Although marrying into the Royal Family means living a life of privilege, there are also plenty of drawbacks to joining the Firm.
No modern royal was more aware of theses sacrifices than Prince Philip.
After becoming the Duke of Edinburgh, Philip gave up his birth citizenship, his naval career and even his surname. In many ways he accepted that his life would be spent in the shadow of Queen Elizabeth II.
It is therefore unsurprising that Philip would expect a similar level of commitment to the family from others.
According to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, Philip couldn’t understand why Meghan Markle didn’t follow his example when she married Prince Harry in May 2018.
Speaking to Sky News in 2020, Seward said: ‘I think he’s very, very disappointed because I think he feels he gave up his naval career in order to stand by the Queen and help the monarchy.
‘And why can’t Meghan just give up her acting career, support her husband and support the monarchy?
‘He just cannot understand why she couldn’t support Harry and help him rather than wanting to have her voice.’
According to Seward, after Harry and Meghan announced they wanted to step down as working royals in January 2020 and the late Queen had called a summit in Sandringham to try to resolve the crisis, Philip didn’t want to be a part of the talks about the Sussexes’ future outside of the monarchy.
The Duke of Edinburgh – along with Kate Middleton and Camilla – did not attend the meeting between the Queen, the then Prince Charles, Prince William and Harry.
Meghan was reportedly outraged that she was not able to attend the summit as she was still in Canada with baby Archie.
Seward claims that the Duke just wanted to wash his hands of the whole sorry affair.
Speaking in 2020 she said: ‘Of course, it irritates him hugely. And when they had the Sandringham Summit, Prince Philip was seen leaving the house very swiftly before they all arrived.
‘He simply doesn’t want to get involved any more.’
Philip’s quiet fury, directed towards Harry and Meghan, came from his sense of duty and because of his own sacrifices.
Even before Philip married Elizabeth and became the Duke of Edinburgh, he had to renounce his Greek and Danish citizenship in order to become a naturalised Brit.
He also changed his name from Philippos Andreou of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderberg-Glücksburg to Mountbatten.
Philip experienced further turbulence once Elizabeth unexpectedly ascended to the throne at just 25 years old following the sudden death of King George VI.
The Duke had to leave behind his successful career in the Royal Navy to take up new duties as the consort to the Queen.
Writing in her biography of their marriage – titled Elizabeth And Philip – Tessa Dunlop noted that Philip said he would not receive the title of Prince Consort that Albert was given, appreciating that ‘times had changed’.
Philip was less understanding of the proposed plan for the Queen to break royal tradition and retain Windsor as the name of the royal house. He wished her to take on his surname, but Prime Minister Winston Churchill, under the behest of Elizabeth’s grandmother Queen Mary, insisted that Windsor must stay.
A compromise was sought where, rather than taking on the Mountbatten name, the family could become known as the House of Edinburgh. ‘Philip wasn’t fussed over which name, so long as it was his name,’ Dunlop wrote.
But his wish was not granted and Windsor remained the family name.
According to broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, Philip was left vexed by the decision and claimed he was ‘the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children’.
Philip soon got over the surname debacle and committed himself to serving the country and his wife.
The Duke was patron of 800 organisations including, most famously, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme.
Upon his retirement from royal duties on August 2, 2017, Philip had already become the longest-serving British royal consort, having spent more than 70 years by the Queen’s side.
His dedication to the Crown and his wife did not go unnoticed. In Elizabeth’s speech to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 she paid tribute to Philip, describing him as her ‘constant strength and guide’.
Paying tribute to her husband at his funeral in April 2021, the Queen left a handwritten note on top of Prince Philip’s coffin, nestled alongside a wreath of white blooms she had chosen, including lilies, roses, freesia and sweet peas.
What was written below was hidden in the flowers, but some reports have suggested the Queen signed it off as ‘Lilibet’ – his nickname for her – in a touching final tribute to their marriage.
