The Prince of Greece with no Greek blood: How Prince Philip was born on a kitchen table in Corfu 103 years ago – before he was bundled into an orange crate when his family fled their home on a British warship

Born on a kitchen table on June 10, 1921, he was a prince of Greece without Greek blood who experienced more turmoil as a child than most people experience in their entire lives.

The late Prince Philip, widely known as the beloved husband of Queen Elizabeth II, became one of the most popular members of the British royal family.

But he started life a million miles from any British palace, in rather chaotic circumstances.

Philip was the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and his wife, Princess Alice of Battenberg.

Shortly after his birth, a revolution broke out in Greece and the royal family was exiled after his father was accused of high treason.

Philip was bundled into an orange crate and fled with his family to Paris on a British warship.

It was a fitting ship, as Philip would serve with distinction in the Royal Navy during the Second World War – before marrying the love of his life in 1947.

Prince Philip, as a toddler in July 1922, born as Prince Philippos Andreou of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderberg-Glücksburg, Prince of Greece and Denmark

Princess Alice of Battenberg (left) pictured with her son, the late Duke of Edinburgh (right) in 1926

Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth, pictured in July 1947 after announcing their engagement, met when they were just 18 and 13 years old

Prince Philip’s early life, pictured in Canada in 1984, was marked by turmoil and he had to leave his homeland with his family when he was just one year old in December 1922

After escaping from Greece, Philip – who was born in Corfu – and his family settled in a leafy suburb of Paris in a house loaned to them by his wealthy aunt, Princess George of Greece and Denmark.

From then on, the Duke’s childhood was incredibly unsettled as he had no permanent home.

Years later, when an interviewer from The Independent asked him what language he spoke at home, he replied, “What do you mean by ‘at home’?”

In 2001, he told a separate biographer: ‘It’s just what happened. The family split up. My mother was ill, my sisters were married, my father was in the south of France. I just had to get on with it. You do. One does.’

At the age of eight, Philip was sent to Cheam school in Surrey for three years, but then moved to Germany, where all four of his sisters had married.

His stay in Germany proved short-lived as he returned to Britain and was sent to Gordonstoun, a boarding school in Scotland.

By then his mother, diagnosed as schizophrenic, had been sent to a Swiss sanatorium and his father was living with his mistress on the French Riviera.

In stark contrast to his eldest son, King Charles, Philip loved his time at Gordonstoun.

He flourished at boarding school, where he captained the hockey and cricket teams and discovered his passion for boats.

However, when he was 16 and still at school, Philip lost his sister and uncle within a few months.

His sibling Cecile died in a plane crash in November 1937 with her husband and their two children.

Five months later, Philip’s uncle and guardian, the second Marquess of Milford Haven, died suddenly of cancer at the age of 46.

Gordonstoun’s German school principal, Kurt Hahn, was the one who broke the news. “His grief was that of a man,” his director is said to have recalled.

It was his sister’s funeral where Philip reconnected with his mother, who wanted him to return to Greece with her after the restoration of the Greek monarchy.

The young prince declined and wanted to pursue a career in the navy. In World War II he saw active service against German, Italian and Japanese forces.

In March 1941 he was searchlight control officer on the battleship HMS Valiant and was mentioned in dispatches for his part in the Battle of Matapan against the Italian fleet.

His commanding officer said: ‘Thanks to his alertness and insight into the situation we managed to sink two Italian cruisers of 20 cm gun within five minutes.’

Shortly afterwards he received the Greek War Cross of Valor.

When he rose through the ranks to become a first lieutenant in the destroyer HMS Wallace (at the age of 21), he was the youngest officer in the service to hold a managerial job on a ship of this size.

But at Christmas 1943, having ‘nowhere in particular to go’, as he casually put it, Philip went to stay at Windsor Castle with his cousin, David Milford Haven. Princess Elizabeth, now 17, was animated in a way that “none of us had ever seen before,” wrote her governess, Marion Crawford.

That weekend full of dinners, charades, movies and dancing to the gramophone turned out to be a turning point.

After another visit to Windsor in July, Philip wrote to the Queen about “the simple pleasure of family fun and entertainment and the feeling that I am welcome to share it.” I’m afraid I can’t put all this into words and I’m certainly not able to show you the gratitude I feel.’

The couple was first properly introduced in July 1939, when Elizabeth visited Dartmouth Naval College with her parents, where Philip was training.

After moving from Greece, Prince Philip, pictured as a toddler in July 1922, lived with relatives for his first years.

By the time Philip (center) was just nine years old, his mother (left) had been sent to a Swiss sanatorium and his father (right) went to live with his mistress.

Prince Philip’s parents, Princess Alice (left) and Prince Andrew (right), pictured in 1922

Philip attended the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun, where he flourished. Above: The future Duke of Edinburgh checks his running shoes during an inter-school sports day in 1935

He joined the Royal Navy on leaving school and achieved great success – even receiving the Greek War Cross of Bravery. Prince Philip pictured during military service

Because Philip was 18 years old at the time and the princess was only 13, they had previously met at a family wedding and her father’s coronation.

The prince was tasked with showing Elizabeth and her sister around the university and immediately impressed his future wife.

By the time Philip married Elizabeth in 1947, at the age of 26, his absent father was dead. He had died in Monaco in 1944.

More than fourteen years elapsed between the birth of Prince Charles in November 1948 and the arrival of Prince Edward in March 1964.

Philip ended his active naval career in July 1951 and then began to concentrate on his work in support of the Queen after her accession to the throne in 1952.

Philip’s uncle Louis Mountbatten (left) with the prince at the National Playing Fields Association dinner in London 1948

With Elizabeth he had four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew

Prince Philip (second right) pictured at his stag party at the Dorchester Hotel in 1947 with fellow Royal Navy officers

Philip flourished in his role of royal duty, establishing the Duke of Edinburgh Award in 1956 – whose impact continues today and operates in more than 130 countries

In November 1952 he began training as a pilot with the RAF and successfully obtained his wings the following year.

By the time he retired from flying in 1997 at the age of 76, he had spent nearly 6,000 hours in the air, in 59 different aircraft.

Philip thrived in his role of royal duty. The Duke of Edinburgh Award, which he established in 1956, proved perhaps his greatest legacy. It now operates in more than 140 countries.

The Duke was a constant companion of the Queen during engagements, state visits and in private.

When he died on April 9, 2021 at the age of 99, the outpouring of grief reflected his beloved status, both among family members and in the eyes of millions of people around the world.