Doing His Duty

Prince Philip (21) in 1942

For decades there have been a raft of movies and books about women who labored behind the scenes during great historical events. Usually men took the credit for their work, and the women, unacknowledged, took their place in the background. Values may have changed over the decades, but one that hasn't is the special regard for those who strive for the greater good without seeking praise for their own contributions

If we honor those self-effacing women, what shall we say about Prince Philip (1921-2021) who stood in the shadow of Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years? The Prince consort knew his duty to be loyal, supportive, and in the background. It wasn't easy for a young man of accomplishment:

In 1940 Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy, serving with distinction in World War II in the Mediterranean and the Pacific. During a 1941 battle off the coast of Greece, his skillful manning of his ship's searchlight helped his crew sink two Italian cruisers in five minutes, [biographer Ben] Pimlott writes. In 1942, at the age of 21, he was one of the youngest officers ever named first lieutenant and second-in-command of a destroyer.

He began wooing Princess Elizabeth in earnest toward the end of the war...Around the time of his marriage to Elizabeth in 1947, Prince Philip became a naturalized British citizen and was named Duke of Edinburgh.

When Elizabeth became queen in 1952, Prince Philip gave up his active naval career for full-time royal duties, serving as his wife's consort and as patron to charitable organizations. Asked about his life in a 1992 interview, he betrayed some regret about the trade-offs. "I didn't want to be President of the World Wildlife Fund," he said. "I'd much rather have stayed in the navy, frankly."

Before the war Philip's life did not conform to the stereotypical image of a royal life.

Philip had a relatively rough childhood. While he was still an infant, a Greek revolutionary court sentenced his father, Prince Andrew, to banishment for life for disobeying a miltary order during a battle with Turkey. That forced the family of seven to flee the country...

They lived an "impoverished" life in exile in a house provided by a relative on the outskirts of Paris...

Prince Philip's father effectively abandoned the family when the prince was 9, and his mother suffered a nervous breakdown and spent many years in mental-health clinics.

Philip married into privilege, perhaps the most archetypically privileged family in the world. Membership, however, comes at a high price, and, as younger family members have shown, a price not everyone is willing to bear. Philip accepted his responsibilities for nearly 100 years. R.I.P.