921 in Mon Repos (stands on Greek Island Corfu) to parents Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.

2. Since Prince Philip's parents were the members of Glucksburg, the ruling house of Denmark, he was the prince of both Denmark and Greece.

3. Ever since his birth, he was in the line of succession of the thrones of both Denmark and Greece.

4. Prince Philip was the fifth and last child of Prince Andrew and Princess Alice. He was the only son of the couple.

5. When Prince Philip was only 18 months old, his family was exiled from Greece after Prince Andrew and King Constantine I, the high commander of the Greece expeditionary force and the uncle of Prince Philip was held responsible for heavy losses caused to Greece during the First World War. Prince Andrew and other important members of the ruling house were imprisoned by the new military government.

6. During those times, Prince Andrew's life was in danger while Prince Alice was under surveillance. Soon, Prince Andrew's family was banished from Greece. The family left Greece forever while Prince Philip was carried with the utmost safety in a fruit basket.

7. The family then moved to France where they were lent a house by Prince Philip's wealthy aunt Princess George of Greece and Denmark.

8. Prince Philip initially went to The Elms, an American school in Paris run by Donald MacJannet. According to the teachers, Prince Philip was a 'know it all student but always remarkably polite.'

9. In 1928, he went to the United Kingdom to attend the Cheam School. In the United Kingdom, he lived with his maternal grandmother Victoria Mountbatten, Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven at Kensington Palace.

10. In 1931, his mother was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and was sent to an asylum while his father went on to live in Monte Carlo. Later Prince Philip went on to study in Schule Schloss Salem which was owned by one of his brothers-in-law.

11. When Prince Philip was barely 18 years old, he joined the British Royal Navy. In 1939, he completed a term as a cadet after which he went to Greece to live with his mother in Athens. There he lived for a month with his mother after which he returned to resume his training.

12. In the same year, when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I toured the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, the Queen and Louis Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip asked him to escort King's daughters namely Elizabeth II and Margaret. This is when Elizabeth II fell in love with Prince Philip and both of them started exchanging letters. It is said the Elizabeth II was only 13 years old.

13. In 1941, he was appointed as the sub-lieutenant after going through a series of training courses at Portsmouth, a port city in South-East England.

14. In July 1942, he was promoted to become the first lieutenant of the HMS Wallace at the age of 21. Thus, he became the youngest lieutenant ever in the Royal Navy.

15. In the summer of 1946, Prince Philip asked King George VI for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King agreed on one condition that unless Elizabeth II doesn't turn 21 in the following April, there shouldn't be any formal engagement.

16. In March 1947, Prince Philip abandoned his Greece and Danish Royal titles and took the surname of Mountbatten that belonged to his maternal family. Thus, he became a naturalised British subject.

17. On 10 July 1947, the engagement of Prince Philip and then Princess Elizabeth II was announced. The wedding was set to take place on 20 November 1947.

18. The night before the wedding, King George VI granted the title of Royal Highness to Prince Philip and on the day of the wedding he was granted the title of Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich of Greenwich in London.

19. Philip and Elizabeth II got married in a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey. After getting married to Prince Philip, Elizabeth II became the Duchess of Edinburgh. The couple then began living at Clarence House. This is the same place where the couple had their first two children and stayed till Elizabeth II was sworn in as the Queen of England after the demise of her father.

20. Philip was soon introduced to the House of Lords in 1948.

21. In April 2009, Prince Philip became the longest-serving British Monarch. While in February 2013, he became the oldest male in the British Royal Family and the third-longest-lived member of the British Royal Family followed by Princess Alice, the Duchess of Gloucester and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen mother.

22. In June 2011, when he turned 90, he said that now he would like to reduce his duties and slow down as he has done his bit.

23. On his 90th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II gave him the title of Lord High Admiral which is the ceremonial head of the Royal Navy.

24. Prince Philip retired from his Royal Duties on 2 August 2017. Prime Minister Theresa May thanked him for his 'remarkable lifetime of service'.

25. On 20 November 2017, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary making them the first-ever British Monarch couple to celebrate their Platinum Jubilee.

26. He also attended the wedding of his grandson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. He walked with the Queen unaided.

27. On 1 March 2021, he was admitted to a hospital for undergoing treatment for an infection. He was also treated for a pre-existing heart condition. He was then discharged on 16 March 2021.

28. Prince Philip breathed last on 9 April 2021, two months prior to his 100th birthday. According to the statement released by Buckingham Palace, he died a peaceful death.