LONDON 鈥� Born into an age of revolutions in the wake of a pandemic, Prince Philip lived through a tumultuous century and worked to make the British monarchy a rock of stability in changing times.
He bore witness to 鈥� and participated in 鈥� many of the century鈥檚 upheavals: World War II, the dismantling of the British Empire and the rise and fall of nations during and after the Cold War.
He helped anchor the monarchy with his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, but died last week at 99 with the United Kingdom still unsettled by its exit from the European Union, and in a world of growing nationalism and extremes.
鈥淗is life started in a moment of crisis, ended in a moment of crisis, and, of course, saw a great deal of crisis throughout that long life,鈥� said Margaret MacMillan, professor emeritus of international history at Oxford University.
Philip was born in Corfu as a prince of Greece and Denmark. When he was a toddler, his family had to flee Greece after a coup. Monarchies across Europe were being toppled as societies faced upheaval in the aftermath of World War I and the deadly influenza pandemic that followed.
His grandfather, King George of Greece, had been assassinated eight years before Philip鈥檚 birth, and his royal Romanov relatives in Russia were slain after the czar's abdication and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
鈥淚t was a time when a lot of what had seemed like very stable institutions and countries were simply disappearing,鈥� MacMillan said. 鈥淭here was a lot of fear that what had happened in Russia was going to spread around the world.鈥�
Historian Ed Owens said Philip鈥檚 early years 鈥渁re key to informing how he sees monarchy for the rest of his life.鈥�
He said Philip saw monarchy 鈥渁s something that isn鈥檛 necessarily permanent, that must be kept popular.鈥�
Raised by relatives in Britain, Philip joined the Royal Navy and saw action in World War II on battleships in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. European royalty found itself divided by the war: Two of Philip鈥檚 sisters had German husbands who served on the Nazi side.
He had a ringside seat for the end of the conflict. Philip鈥檚 ship was in Tokyo Bay for the formal Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945, and he watched the ceremony through binoculars.
In 1947, Philip married Britain鈥檚 Princess Elizabeth, who as the elder daughter of King George VI was destined to be queen.
British historian Simon Schama said that coming from 鈥渁 Europe where nothing seemed stable,鈥� Philip embraced the solidity offered by Britain鈥檚 monarchy and its role as neutral pillar of public life, above the political fray.
鈥淲hen he found his way into British life 鈥� he wasn鈥檛 just embracing a royal family, he was embracing an institution, that of
When Elizabeth became queen at age 25 in 1952, Philip gave up his naval career and dedicated himself to supporting her.
Britain, though victorious in the war, was an indebted and declining power whose colonies were breaking free. Philip helped create the Commonwealth group of nations, with the queen at its head, to try to bind Britain and its former colonies together on a more equal footing.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said in a tribute that Philip sought to bring the 鈥渃amaraderie and comradeship鈥� he had experienced as a wartime sailor into relations between countries, 鈥渟o that they would reap the dividends of collaboration in peacetime too.鈥�
The royal couple covered 40,000 miles touring the Commonwealth in 1953, the first of many trips to the organization鈥檚 now 54 member nations.
鈥淗is Royal Highness had a farsighted understanding of the potential of Commonwealth connection, and his approaches to bringing people together from a wide range of backgrounds to develop leadership skills were regarded as innovative and brave,鈥� Scotland said.
In Britain, Philip helped steer the monarchy through decades of declining social deference into a mass-media world where people demand intimacy from their icons.
He was instrumental in ensuring the queen鈥檚 coronation was televised. Many British families bought TV sets just for the occasion, and it became the country鈥檚 first mass television spectacle.
鈥淰ery early on, he saw the 鈥� positive benefits of mass media as a way of enhancing the monarchy鈥檚 public image,鈥� Owens said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of talk about Philip as quite a sort of old-fashioned presence, certainly at the end of his life. But actually, from the moment he becomes a British royal in 1947, he鈥檚 a real modernizing force.鈥�
Philip was also an early environmentalist and a champion of technology. Prime Minister Boris Johnson noted Monday that Philip was 鈥渙ne of the first people in this country to use a mobile phone.鈥� In his late 90s, he was making Zoom calls on a laptop, according to his grandson, Prince Harry.
The decades brought family troubles, played out in public: the divorces of three of Philip and the queen鈥檚 four children; the death of Princess Diana in 1997; Prince Andrew鈥檚 friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges; and the self-exile of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, amid allegations of racism both from the media and within the royal household.
Yet almost 70 years after Elizabeth became queen, she is a beloved figure 鈥� the only monarch most Britons have known 鈥� and republicanism is
But with Britain facing an uneasy new relationship with its European
鈥淭here鈥檚 the issue of the royal family 鈥� what鈥檚 its future? Then there鈥檚 the issue of Britain 鈥� what鈥檚 its future?鈥� MacMillan said. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 now a big question about the future of the international order. Are we seeing a period of transition?
鈥淧hilip鈥檚 life bookends that great moment of transition at the end of the First World War and, perhaps, a really big moment of transition in the aftermath of the Cold War.鈥�
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Associated Press Writer Danica Kirka contributed.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
