(1) HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh passed away today at the age of 99 years.
He was an incredible person, much loved and respected in the countries of the Commonwealth, including New Zealand.
10 June 1921 - 9 April 2021
(2) I will share some random thoughts and memories in this thread, including little-known anecdotes and facts about Prince Philip's long life.
In this 1928 photo his parents are in the center, with his four older sisters around them.
(3) Prince Philip's early life tells you a lot about 19th & 20th century European history.
In 1863 his grandfather, 17yo Prince William of Denmark became King of the Hellenes (Greece) & took the name George I.
That's why in 1921 Philip was born a prince of Greece & Denmark.
(4) Prince Philip's ancestry is about half Danish & half German. Like his future wife, he was a descendant of Queen Victoria; who was mostly of German descent.
In 1947 he was not initially accepted by some among the war-weary British public and was nicknamed "Phil the Greek."
(5) For purely political reasons his 3 surviving sisters, Margarita, Theodora, & Sophie, could not attend his wedding. Cecilie & her husband had died in a 1937 plane crash. All the sisters married German princes: the 3 surviving men had served on the Nazi side.
M, T, C & S:
(6) Prince Philip's father Prince Andreas (Andrew) had died in 1944. A treasured possession was his father's signet ring.
His mother Princess Alice rescued Jews from the Nazis, was designated Righteous Among The Nations, and is buried in Jerusalem:
yadvashem.org/righteous/stor…
(7) Despite his late brothers-in-law having fought on the Nazi side of the war, Prince Philip's nieces, nephews and descendants have friendly private family relationships with the British royal family, and see each other regularly.
The Margrave of Baden & family, London 2007:
(8) It is heartening to see that so many of the tributes to Prince Philip recognize his bravery and service in the Royal Navy during WWII.
He had first met then Princess Elizabeth in 1934 at a family wedding, then once again on an official RN visit in 1939. Importantly, ...
(9) Prince Philip & the Queen's relationship was a true love match from the start. Granted, his ambitious uncle & surrogate father Louis Mountbatten did all he could to encourage it, but it was very much their own choice.
When they met in 1939 she was just 13, he 18.
(10) They met in July 1939, just two months before the UK entered the war. Although she was only 13, they wrote letters to each other throughout the six years of war.
They became engaged in 1947. What he wrote to the Queen Mother says a lot about his approach to life:
(11) I have more things to share about Prince Philip's life but I will take a short break for now.
In New Zealand, it is traditional in Māori culture that if it rains after someone has died that's a sign of honor. Across most of the country today, it is bucketing down.
(12) It's morning in the UK and HM has shared this lovely photo from a couple of years ago, along with one of her iconic quotes about the Duke, from their Golden wedding anniversary in 1997.
(13) The ceremonial 41 gun salute is about to get underway in London and around the world. It's one of the few official mourning events the public can participate in (from a distance, due to the pandemic.) I'm following it on ITV live:
(14) There's a ton of information and photos about the Duke of Edinburgh's life, and the memorial events, at the royal family's website:
royal.uk
(15) Some really great photos here in a tweet marking their Platinum (70th) wedding anniversary in 2017:
(16) Details of the funeral plans:
IMO the plans have been very carefully worked out, to give the Duke the most honor possible, while keeping everyone attending as safe as possible, and respecting pandemic victims & families by keeping to the rules.
(17) While many in the UK have been fully vaccinated against Covid, precautions are still needed in case a different strain is spread at the funeral, or in the rare but expected cases that vaccination isn't fully effective.
We need to protect the Queen as much as possible.
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