Britain’s Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, on Friday, passed on at the age of 99.
His demise was disclosed in a statement on the official website of the Royal Family on Friday, The New Diplomat had earlier reported.
According to the statement, Prince Philip passed away at the Windsor Castle, England.
Below are the quick facts to know about the late Prince Philip:
- He was born on June 10, 1921, on the Greek Island of Corfu in Greece.
-
He was the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and Princess Alice of Battenberg.
-
He graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon, England, as a top cadet.
-
He served as a Royal Navy from January 1940, till the end of World War II.
-
He got married to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, on November 20, 1947, at Westminster Abbey.
- He renounced his Greek Royal and Danish title and became a British Citizen, on February 28, 1947.
-
The title of Duke of Edinburgh was conferred on him by King George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth II.
i) But when Queen Elizabeth took the throne, Philip did not become the King of England, thanks to a longstanding rule in the royal family which decrees that a man who marries a reigning queen will only be referred to as a Prince Consort.
ii) In 1957, Philip, then known only as the Duke of Edinburgh, officially became a Prince after Queen Elizabeth bestowed the title upon him.
- On the eve of his wedding, he was designated as a Royal Highness, and was made a Knight of the Heater, Baron Greenwich, Earl of Merioneth.
-
In May, 1961, Prince Philip became the first member of the British Royal Family to appear in a televised interview.
10. He is listed as a president or patron in over 816 organisations, the first of which was the Federation of London Youth Clubs (1947).
- He attended an average of 350 official engagements in a year, on behalf of the Royal Family.
-
In May 2017, he was announced as one of the busiest royals, with over 22,000 solo appearances in 65 years of his public engagements.
-
His last solo event held on August 2, 2017, as he retired from his public role.
-
He can speak both English and French languages. He spent seven year of his childhood in France.
-
He engaged in numerous philanthropic programmes and initiative, part of which are;
i He served as the president of World Wildlife Fund from 1981 to 1996.
ii He was the founder of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an initiative which promotes engineering excellence and education.
-
He is survived by his four children; Charles Philip Arthur George; Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; Andrew Albert Christian Edward; Edward Anthony Richard Louis.
-
He travelled to Nigeria alongside Queen Elizabeth in 2003 during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
