Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and the longest-serving consort in British history, was born into Greek royalty in the 1920s, served on a battleship in World War II, toured the world on royal missions for decades and sought for most of his life to defend the interests of Britain’s monarchy.
His life spanned almost a century of upheaval and change for Britain: As a child, he lived with a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and he died nearly 100 years old, survived by eight great grandchildren who will grow up in an era of smartphones and the internet.
Philip came to England after his father, Prince Andrew of Greece, was banished by a revolutionary Greek junta. He was educated at the Cheam School, an institution bent on toughening privileged children, and then went to Gordonstoun School in Scotland, which promoted a regimen of grueling work, cold showers and hard beds.
He met Princess Elizabeth when she was about 13 or 14. She was instantly smitten, telling her father, King George VI, that she could love no other man but him. They married on Nov. 20, 1947, when he was 26 and she was 21.
warning about greenhouse gases and lending his time to causes like protecting endangered wildlife.
But he grew to hate the relentless tabloid coverage of palace affairs. The public often perceived him as a remote if occasionally loose-lipped figure who made remarks that were called oblivious, insensitive or worse.
He was pained by the headlines that followed the tumultuous marriage and divorce of his eldest son, Prince Charles, and Lady Diana Spencer. He became known as a stern and even imperious figure in the royal family who belittled Charles, and he and the family were castigated by the public for their response to the death of Diana.