PRINCE PHILIP1921-2021
THE
DUKE of EDINBURGH HIS LIFE
HIS FAMILY HIS ROLE
A LIFETIME DEVOTED TO QUEEN AND COUNTRY £8.99 PRINTED IN THE UK
Celebrating Her Majesty’s Historic BirthdayA Life in Pictures
Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 95th birthday in 2021. With an extensive collection of more than 300 fascinating images,The Queen at 95: ALifeinPicturestakesreadersthroughthepeople, the places and the moments that have shaped the life of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, was born at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London, on April 21, 1926. The monarchy, the nation and the world have changed dramatically since then, yet Elizabeth has remained a beacon of consistency and stability throughoutfirst as a princess,then as Queen.
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Cambridge connection: the Duke was in Cambridge on February 12, 2009, where he unveiled a plaque naming a train University of Cambridge to mark the 800th anniversary of the world-famous seat of learning.
Introduction
On Friday, April 9, 2021, the news broke that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had died at the age of 99, just two months short of his 100th birthday.
Buckingham Palace released a statement that simply said: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.”
The news came less than a month after the Duke was allowed home from King Edward VII’s Hospital, where he had initially been admitted on February 16. He was transferred to St Bartholomew’s Hospital two weeks later, where he underwent a procedure for a preexisting heart condition. He was moved back to King Edward VII’s Hospital a few days later and was discharged on March 16 to recuperate at Windsor Castle.
Main front cover picture: At Windsor Castle on July 22, 2020 during a ceremony for the transfer of the Duke’s role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles to the Duchess of Cornwall.
Adrian Dennis/PA Archive/PA Images
Back: The Duke carried out his first official engagement in nearly two months on August 12, 2013 – a presentation at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Andrew Milligan/ PA Archive/PA Images
Prime Minister Boris Johnson led tributes to the Duke as messages began to flood in from around the world.
Born on June 10, 1921, the Duke had only recently retired from public life, having attended royal engagements with his wife and in his own right since their marriage in November 1947. His devotion and dedication to Queen and country had spanned more than seven decades.
Together they passed many milestones – her coronation, the arrival of their four children, her Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilee celebrations; the birth of grandchildren and great-grandchildren; travel to numerous Commonwealth countries and significant events up and down the British Isles. Their wedding more than 73 years ago meant the Queen’s marriage was the longest of any British sovereign.
Over the decades, photographers captured the royal couple’s many public engagements, providing a fascinating insight into their relationship and the special bond they shared throughout their lives together. This special publication that marks the death and celebrates the life of the Duke of Edinburgh features numerous longforgotten photographs of people who found a great deal of pleasure in meeting him – from the working man and the busy mum to the leaders of some of the world’s most powerful nations.
A number of the images highlight his work with, and commitment to, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.
Editor and author: Pauline Hawkins
Production Editor: Dan Sharp
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covEr dEsign: Craig Lamb
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PrintEd by: William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton isbn:
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PublishEd by: Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR. Tel: 01507 529529
coPyright: Mortons Media Group Ltd, 2021
All rights reserved.
3
PrincE PhiliP 1921-2021 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
INTRODUCTION
As the Duke of Edinburgh approached his 99th birthday, the couple posed for a photograph in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle on June 1, 2020. They celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary in November 2020.
Steve Parsons/PA Wire/PA Images
Chapter 1 | page 10
An extraordinary life
Chapter 2 | page 16
Royal blood
Chapter 3 | page 20
A military man
Chapter 4 | page 30
Love blossoms in wartime…
Contents
Chapter 5 | page 36
A fairy-tale wedding –and a coronation
Chapter 6 | page 42
Family tree, family ties
Chapter 7 | page 50
Celebrity circles
Chapter 8 | page 60
Supporting young people
Chapter 9 | page 66
Work, rest and play
Chapter 10 | page 76
Seventy years of sartorial splendour
Chapter 11 | page 82
Quips and quotes
Chapter 12 | page 88
Side by side
Chapter 13 | page 100
Royal milestones
Chapter 14 | page 106
Did you know?
Chapter 15 | page 110
Retirement beckons
Chapter 16 | page 122
The future of the monarchy
Image CredIts: PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES, PAIMAGES.CO.UK
Unless otherwise stated, the images in this publication are courtesy of the Press Association
A thoughtful moment for the Duke as he visits St Paul’s Church in Frankfurt on the second full day of a four-day State visit to Germany on June 25, 2015. Chris Jackson/ PA Archive/PA Images
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CONTENTS
their first child Prince
First born: Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh hold
Charles, aged six months. The photograph was taken on April 26, 1949.
Pop princess meets British royalty. The Duke, Patron of the Britain-Australia Society, presents Kylie Minogue with the Britain-Australia Society Award for 2016 during a private audience in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle on April 4, 2017. Steve Parsons/PA Archive/PA Images
The Queen presents a delighted Duke with New Zealand’s highest honour, the Order of New Zealand, at Buckingham Palace on June 6, 2013.
Look of love: the couple gaze contentedly into each other’s eyes as they celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary in November 2007 at Broadlands, where they spent their wedding night 60 years previously.
An extraordinary life
Dashing, tall and handsome, he captured the heart of a princess who would one day become Queen. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, stood proudly and loyally by his wife’s side for more than 70 years following their wedding on a November day in 1947. Despite the turmoil of the Second World War, the couple’s teenage friendship blossomed into romance and Princess Elizabeth’s joy was complete when she walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey to join her husband-to-be at the altar
There followed the unexpectedly early and sudden loss of her father, King George VI, in 1952 – but from Elizabeth’s subsequent coronation emerged a triumphant reign which saw the royal couple travel all over the globe, meeting kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents, witnessing the terms in office of numerous heads of state begin and come to an end.
Over those seven decades the Duke of Edinburgh was at the Queen’s side through times good and bad –happiness at the birth of their four children; sadness when the marriages of Charles to Diana, Anne to Captain Mark Phillips and Andrew to Sarah Ferguson ended in divorce.
He was there to comfort the Queen during her ‘annus horribilis’, which saw Windsor Castle engulfed by fire in November 1992, just days after their 45th wedding anniversary, and supported her at crucial times, including the days and months after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in August 1997.
Sometimes controversial, occasionally brusque, often entertaining and always smartly dressed,the Duke of Edinburgh played a prominent role in the British monarchy during the 20th and 21st centuries, providing it with a backbone of staunch dependability.
That role as the head of ‘The Firm’, as he reputedly dubbed the royal family, gave the Queen someone to confide in and provided a metaphorical, and maybe physical at times, shoulder to cry on.
The part he played in the dynasty cannot be underestimated and within the pages of this special publication we look back with admiration at the achievements, the celebrations, the successes and the occasional faux pas that made the Duke of Edinburgh an integral and unforgettable part of the House of Windsor.
Chapter 1 Prince PhiliP 1921-2021 10
November 20, 1947: the couple wave to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding.
Taken by royal command on April 26, 1949, this happy picture shows the Duke of Edinburgh with his infant son, Prince Charles, in a private room at Buckingham Palace.
A magical family moment, as Prince Charles and Princess Anne are pushed on a swing by their father, the Duke of Edinburgh, with their mother looking on, in the grounds of Balmoral on September 14, 1955.
Unnoticed by passers-by, the Duke of Edinburgh, Renter Warden of the Fishmongers’ Hall, crosses the pavement near Billingsgate Market, after he had paid a surprise visit to the market, London’s great fish distribution centre, on March 31, 1960. He had spent an hour and a quarter watching the market at work, having arrived there at 7.30am.
May 4, 1953: The Duke of Edinburgh in the cockpit of an aircraft at White Waltham airfield in Berkshire, when he made his last three flights before qualifying for his Royal Air Force wings.
Chapter 1 Prince PhiliP 1921-2021 12
