H.R.H. Prince Philip

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark on 10 June 1921) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He was the longest-serving, oldest-ever spouse of a reigning British monarch, and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family.

A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince Philip was born in Greece into the Greek and Danish royal families, but his family was exiled from Greece when he was a baby. After being educated in France, England, Germany, and Scotland, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, at the age of 18. From July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth (his third cousin through Queen Victoria and the elder daughter and heir presumptive of King George VI) whom he had first met in 1934. During the Second World War he served with the Mediterranean and Pacific fleets.

After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement, he abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and became a naturalised British subject, adopting the surname Mountbatten, from his maternal grandparents. After an engagement of five months, as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, he married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. Just before the marriage, the King granted him the style of His Royal Highness and the title Duke of Edinburgh. Philip left active service, having reached the rank of commander, when Elizabeth became Queen in 1952. His wife made him a prince of the United Kingdom in 1957.

Philip has four children with Elizabeth: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward. He has eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Through a British Order in Council issued in 1960, descendants of Philip and Elizabeth not bearing royal styles and titles can use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, which has also been used by some members who do hold titles, such as Charles and Anne.

A keen sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He is a patron of over 800 organisations and chairperson of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme for people aged 14 to 24 years.