Prince Philip was not English, did you know?

Curly blond hair, azure gaze, dandy look… Prince Philip had the look of an Englishman and yet, the husband of the Queen of England, who died in April 2021, was not from this corner of the globe. To walk in the footsteps of the Duke of Edinburgh, you have to head south, direction Corfu and its crystal clear waters. It is indeed on this Greek paradise island that Philip of Greece and Denmark was born, June 10, 1921. Before entering Buckingham Palace, the companion of Elizabeth II nevertheless had a taste of castle life since he was part of the greek royal family. Her father was Prince Andrew of Greece (1882-1944) and her mother Princess Alice of Greece (1885-1969), who was thegreat-granddaughter of Queen Victoria from England. From their union were born five children, including Prince Philip, the youngest of this large tribe composed for the rest of girls.

But Philippe of Greece didn’t really have time to enjoy his sun-drenched native land. Raised more by his uncle and grandmother, the young man indeed spent most of his childhood oscillating between Germany, France and England, to finally put down his suitcases in Monaco where his father left to settle. Later, he moved closer to his English roots by choosing to embark on a military career within the British Royal Navy. A twist of fate perhaps, because it was on the other side of the Channel that he crossed paths with the love of his life, Elizabeth IIfuture Queen of England and mother of her four children: Charles, the heir to the throne (born in 1948), Anne (born in 1950), Andrew (born in 1960) and Edward (born in 1964).

Prince Philip: a man ready for anything for love

To be able to pass the ring on to the daughter of King George VI, Prince Philip had to get rid of part of his cultural and family heritage. Thus, during his engagement with Elizabeth II in 1946, Philip Mountbatten agreed to to renounce his title of Prince of Greece to convert to anglicism and obtain following his marriage the title of Duke of Edinburgh. The “rock” of the Queen of England has also made a cross on his religion in converting to Catholicismleaving behind the Orthodox Church, the dominant spiritual current in Greece.

For the eyes of his beauty, Prince Philip has also put his costume in the closet.Royal Navy officer. A professional sacrifice that this one has however never regretted. “I was obviously disappointed because I had just been promoted to major. In fact, the most interesting part of my naval career was just beginning. But in the same way, on second thought, being married to the Queen, it seemed to me that my first duty was to serve her as best I could.”, he confided during an interview in 2011.