Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, 10 June 1921), is the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II. Philip was born into the Greek and Danish royal families. He was born in Greece, but his family was exiled from the country when he was an infant. After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18. From July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, whom he had first met in 1934. During the Second World War
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh his age and background. In an address to the General Dental Council in 1960, he jokingly coined a new word for his blunders: "Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years." Later in life he suggested his comments may have contributed to the perception that he is "a cantankerous old sod". The historian David Starkey has described him as a kind of "HRH Victor Meldrew". For example, in May 1999 British newspapers accused Philip of insulting deaf children at a pop concert in