15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years

- Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was the longest-serving consort in British history, had returned to Windsor on March 16, after a month in hospital

- Following the news of the duke's death, the flag at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-mast and a notice was posted on the gates

- People left floral tributes outside the palace, including daffodils, tulips, roses, and lilies, and hundreds travelled to Windsor Castle to pay their respects

- During the coronavirus pandemic, however, the government has advised the public not to assemble or leave tributes at royal residences

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Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband and the Duke of Edinburgh, died Friday at age 99according to an announcement by Buckingham Palace.

Phillip was the first male royal consort since Queen Victoria's time in the 1800s — and the longest-serving consort in British history.

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Here's a look back at the life of the man who has stood by the queen's side for more than 70 years.

When Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark courted then-Princess Elizabeth after World War II, he was a dashing young officer.

He had served with the Royal Navy's Mediterranean and Pacific fleets.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth during their younger years
The Duke of Edinburgh dances with his wife, Princess Elizabeth, at a square dance held in their honour in Ottawa on October 17, 1951. Photo: Keystone.
Source: Getty Images

In 1939, when Philip was a cadet at the Royal Navy College, he began exchanging letters with Princess Elizabeth, the 13-year-old heir to the British throne.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth during their younger years
Princess Elizabeth with Philip Mountbatten on their wedding day on November 20, 1947. Photo: Topical Press Agency.
Source: Getty Images

Her early correspondence about Philip tells the tale of a besotted teenager.

She described him as looking "like a Viking god." The two, third cousins, eventually got engaged in the summer of 1947.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth during their younger years
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wave at the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace on June 2, 1953. Photo: Keystone.
Source: Getty Images

He had renounced his royal titles and naval career by the time of their 1947 wedding, taken British citizenship and decided that his children would take his wife's family name of Windsor.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth during their younger years
Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh during their honeymoon. Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone.
Source: Getty Images
"To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one's personal and even the world's troubles seem small and petty," he wrote to Elizabeth in 1946.

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15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward waving to the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace, during the Trooping of the Colour. Photo by Fox Photos.
Source: Getty Images

According to Karina Urbach of the University of London's Institute of Historical Research, these were important sacrifices.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh at a State banquet in 1970. Photo by Anwar Hussein.
Source: Getty Images

It also meant that a man like him, who is an alpha man, who wants to lead, who wants to be recognized in his own profession could not fulfil that.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II filming the arrival of the escort ship HMNZS Black Prince, while in the South Pacific en route to Fiji. On the left is Prince Philip. Photo: Hulton Archive.
Source: Getty Images

Later in life, Philip took to describing himself as the world's most experienced plaque unveiler.

Philip was born in Corfu, Greece, into a deeply dysfunctional branch of the Greek royal family. His father was notorious as a philanderer and gambler.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh with their children celebrating the Queen's 39th birthday at Windsor. Photo: Keystone.
Source: Getty Images

His mother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to a mental hospital, became deeply religious. Young Philip grew up couch-surfing between royal relatives across Europe.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
August 1951: Princess Elizabeth with her husband Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh and their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive.
Source: Getty Images

Philip was regarded as a rebel and a modernizer in his early years. He chastised stuffy courtiers and let cameras into Buckingham Palace behind the scenes.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
The royal family at Windsor in 1969. Photo: Fox Photos.
Source: Getty Images

However, by the 1970s, Philip was generally regarded as a crotchety, angular figure who trailed his wife on royal outings, making frequent and widely publicized gaffes.

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15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Balmoral, Scotland in 1972. Photo: Fox Photos.
Source: Getty Images

During a visit to Beijing, he described it as a "ghastly" place. He once inquired whether a female navy cadet worked in a strip joint.

In Papua New Guinea, he congratulated a British backpacker for avoiding being eaten.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip celebrate their 25th silver wedding anniversary at Balmoral, Scotland, in November 1972. Photo: Fox Photos.
Source: Getty Images

Historians say Philip, a great-great-grandchild of Queen Victoria, was always aware that, as royal consort, he had no constitutional role in British politics or public life.

He was careful not to cross that line.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh laugh as they watch the games during the Annual Braemar Highland Gathering on September 6, 2008, in Scotland. Photo by Chris Jackson.
Source: Getty Images

But he devoted many hours to supporting British institutions and was a passionate advocate for the environment — a passion shared by his son Charles.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on board HMY Britannia in March 1972 during the Silver Wedding Celebrations in 1972. Photo: Lichfield Archive.
Source: Getty Images

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, which he founded in 1956, honours the achievements of young people around the world.

15 enchanting photos of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth During their Younger Years
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on safari during their state visit to Zambia, 1979. Photo: Serge Lemoine.
Source: Getty Images

Philip announced his retirement from public duties in 2017.

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