Prince Philip of the U.K. 1921-2021

Prince Philip, also entitled the Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of U.K. Queen Elizabeth, has died at the age of 99.  His cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but he reportedly died peacefully.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in Mon Repos, Greece, which is on the island of Corfu.  He was the fifth and last child, and only son, of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.  He was only 18 months old when his family was exiled from Greece and settled in Paris.  He was educated at the Elms, an American-run school in Paris, the Schule Schloss Salem in Germany, and the Gordonstoun School in Scotland.  In 1939, he enrolled at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth but soon returned to Greece to briefly live with his mother.  At the behest of Greek King George II, his cousin, he returned to the U.K., completed his studies, and was appointed midshipman in the navy in 1940.  He served in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific, and was present at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.

Philip met then-Princess Elizabeth in 1939 when the royal family toured the Royal Naval College and his uncle Louis Mountbatten asked him to escort her and her sister Princess Margaret.  (His maternal grandfather Prince Louis of Battenberg had anglicized the family name to Mountbatten.)  He and Elizabeth started writing to each other when she was 13.  In 1946, he asked her father King George VI for her hand in marriage.  This was granted with the stipulation that the wedding would take place after she turned 21, which was in 1947.  Philip abandoned his Greek and Danish titles and became a British subject.  He was later given British titles including Duke of Edinburgh.

In February of 1952, Philip and Elizabeth were in Kenya when her father King George VI passed away and she became queen.  They had four children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.  He was an avid polo player and helped develop the sport of carriage driving.  He was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.  He is survived by the queen, their children, their grandchildren, and their great grandchildren.  His funeral is expected to be a subdued affair, in line with his wishes.

Read more at The Guardian, Sky News, the (U.K.) Independent, the Daily Mail and BBC News.