Prince Philip, aged 99, passed away today.
The news was announced by Buckingham Palace through a public statement that read:
It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.
As the world mourns the loss of the prince, let us have a look at one very important aspect of his life: His titles.
As we all know, the British monarchy is very particular about the honours given to the members of the royal family and there is a reason behind every title.
For instance, Philip was called ‘Prince’, ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ and ‘His Royal Highness’. He was never called a ‘King’, despite being married to the Queen.
Which is the opposite of what happens when a man becomes the monarch. His wife gets the title of ‘Queen’, as did Queen Elizabeth’s mother when her father ruled over the kingdom.
So, why exactly does this happen? The answer is simple. The rules of the royal household treat men and women monarchs differently. In that, the Queen’s husband doesn’t take the male equivalent of her title, while the King’s wife does.
So Prince Philip, remained Philip after his marriage to the Queen in 1947. He did get the honour of being called ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ and ‘His Royal Highness’, though.
As for the title ‘Prince’, that’s one interesting story. He already had that title before marriage, but it wasn’t recognised by the British Monarchy. Basically, he was a ‘Prince’ of Greek and Danish descent and actually had to give up on his position as a royal to tie the knot with the Queen.
So, he entered the marriage as just ‘Philip’ or ‘Mr. Philip’. However, she made sure he gets the title back in 1957 by using her authority.
The couple had known each other since she was 13 and he was 18. They fell in love immediately and started writing to each other. They got married in 1947 a few months after India’s Independence.