He was destined for great things in the British navy but his commitment to duty, and the woman he loved, meant his dream vocation was cut short.
But the man Queen Elizabeth II called ”her strength and her stay” was unwavering in his support and now one royal photographer has revealed a touching story that sheds light on that relationship.
Arthur Edwards was able to observe the dynamic between the late Queen and her husband Prince Philip during his nearly five decade career as photographer for The Sun.
Speaking on that publication’s program, Royal Exclusive, the longtime photographer explained that Philip, who rose to lieutenant commander, had to leave active duty when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952.
The newly-invested Duke of Edinburgh “gave all that up to serve Queen and the country,” having taking command of the frigate HMS Magpie only the previous year.
“For sort of 70 years, he was walking behind the Queen, shaking hands with the mayoress while The Queen was talking to the mayor,” he said.
“And he did that with total commitment forever, until he retired a few years before he died.”
For Edwards, one event that “sums it all up” was the 2017 Remembrance Day ceremony. Despite being 96 and in significant pain from a hip injury, the Duke refused to leave The Queen’s side.
“His hip was really hurting him and he was in great pain and The Queen pleaded with him to go, to go, and he wouldn’t do that,” he said.
“To him being there was his duty.”
The softer side of Prince Philip was further explored in the ITV documentary, Philip: Prince, Husband, Father. The documentary highlighted a poignant moment during Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, wherein the Duke of Edinburgh discreetly provided solace to Prince William, thinking they were away from the cameras’ view.
The documentary heard how Prince Philip “gently touched William on the back to comfort him” in an “awful, awful moment” when he thought they were “out of shot of the cameras”.
The moving account, which revealed a hidden softer side to Philip, comes from Martin Palmer, who co-founded The Alliance of Religions and Conservation with Prince Philip. Palmer says in the documentary that the late Duke personally relayed the anecdote to him.
“He knew what it was like to be a member of a dysfunctional family and he did his damnedest to make sure that did not happen to his grandchildren,” Palmer reveals in the programme, according to The Telegraph.
“You’ve just got to watch that moment and realise here is a grandfather who is trying to help his young, very vulnerable grandson struggle through this awful, awful moment.”
Prince Phillip was married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 70 years, he was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch. He died peacefully at Windsor Castle in 2021, at the age of 99 from natural causes.