Prince Charles And Duchess Camilla Honor Prince Philip On His 100th Birthday

Jun 11, 2021 by apost team

The passing of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9, 2021, left members of the royal family as well as ardent supporters of the British monarchy in grief. The accomplished and celebrated consort to Queen Elizabeth II will always remain one of the most endearing members of the royal family. 

Prince Philip lived an incredibly full life until he died at the age of 99 earlier this year. Not only was his life an extraordinary one, but his marriage was too —Elizabeth and Philip celebrated 73 years of marriage together, officially making theirs the longest royal marriage on record. Always by each other’s side, the couple endured a lot in their over seven-decade-long relationship. They remain a beacon of inspiration for people around the world.

On top of serving as the queen’s consort for over 70 years, Philip was known to be Her Majesty’s rock, as well as a guiding light for the entire royal family. She spoke of this on more than one occasion, while Prince William and Prince Harry have also spoken of their fondness for their grandfather. In fact, it was Philip who persuaded William and Harry to walk behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral.

Now that yesterday would have been Philip’s 100th birthday, royal family members such as Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla have taken to Instagram to give tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh through a multi-photo post. Read on to learn more about Philip's life before his passing and what the Clearance House Instagram posted in honor of the late prince’s centennial. 

Although he is a fundamental part of the British royal family, Prince Philip was born overseas in Corfu, Greece, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. When he was a young child Philip was forced into exile with his family. In order to marry Elizabeth, he renounced his Greek and Danish titles and took on his mother’s maiden name of Mountbatten, according to Biography.

Despite being born overseas, Philip and Elizabeth are actually distant cousins. In fact, most royal couples are related somewhere in their family history in order to maintain the bloodline. Philip and Elizabeth are third cousins, as they are both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, reports Reader’s Digest.

How the royal couple met is also a testament to their enduring love. Unlike many royal marriages that are arranged matches, their marriage was based entirely on love. According to Reader’s Digest, Elizabeth and Philip first met at the wedding of Philip’s cousin in 1934, when she was 8 and Philip was 13. They met again when she was 13 and Philip was 18, and the young Elizabeth found him to be very attractive indeed.

It was around this time that Philip was active in the Royal Navy. During World War II, he was deployed overseas, but he and Elizabeth regularly exchanged letters during this time. He returned to England in 1946 and proposed, and she said yes. However, due to royal family rules, they had to hide their engagement for several months until Elizabeth turned 21. Their love for each other did not waver despite the difficult circumstances. 

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They announced their engagement on July 8, 1947, and married a few months later in November. As a wedding gift, Philip stopped smoking cold turkey because he knew how much Elizabeth despised the habit; her father was a notorious chain-smoker and eventually died of lung cancer.

The couple fully committed to the marriage and have always provided unwavering support to each other. Gyles Brandreth wrote in his book “Philip & Elizabeth: Portrait of a Marriage:”

“The Queen wears the crown, but her husband wears the trousers. He is the power behind the throne: steadfast, never-failingly supportive.”

Elizabeth admitted as much in a speech in 1977, saying that Philip has been her strength over the years. She reiterated this during her 2012 Diamond Jubilee speech when she called him her “constant strength and guide.”

Yesterday, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla shared a photo to the Clarence House Instagram in honor of his father The Duke of Edinburgh. A colored portrait of Philip featured him with a wide smile. The black and white photo featured a toddler Charles greeting a young Philip after he returned home from Malta in 1951. The caption read:

“Remembering The Duke of Edinburgh, on what would have been his 100th birthday.”

The post included two photos with the following captions:

"📷 1 - The Duke transfers his role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles to The Duchess of Cornwall, during a joint ceremony at Windsor Castle and Highgrove in July 2020 (PA).

📷 2 - The young Prince Charles welcomes his father home from a trip to Malta in 1951 (PA)."

What do you think about Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla's tribute to Prince Philip? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this on to other royal fans you know!