Innholdsfortegnelse for Prince Philip - Commemorative Special i The Royal Family Souvenir Series

As we receive the sad news of the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, we bring you this commemorative edition to celebrate a remarkable life spanning many decades. We have compiled some of the most beautiful imagery that details the life of Prince Philip, from his earliest years right through to the present day – and plenty in between. From the tall and dashing young Navy man who captured the heart of Princess Elizabeth, the soon-to-be Queen, to royal consort who stood by his wife’s side for more than seven decades; Prince Philip was a loyal husband, devoted father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, a military man and dutiful member of the Royal Family. He retired from official royal engagements at the age of 96, having dedicated the majority of…

I After Philip and Elizabeth’s wedding and honeymoon, Philip returned to his naval duties, although his life as a royal was also beginning. The newly-married couple were both appointed to the Privy Council on 4 November 1951 due to King George IV’s ill health. However, the course of Philip’s life was to change drastically on 6 February 1952 while the couple were in Kenya at the Sagana State Lodge, when the King died and Elizabeth became Queen. It was Philip who broke the news to Elizabeth. In 2011, Philip was interviewed by Alan Titchmarsh for an ITV1 documentary to mark the Duke’s 90th birthday, during which they touched upon his feelings around giving up his naval career. Philip said: ‘It was naturally disappointing. I had just been promoted to commander…

Prince Philip was well-known for always keeping himself busy with a variety of hobbies and interests including birdwatching, oil painting and writing, and he was also a keen sportsman. He played polo until 1971, retiring at the age of 50, and chose to take up carriage driving instead. This very quickly became a huge passion and he was a leading figure in the sport, having been involved in defining many of the rules for competitive carriage driving. In fact, Philip represented Britain in three European championships and six world championships. He was well-known for continuing with carriage driving into his retirement, even until the age of 97. As you would expect with his naval background, Philip was a keen yachtsman and befriended Uffa Fox who was a boat designer from…

From the 2010s until the present day, we have seen somewhat of a shift within the Royal household. There have been plenty of highs, and consequently some lows to handle, too, and it seems the rollercoaster ride may not be over just yet. Towards the end of 2009, Prince Philip was still travelling the world on official engagements and he showed no signs of slowing down as he turned 90 in June 2011. While it can’t be said that he was working a regular 40-hour week like many of us, there aren’t many 90-year-olds working at all, proving that his relentless dedication was nothing short of remarkable. However, as the Queen and Philip reached their nineties, the decision was taken to stop their overseas travel, and then in August 2017,…

While we knew Prince Philip as the longest-standing royal consort in British history, consistently in the public eye for more than 70 years, the Duke of Edinburgh had a rather tumultuous start in life. Born in Crete on 10 July 1921, Philip was the youngest child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He had four sisters named Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie and Sophie, all of whom were much older than Philip. Philip was born in the middle of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), which ended badly for Greece and had extreme ramifications for his family. His uncle, King Constantine I was forced to abdicate on 22 September 1922 and his father, Prince Andrew, was arrested and later banished from Greece for life. The…

While Prince Charles was born on 14 November 1948 and Princess Anne was born on 15 August 1950, the 1960s saw the Queen and Prince Philip welcome two more sons into their family. Prince Andrew was born on 19 February 1960 and Prince Edward was born on 10 March 1964. As was normal at the time, Prince Philip was not present at the births of his first three children. In fact, royal author Philip Dampier has claimed that Prince Philip, ‘was actually busy playing squash when Prince Charles was born and when he was told, he just went for a quick swim after the game of squash, and rushed upstairs to see his newborn son and just said to the Queen, “he looks like a plum pudding”.’ He did take…

The 1990s was a tumultuous decade for the Royal Family, seeing the breakdown of the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana in 1992 and their subsequent divorce in 1996. A year later, on 31 August 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris, along with her companion Dodi Fayad, son of Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayad, and their driver, Henri Paul. At the time, the Duke was holidaying in Balmoral with other members of the Royal Family, including his grandsons, Prince William, aged 15, and Prince Harry, aged 12, the two sons of Prince Charles and Diana. The grieving young princes wanted to attend church the following morning, and were taken to a service by their grandparents, the Queen and Prince Philip. The family stayed at Balmoral for five…

Following his education, Philip became a naval cadet and pursued a career with the British forces. He had a successful naval career, serving as a midshipman during the Second World War working for four months on the battleship HMS Ramillies in Colombo, followed by numerous postings. Philip was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant on 1 February 1941. Among other engagements, including the Battle of Crete, Philip was involved in the Battle of Cape Matapan for which he was mentioned in despatches for his actions after spotting an enemy vessel with the search lights. He was also awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour for this heroic action. In October 1942, Philip became one of the youngest officers to be made first lieutenant in the Royal Navy at just 21 years old.…

In 1972, the Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their silver wedding anniversary, having been married for 25 years. A service was held at Westminster Abbey as part of the celebration and then the Queen, the Prince, Prince Charles and Princess Anne attended lunch at the Guildhall hosted by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of London. A party was held at Buckingham Palace in the evening, hosted by their eldest children, Charles and Anne. Official portraits were taken to commemorate the occasion, but we particularly loved seeing the Queen and the Prince relaxing and laughing together in the grounds of Balmoral, showing a more affectionate side. Down to earth… While many believe Prince Philip to be somewhat of a ‘Victor Meldrew’ character with his seemingly grumpy tendencies, he had been…

F The 2000s saw Prince Philip reach his 80th birthday and continue to carry out his royal duties throughout the decade. In 2002, the Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee on 4 June, during which the Duke was commended by the Speaker of the British House of Commons for his role in supporting the Queen during her reign. The Duke’s time as royal consort exceeded that of any other consort in British history. While 2002 brought the high of the Golden Jubilee, there was also the sad low of the death of the Queen Mother, who passed away in her sleep on 30 March at the age of 101. Her funeral was held on 9 April at Westminster Abbey with a procession through London. The Duke of Edinburgh was one of…