Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in 2002, photo by Jamie Roach/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

Date of Birth: 10 June, 1921

Place of Birth: Mon Repos, Corfu, Kingdom of Greece

Date of Death: 9 April, 2021

Place of Death: Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, U.K.

Ethnicity: European Royal, some German, distant Hungarian and French, remote Danish, Swiss, Bohemian, Lithuanian, Russian, Swedish, Belgian, and Dutch

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was the husband of Elizabeth II, who was Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, from 6 February, 1952 to 8 September, 2022. Among their four children is Charles III, who has been King of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, since 8 September, 2022. Among their grandchildren are William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Princess Beatrice of York. and among their great-grandchildren are Prince George of Wales and Prince Archie of Sussex.

Prince Philip was born on Mon Repos in Corfu, an island in the Kingdom of Greece, to the country’s royal family. His father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, was born in Athens, Kingdom of Greece, of House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. His mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie), was born in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England. She founded an order of Greek Orthodox nuns, the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary; and saved Jews during the Holocaust, for which she was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. At her request, she was buried at the Russian Orthodox, Church of Mary Magdalene, in Gethsemane, Jerusalem.

Prince Philip was a Prince of Greece and Denmark, both. He was in the line of succession to the throne in both countries as the patrilineal grandson of George I of Greece, and great-grandson of George I’s father, Christian IX of Denmark.

Through his direct matrilineal line, Prince Philip was the great-great-grandson of Victoria, who was Queen of the United Kingdom, from 20 June, 1837 to 22 January, 1901, and Empress of India, from 1 May, 1876 to 22 January, 1901, with Philip’s mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother Victoria, on that line all having been born in England.

Prince Philip’s closest genealogical relation to his wife Elizabeth II was through Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, who were his great-grandparents and her great-great-grandparents, making Philip and Elizabeth second cousins, once removed. Through Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, they were third cousins.

Though he was born in Greece and was often referred to as Greek, he had no ethnic Greek ancestry (he also had no ethnic English ancestry). A plebiscite in Greece in 1862 decided that Windsor Castle-born, Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom, later Duke of Edinburgh, would become King of Greece, though he could not accept. Eventually, the choice was made as Danish-born, George I of Greece, Prince Philip’s paternal grandfather, who established the family’s royal line in Greece. He adopted the Greek Orthodox faith into which Prince Philip was born. Prince Philip later became Anglican.

Prince Philip’s paternal grandfather was George I of Greece (born Prince William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, the son of Christian IX of Denmark, and of Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel). Prince Philip’s grandfather George I was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was King of the Hellenes, from 30 March, 1863 to 18 March, 1913. Prince Philip’s great-grandfather Christian IX was born in Gottorf Castle, Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig, and was King of Denmark, from 15 November, 1863 to 29 January, 1906. He was the son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, and of Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel. Prince Philip’s great-grandmother Princess Louise was born in Kassel, Electorate of Hesse, German Confederation, and was the daughter of Prince William of Hesse-Kassel, and of Princess Charlotte of Denmark, who had been born in Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen.

Prince Philip’s paternal grandmother was Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia (the daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin/Constantine Nikolayevich/Nikolaevich/Nicholaievitch of Russia, and of Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg). Prince Philip’s grandmother Grand Duchess Olga was born in Pavlovsk, Russian Empire, and was Queen consort of the Hellenes, from 27 October, 1867 to 18 March, 1913, and Regent of Greece, from 17 November, 1920 to 19 December, 1920. Prince Philip’s great-grandfather Grand Duke Konstantin was born in the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, and was the son of Nicholas I of Russia, who was Emperor of Russia, from 1 December, 1825 to 2 March, 1855, and of Alexandra Feodorovna, Charlotte of Prussia, who had been born in Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, Holy Roman Empire. Prince Philip’s great-grandmother Princess Alexandra was born in Altenburg, Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, and was the daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and of Duchess Amelia of Württemberg.

Prince Philip’s maternal grandfather was Prince Louis of Battenberg, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (born Count Ludwig Alexander von Battenberg, the son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, and of Countess Julia von Hauke, or Julia, Princess of Battenberg). Prince Philip’s grandfather Prince Louis was First Sea Lord, from 8 December, 1912 to 28 October, 1914. He was born in Graz, Austrian Empire. Prince Philip’s great-grandfather Count Ludwig was born in Darmstadt, Hesse, the son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and of Princess Wilhelmine of Baden. Prince Philip’s great-grandmother Princess Julia was born in Warsaw, Congress Poland, the daughter of John Maurice/Mortiz, Count von Hauke, a professional soldier, who was of German descent, and of Sophie Lafontaine.

Prince Philip’s maternal grandmother was Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (Victoria Alberta Elisabeth Mathilde Marie, the daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom). Prince Philip’s grandmother Princess Victoria was born in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England. Prince Philip’s great-grandfather Grand Duke Louis was born in Prinz-Carl-Palais, Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Confederation, the son of Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine, and of Princess Elisabeth of Prussia. Prince Philip’s great-grandmother Princess Alice was born in Buckingham Palace, London, England, and was the daughter of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who was born Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, in Schloss Rosenau, Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Germany; and of Queen Victoria.

Each of Prince Philip’s grandparents was born in a different country, something that is fairly rare. Actors Remy Auberjonois, Hart Bochner, Raymond Cham, Jr., Noah Emmerich, Lily James, Stephen Lang, Jessica Lange, Logan Lerman, Robert Morley, Brett Pierce, Ben Rosenfield, Andy Samberg, and Wallace Shawn, filmmaker John G. Avildsen, musicians Tom Cochrane, Paula Cole, Alex Pall, and Jeff Stinco, and politicians Nick Clegg and Ricardo Maduro, are others whose grandparents were born in four individual countries.

Sources: Genealogies of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh – http://www.wargs.com
https://www.geni.com
http://famouskin.com
https://www.famechain.com
https://www.findagrave.com