Prince Philip, gruff figure of the British monarchy

by Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - While he helped modernize the British monarchy, Prince Philip, a strong-willed naval officer and devoted consort to Queen Elizabeth II, is perhaps best known for his character somewhat gruff audience.

Deceased on Friday at the dawn of his 100th birthday, Prince Philip lived in the shadow of the one he married in 1947 at Westminster Abbey, attending thousands of public ceremonies, always two steps away behind the queen.

Although he never held an official position alongside Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh was, for more than 70 years, one of the most influential figures in the British royal family.

A brash figure in the monarchy whose demeanor and blunt words have regularly been criticized, the Queen's closest confidant brought, according to friends, wit, impatient intelligence and a unwavering energy.

"He's just been my strength and my rock all these years," Elizabeth said in a rare personal tribute to Philip on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.

"His family and I, this country and so many others, are indebted to him more than either he or we could ever have imagined."

While Prince Philip has never publicly expressed his frustration with his role as husband, he did reveal that he struggled to find his place in his royal debut.

"There was no precedent," he told the BBC in an interview on his 90th birthday. "If I asked someone 'what do you expect from me?' they all looked confused - they had no idea, no one really had any idea."

Prince Philip, however, helped his wife navigate the political and social upheavals of the 20th century, in order to adapt the monarchy to the times.

Often confronted by a deeply traditional court, he reformed Buckingham Palace and attempted to harness the growing power of television to expand the influence of royalty.

He lobbied for the Queen's 1953 coronation to be broadcast live, and behind the scenes on the royal stage he brushed aside behavior he considered obsolete and stuffy.

Prince Philip was the first member of the royal family to give an interview on television.

Later, however, he was blamed for hampering the monarchy's ability to adapt to the times, and his critics blamed his authoritarianism as three of his four children's marriages ended in divorce .

From the union of the couple formed by Elizabeth and Philip were born Charles, Prince of Wales (1948), Princess Anne (1950), Prince Andrew, Duke of York (1960), and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (1964).

"MY STRENGTH AND MY ROCK"

For Elizabeth, Philip was a supportive husband who, according to courtiers, was the only person to treat the monarch as a human being.

Despite rumors of the prince's infidelity, the couple have stuck together in their old age, celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary in November 2017.

Son of the exiled Prince Andrew of Greece, descendant of Queen Victoria, and third cousin of his wife, Philip never really won the hearts of all Britons.

Royal watchers have indeed pointed to a controlling and cold father, especially with his sons.

A decade after the death of Diana, 36, in a car accident in Paris, Philip suffered the affront of being accused by Mohamed al-Fayed, whose son was the princess's lover, of ordering his assassination.

These charges, which were dismissed for lack of evidence, nevertheless reflect the country's ambivalent feelings towards Philip.

A CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER

Philip was the most controversial member of the royal family until the struggles of his children and their spouses fueled the tabloids in the 1990s.

The Duke of Edinburgh has indeed been attacked on everything from nuclear power to nature conservation.

He had been called a hypocrite for having chaired the British branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature while indulging in pheasant hunting.

"I think there's a difference between being concerned about nature conservation and being a rabbit hugger," he told the BBC.

If those around him attributed courtesy and devotion to him, it was his clumsy frankness that earned him the greatest attention.

His remark about 'slanting eyes' while in China in the 1980s became a symbol of his outspokenness, contrasting with the Queen's restraint.

"If at some point people feel that the monarchy has no more role to play then, for the love of God, let's end this amicably," he said during a trip to Canada.

A CHILDHOOD ON THE MOVE

Philippos Schleswig-Holstein Sonderburg-Glucksburg, fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece, was born on a dining room table in Corfu on June 10, 1921.

As a child, Philip wandered around Europe. His parents went into exile when he was 18 months old, tossing him from the Greek island in a bed made of crates of oranges.

He has, through his mother, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, British and German blood. Born Princess Alice of Battenberg, she became a nun after being separated from her husband, who died practically penniless in 1944.

A naturalized British citizen, Philip studied at Gordonstoun, where his son Charles became a refractory student himself, and ended up resembling the perfect English gentleman in every way.

But, for his detractors, he remains "Phil the Greek".

A DASHY YOUNG SAILOR

Philip joined the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1939. He served in warships during the Second World War, was mentioned in dispatches, took part in the Allied landings in Sicily and was in Tokyo Bay when the Japan surrendered in 1945.

He first met Elizabeth at his cousin's wedding in 1934. Five years later, the young sailor captured the attention of his bride-to-be as the 13-year-old princess visited Dartmouth with his parents.

“The color faded from her face and then she blushed. She stared at him and the rest of the day followed him everywhere. Earl Mountbatten, Philip's uncle.

The wedding, attended by statesmen and royalty from around the world, was celebrated at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.

Prince Philip continued his career in the Navy until 1951, before devoting himself full-time to public duties when Elizabeth became Queen.

"I suspect that for Prince Philip it was quite difficult in the very early years of the reign, as he had to sacrifice his naval career, which upset him," the royal family historian pointed out. Hugo Vickers.

However, there is a place where his wife cannot match him: on the island of Tanna, in the Vanuatu archipelago, the population devotes a cult to Prince Philip and attributes magical powers to him. He is considered a god, and the source of all goodness.

THE FAILURES OF MARRIAGE

Rumors of Prince Philip's infidelity and a breakup with the Queen were firmly denied in the 1950s.

In his biography of the Queen, however, Robert Hardman states that during a royal tour of Australia in 1954, a film crew saw Philip running out of a cottage, followed by a pair of tennis shoes and a racket thrown out of the house.

According to the biographer, the members of the team destroy the film and, later, it is the queen herself who approaches them. "I'm sorry for this little interlude but, as you know, it happens in every marriage," she reportedly told them.

Decades later, their grandson Harry says the Queen is dependent on Philip. "Personally, I don't think she could do it without him."

In recent years, the prince has been stepping back from his royal duties as his health deteriorates.

In 2011, he spent Christmas in hospital after undergoing heart surgery and then, admitted for a bladder infection the following year, missed the end of celebrations for his wife's 60th anniversary on the throne .

The prince retired completely from active public life in August 2017.

In January 2019, he emerged unscathed from a car accident caused by the collision of his Land Rover with another vehicle near the residence of the royal family in Sandringham, in the east of England.

"I think I've done my part," told the BBC in 2011. "I want to have a little fun now."

As to whether he feels like he's succeeded in his role as Prince Consort, Philip gives a cool answer.

"I don't care," he says. "Whatever I think about it, I mean, it's ridiculous."

(French version Juliette Portala, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)

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