On June 10 1921, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was born. He is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He is the longest-serving, oldest-ever spouse of a reigning British monarch, and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family.

A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Prince Philip was born in Greece into the Greek and Danish royal families, but his family was exiled from Greece when he was an infant. After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, at the age of 18. From July 1939, he began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth (his third cousin through Queen Victoria, and the elder daughter and heir presumptive of King George VI) whom he had first met in 1934. After the war, Philip was granted permission by George VI to marry Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement, he abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism, and became a naturalised British subject, adopting the surname Mountbatten, from his maternal grandparents. After an engagement of five months, as Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, he married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947.

A keen sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He is a patron of over 800 organisations and chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme for people aged 14 to 24 years.

This image of Prince Philip was taken by the National Publicity Studios during the Royal Tour of 1953/1954. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are pictured here in Cambridge, Waikato on January 1 1954.

Reference: AAQT 6538 W3537 box 1 (R21434655)

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