WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.700 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're peeling 00:00:02.700 --> 00:00:06.179 back the layers, the ceremonial layers, on someone 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:08.419 who was right there, wasn't he, through almost 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:11.900 every big moment in modern British history. Yet 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:14.679 he often feels like, well, like an unread chapter. 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:17.140 Exactly. We're talking about Prince Philip, Duke 00:00:17.140 --> 00:00:19.699 of Edinburgh. And his title, the longest serving 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:23.519 royal consort for 69 years. It's impressive, 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:26.420 sure. But it doesn't capture the sheer turbulence, 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:29.129 does it? The displacement, the constant need 00:00:29.129 --> 00:00:33.049 to reinvent himself. His life from 1921 to 2021 00:00:33.049 --> 00:00:36.170 was anything but straightforwardly formal. So 00:00:36.170 --> 00:00:37.750 that's what we're doing today. We're unpacking 00:00:37.750 --> 00:00:39.929 that complex story. We want to get behind the 00:00:39.929 --> 00:00:42.570 public image using the biographical details we 00:00:42.570 --> 00:00:44.829 have. Look at that chaotic childhood. You know, 00:00:44.850 --> 00:00:46.490 the famous story of being carried into exile 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:49.710 in a fruit box. Incredible. And his naval career, 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:52.009 which was quite distinguished. Very much so. 00:00:52.109 --> 00:00:54.030 Then there were those tensions, especially early 00:00:54.030 --> 00:00:57.189 on, about his place, even the family name. And 00:00:57.189 --> 00:00:59.450 we have to talk about that infamous bluntness, 00:00:59.609 --> 00:01:02.109 the gaffes, as the press called them. He even 00:01:02.109 --> 00:01:04.370 had a name for it himself. Daunt of pedology, 00:01:04.469 --> 00:01:06.209 yes. The science of putting your foot in your 00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:09.290 mouth. He knew his reputation. It's really a 00:01:09.290 --> 00:01:12.269 study in how character gets forged by, well, 00:01:12.370 --> 00:01:15.870 by chaos. Born a prince, then effectively stripped 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:18.129 of everything. And then dedicating his entire 00:01:18.129 --> 00:01:20.849 adult life to supporting the crown, an institution 00:01:20.849 --> 00:01:23.290 that, let's be honest, wasn't exactly welcoming 00:01:23.290 --> 00:01:26.250 at first. So we'll explore how he found his own 00:01:26.250 --> 00:01:27.909 sense of worth, not really through the titles, 00:01:27.989 --> 00:01:29.590 but through action, through duty. Yeah, through 00:01:29.590 --> 00:01:31.590 doing things. Okay, let's dive in. We have to 00:01:31.590 --> 00:01:34.489 start at the beginning. And his birth wasn't 00:01:34.489 --> 00:01:37.510 exactly a typical royal arrival. No, not at all. 00:01:37.629 --> 00:01:42.129 Picture this. Mon Repos, a villa in Corfu, June 00:01:42.129 --> 00:01:45.890 10th, 1921. And Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark 00:01:45.890 --> 00:01:49.260 is born on the dining room table. on the dining 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:52.219 room table. That detail alone just, it sets a 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:54.180 certain tone, doesn't it? Unexpected from the 00:01:54.180 --> 00:01:56.060 start. It really does. And we need to understand, 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.920 he wasn't just any prince. He was House of Glicksburg, 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:01.239 a prince of Greece and Denmark. He was actually 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:03.579 in line for two different thrones. His father, 00:02:03.620 --> 00:02:05.680 Prince Andrew, son of the Greek King George III. 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:09.180 So the lineage was huge, sprawling across Europe, 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.759 but unstable. Extremely unstable. And that became 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:14.840 clear almost immediately. He's not even 18 months 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:18.060 old and disaster strikes Greece. The Greco -Turkish 00:02:18.060 --> 00:02:21.500 War. A massive defeat for Greece. Exactly. And 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:23.360 someone had to take the blame. The political 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:26.120 situation in Athens turned really violent. Philip's 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:28.539 uncle, King Constantine the Third, was forced 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:31.379 out in September 1922. And Philip's own father, 00:02:31.460 --> 00:02:33.080 Prince Andrew, was caught right in the middle 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:35.080 of it. He was arrested by the new military government. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:37.659 Yeah, he was basically facing execution. Princess 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:40.020 Alice, Philip's mother, was under surveillance. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:42.300 It was touch and go. It took diplomatic intervention, 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.759 right. King George V in Britain getting involved. 00:02:45.020 --> 00:02:47.159 That's what saved Prince Andrew's life. But the 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:50.729 result was still... A drastic banishment for 00:02:50.729 --> 00:02:53.830 life. The whole family out of Greece, which leads 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:56.490 us to that famous escape. The fruit box story. 00:02:57.090 --> 00:03:00.969 December 1922, he's 18 months old. They're evacuated 00:03:00.969 --> 00:03:03.990 on a British warship, HMS Calypso. And little 00:03:03.990 --> 00:03:06.729 Philip, well, he's put in an orange box as a 00:03:06.729 --> 00:03:09.250 makeshift cot. It's such a powerful image. Royalty 00:03:09.250 --> 00:03:11.530 reduced to essentials, carried away by a foreign 00:03:11.530 --> 00:03:14.689 navy. No home, no status, really. And that navy, 00:03:14.770 --> 00:03:17.750 the British Royal Navy, would become. The defining 00:03:17.750 --> 00:03:20.449 structure of his adult life is incredibly symbolic. 00:03:20.710 --> 00:03:23.409 They ended up in France first, near Paris, a 00:03:23.409 --> 00:03:25.449 relative length of the house. But settling wasn't 00:03:25.449 --> 00:03:27.830 really in the cards, was it? This is where the 00:03:27.830 --> 00:03:30.349 psychological journey, the instability really 00:03:30.349 --> 00:03:32.689 kicks in. Absolutely. He starts school in Paris, 00:03:32.889 --> 00:03:35.669 the Elms. The headmaster's description is fascinating. 00:03:35.969 --> 00:03:38.949 A know -it -all smarty person, but always remarkably 00:03:38.949 --> 00:03:42.469 polite. That combination, confidence and politeness, 00:03:42.610 --> 00:03:44.469 you see that thread throughout his life. You 00:03:44.469 --> 00:03:46.900 do. But the family unit just... Falls apart. 00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:50.539 Between 1930 and 1933, all four of his older 00:03:50.539 --> 00:03:53.840 sisters married German princes. They moved to 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:55.740 Germany. And then the most devastating glow for 00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:58.680 young Philip, his mother, Princess Alice. She 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:00.840 suffers a severe mental breakdown, diagnosed 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:03.520 with schizophrenia. She's institutionalized in 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.360 Switzerland. And the contact basically disappears 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:08.379 for the rest of his childhood. Almost entirely. 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:11.039 And his father, Prince Andrew, most often Monte 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.340 Carlo, lives a rather different life. Gambling. 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:17.089 Very little contact with his son. So Philip is 00:04:17.089 --> 00:04:20.569 effectively, stateless title aside, an orphan 00:04:20.569 --> 00:04:23.810 being passed around relatives. Pretty much. First 00:04:23.810 --> 00:04:26.529 to his grandmother at Kensington Palace. Then 00:04:26.529 --> 00:04:29.149 an uncle, George Mountbatten. Then, when he's 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:32.910 12, off to school in Germany. Schuleschloss Salem. 00:04:33.129 --> 00:04:35.050 Which was run by his brother -in -law's family, 00:04:35.189 --> 00:04:37.430 right? Berthold. That's right. But this is 1933. 00:04:38.550 --> 00:04:40.750 Germany's changing rapidly. The Nazis are rising. 00:04:40.930 --> 00:04:43.930 And the school's founder, Kurt Hahn, was Jewish 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:47.620 and fiercely anti -Nazi. He had to flee. So Hahn 00:04:47.620 --> 00:04:49.980 goes to Scotland and founds Gordonstown. And 00:04:49.980 --> 00:04:52.560 Philip follows him. He only had two terms at 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:55.600 Salem. It shows an early loyalty, maybe, to Hahn's 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:58.019 structured, challenging philosophy over, say, 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.180 family convenience in Germany. But even Gordonstown 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.819 doesn't bring total stability. Tragedy follows 00:05:03.819 --> 00:05:06.980 him. Oh, absolutely. In 1937, his sister, Cicely, 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:10.180 her husband, George Donatus, who significantly... 00:05:10.350 --> 00:05:11.829 was a member of the Nazi party. And their two 00:05:11.829 --> 00:05:13.810 young sons. They're all killed in a plane crash 00:05:13.810 --> 00:05:16.230 near Sosten. Philip is just 16. He has to go 00:05:16.230 --> 00:05:18.730 to Darmstadt for the funeral. Imagine that. A 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:21.170 teenager grieving his sister and nephews, surrounded 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:23.689 by Nazi affiliations, knowing Britain might soon 00:05:23.689 --> 00:05:26.509 be at war with them. It's an almost unbearable 00:05:26.509 --> 00:05:29.370 wait. Then the next year, his uncle and guardian, 00:05:29.410 --> 00:05:32.069 Lord Milford Haven, dies. So the last stable 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:35.589 figure is gone. Until Lord Louis Mountbatten, 00:05:35.709 --> 00:05:39.389 his mother's brother, steps in. Dickie Mountbatten 00:05:39.389 --> 00:05:42.910 takes over. And all this upheaval. It shapes 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:45.329 his identity. He didn't even speak Greek. No, 00:05:45.370 --> 00:05:47.610 he left too young. He said later he understood 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:49.870 a bit, but mostly spoke English. He considered 00:05:49.870 --> 00:05:51.730 himself Danish, really, through his father's 00:05:51.730 --> 00:05:54.990 line. And the name, Mountbatten. Adopted. An 00:05:54.990 --> 00:05:57.209 anglicized version of his mother's family name, 00:05:57.389 --> 00:05:59.970 Battenberg. It wasn't Greek. It wasn't German. 00:06:00.089 --> 00:06:02.170 It was British, connected to the people who had 00:06:02.170 --> 00:06:04.410 actually looked after him. It was a choice, a 00:06:04.410 --> 00:06:06.610 way of building an identity out of the fragments. 00:06:06.850 --> 00:06:08.990 Brick by painful brick, as you said. And then 00:06:08.990 --> 00:06:11.290 comes the Navy. If family life was chaos, the 00:06:11.290 --> 00:06:13.470 Royal Navy offered the exact opposite. Structure, 00:06:13.589 --> 00:06:16.800 rules. Purpose. He joins in 1939, just turned 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.079 18. And this becomes the place where he really 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:21.139 forges himself, doesn't it? It absolutely does. 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.720 The timing is incredible. Childhood chaos ends. 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:26.660 Rigid military life begins, just as the world 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:29.439 goes to war. And he wasn't just okay at it. He 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:32.019 excelled. Graduated top of his class at Dartmouth 00:06:32.019 --> 00:06:36.060 in 1940. That's earned, not inherited. Completely. 00:06:36.259 --> 00:06:38.519 And think about the family situation during the 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:41.160 war. He's fighting for Britain. While two of 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:42.920 his brothers -in -law are fighting for Germany. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:46.500 Prince Christoph and Brifold. It highlights that 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:49.480 whole tangled web of European aristocracy torn 00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:51.740 apart by the conflict. And he wasn't just training, 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:54.459 he was in the thick of it. Straight away. Midshipmen 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:57.180 in 1940, Indian Ocean, then the Mediterranean. 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:01.079 HMS Valiant. Which brings us to the Battle of 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:04.920 Cape Matapan, February 41, his first real moment 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:06.899 of distinction. Yeah, against the Italian fleet. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.480 He was mentioned in dispatches, got the Greek 00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:12.310 war cross. What exactly did he do? He was controlling 00:07:12.310 --> 00:07:14.449 the battleship's searchlights during the night 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:17.230 action. Now, using searchlights makes you an 00:07:17.230 --> 00:07:19.730 instant target, incredibly dangerous. But you 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:22.589 need them to aim. So precision under fire. Exactly. 00:07:22.930 --> 00:07:25.949 His calm control helped valiant target and hit 00:07:25.949 --> 00:07:28.370 two Italian cruisers. Vital work. And his rise 00:07:28.370 --> 00:07:30.569 was rapid after that. Lieutenant by mid -42. 00:07:31.149 --> 00:07:34.050 Then, October 42, he's first lieutenant on the 00:07:34.050 --> 00:07:37.290 destroyer HMS Wallace. He's only 21. One of the 00:07:37.290 --> 00:07:39.839 youngest in the Navy to hold that rank. That 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:41.879 says a lot about how highly they rated him. It 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:44.319 really does. And that command led to another 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:49.220 key moment. Sicily invasion, July 1943. What 00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:51.740 happened there? Wallace was escorting a convoy, 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.819 came under heavy night bombing attack. They were 00:07:54.819 --> 00:07:57.500 cornered. Philip came up with this ingenious 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:00.079 idea. The raft. Yeah, a simple wooden raft with 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.759 smoke floats on it. They launched it away from 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:05.000 the ship. The bombers saw the smoke, thought 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.180 it was the burning destroyer, and attacked the 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:09.300 raft instead. Allowing Wallace to slip away, 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:11.980 quick thinking saved the ship. That kind of decisive 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:15.019 action under pressure, you can see how that would 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:17.360 shape his later, very direct leadership style. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.379 After the Med, he served in the Pacific. On HMS 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:23.699 Welp, British Pacific Fleet. And this is a detail 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:27.000 often missed. He was actually there in Tokyo 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:30.800 Bay in September 1945. When the Japanese surrender 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.500 was signed, wow. Aboard a whelp. His entire young 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:36.340 adulthood essentially spent on the front lines 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:38.820 of World War II. So he comes back a war hero, 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:41.799 and then his life shifts again toward that royal 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:44.320 courtship that had been simmering. Since 1939, 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:47.500 really, that first meeting at Dartmouth, he was 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:50.120 the dashing cadet tasked with entertaining the 00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:53.389 princesses. Elizabeth was 13. And reportedly 00:08:53.389 --> 00:08:55.450 smitten from the start. They were already related, 00:08:55.509 --> 00:08:57.929 of course. Third cousins through Queen Victoria. 00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:00.230 Second cousins once removed through King Christian 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:03.110 the X. Very common in European royalty. They 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:05.470 wrote letters all through the war. But when the 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:08.029 engagement was finally announced in July 1947, 00:09:08.649 --> 00:09:12.009 it wasn't smooth sailing? Not at all. There was 00:09:12.009 --> 00:09:15.129 a significant controversy. The public, the establishment, 00:09:15.409 --> 00:09:18.750 they were wary. Because he was foreign -born? 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:21.159 Left money. All of that. Plus, crucially, the 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:23.159 German connections through his sisters. This 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:26.039 was immediate post -war Britain, remember? Feelings 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:28.220 were raw. Even the king's advisors were apparently 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:31.519 quite hesitant. And Elizabeth's mother, the queen 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.720 mother, she wasn't keen initially. Sources say 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.919 she privately called him the Hun at first, though 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:40.080 later she warmed up calling him an English gentleman. 00:09:40.649 --> 00:09:42.970 But Philip had to make some big changes to prove 00:09:42.970 --> 00:09:44.990 his commitment. He had to formally become British? 00:09:45.230 --> 00:09:48.570 Three major steps in March 1947. Renounced his 00:09:48.570 --> 00:09:51.070 Greek and Danish titles, became a naturalized 00:09:51.070 --> 00:09:54.009 British subject, and adopted the surname Mountbatten. 00:09:54.210 --> 00:09:57.029 And he converted religion, too. Yes, from Greek 00:09:57.029 --> 00:09:59.509 Orthodox to Church of England in October 1947. 00:09:59.950 --> 00:10:02.029 to fit in with the Anglican monarchy. It was 00:10:02.029 --> 00:10:04.110 all part of paving the way. The wedding itself, 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:07.370 November 1947, was a massive public event, wasn't 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:10.309 it? A real boost for post -war morale. Huge. 00:10:10.809 --> 00:10:14.370 Broadcast globally. But those lingering sensitivities. 00:10:14.990 --> 00:10:17.149 None of his German relatives, including his three 00:10:17.149 --> 00:10:19.789 living sisters, were invited. A painful decision, 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:22.190 surely. Must have been. But on the wedding morning, 00:10:22.269 --> 00:10:24.250 he got his British titles. Duke of Edinburgh, 00:10:24.570 --> 00:10:27.539 Earl of Marianeth, Baron Greenwich. Compensation, 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:29.720 perhaps. Yet, even with this new royal status, 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:32.100 he didn't want to give up the Navy. No way. He 00:10:32.100 --> 00:10:34.360 went back to active duty, staffed courses, then 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:36.940 stationed in Malta from 1949, first lieutenant 00:10:36.940 --> 00:10:39.179 of HMS Checkers. Even got his own command eventually. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:43.299 HMS Magpie, a frigate, in 1950. Promoted to lieutenant 00:10:43.299 --> 00:10:45.919 commander. He's clearly heading for a significant 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.379 naval career. Reached commander rank. But fate 00:10:49.379 --> 00:10:52.340 intervened. That career he loved, the structure 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:55.679 he thrived in. It was cut short. Early 1952, 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:57.620 he and Elizabeth are touring the Commonwealth 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:00.559 there in Kenya. And news comes, King George VI 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:04.539 has died. Elizabeth is queen and Philip's active 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:07.559 naval career. It effectively ends right there 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:11.379 on February 6th, 1952. From commander at sea 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:14.200 to consort. A life of action replaced by a life 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:17.279 of duty beside the throne. And that shift from 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:19.600 commanding ships to walking two steps behind. 00:11:20.350 --> 00:11:22.470 It must have been incredibly difficult for him. 00:11:22.529 --> 00:11:25.690 He thrived in that naval meritocracy now. What 00:11:25.690 --> 00:11:27.750 was his role? Which leads straight to that first 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:29.929 big point of conflict, isn't it? The argument 00:11:29.929 --> 00:11:32.529 over the family name, the House of Windsor dispute. 00:11:32.809 --> 00:11:35.610 Oh, absolutely. Traditionally, the children of 00:11:35.610 --> 00:11:37.269 a queen regnant might take their father's name. 00:11:37.370 --> 00:11:39.669 So he likely expected the House of Mountbatten 00:11:39.669 --> 00:11:42.029 or maybe House of Edinburgh. But the old guard, 00:11:42.250 --> 00:11:44.929 Queen Mary Churchill, they pushed back hard. 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:47.429 They saw it as undermining the established British 00:11:47.429 --> 00:11:49.799 identity. They strongly advised Elizabeth to 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.019 stick with Windsor, and she did, issued a proclamation. 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:54.899 Overruling Philip completely, which led to that 00:11:54.899 --> 00:11:58.519 famous raw quote. I am nothing but a bloody amoeba. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:01.360 I am the only man in the country not allowed 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:04.029 to give his name to his own children. A bloody 00:12:04.029 --> 00:12:06.669 amoeba. It's so visceral. It captures that feeling 00:12:06.669 --> 00:12:09.730 of powerlessness, of lacking definition, which 00:12:09.730 --> 00:12:12.009 must have been terrifying for someone like him. 00:12:12.169 --> 00:12:15.169 Someone who valued structure and clear roles 00:12:15.169 --> 00:12:18.210 above almost anything. It links the loss of his 00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:21.690 career, his name, his conventional status as 00:12:21.690 --> 00:12:24.409 head of the family all in one. It took years 00:12:24.409 --> 00:12:26.389 to get even a partial compromise, right? Eight 00:12:26.389 --> 00:12:30.100 years. 1960. An order in council comes out. It 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:32.379 says Mount Batten -Windsor will be the surname 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.059 for descendants not styled as Royal Highness 00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:37.559 or Prince Princess. So his name gets carried 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:39.720 down the line, but not for the main branch. Exactly. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:41.700 A sort of compromise. And it was announced just 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:43.659 before Prince Andrew was born. While that was 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:46.580 going on, Elizabeth did act to solidify his position 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:49.919 legally. Yes, she gave him official place, preeminence 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:52.620 and presidents right next to her, formally making 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:55.379 him second only to her in protocol. And crucially, 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:59.320 the Regency Act. In 1953, Parliament passed a 00:12:59.320 --> 00:13:01.299 bill making him regent for Charles if she died 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:04.200 young. Which was important. It bypassed Princess 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:06.559 Margaret, ensuring he'd be the one in charge. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.059 A real statement of his constitutional significance, 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:13.159 even without a formal job. What about the money 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:15.539 side? People are always curious about that. He 00:13:15.539 --> 00:13:18.120 received a parliamentary annuity. Since 1990, 00:13:18.299 --> 00:13:22.220 it was over £359 ,000 a year. But the key thing 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:25.240 is... It wasn't personal income. No, it was specifically 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:28.340 to cover the costs of his official duties. An 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:30.820 expense account, basically. And, importantly, 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:32.879 any money left over at the end of the year was 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.659 taxable. So it functioned like a salary for the 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:38.779 job of being consort, demanding actual work. 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:41.580 Precisely. And he threw himself into the role. 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:44.419 He chaired the Coronation Commission in 53, and 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:46.789 always embracing the modern. He was the first 00:13:46.789 --> 00:13:49.210 royal to fly in a helicopter, visiting troops 00:13:49.210 --> 00:13:51.330 before the ceremony. And at the coronation itself, 00:13:51.509 --> 00:13:54.070 that powerful image of him kneeling. Swearing 00:13:54.070 --> 00:13:56.690 to be her liege man of life and limb. A public 00:13:56.690 --> 00:13:59.190 declaration of lifelong support. Their marriage, 00:13:59.269 --> 00:14:02.889 73 years, withstood incredible scrutiny. Insiders 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:05.269 always described it as strong. And the queen 00:14:05.269 --> 00:14:08.669 herself called him her constant strength and 00:14:08.669 --> 00:14:12.539 guide at the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. You get 00:14:12.539 --> 00:14:14.960 the sense he was the anchor behind the scenes. 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:17.539 But he wasn't just a passive supporter. He actively 00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:20.220 carved out his own areas of influence. This is 00:14:20.220 --> 00:14:22.620 where he moves beyond being the amoeba. This 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:25.039 is where he becomes a real modernizer. And perhaps 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:28.580 his biggest legacy project. The Duke of Edinburgh's 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:32.850 award. The Dofie. Founded in 1956. With Kurt 00:14:32.850 --> 00:14:35.149 Hahn, his old headmaster. Yes. And it wasn't 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:37.370 just about charity. It was about giving young 00:14:37.370 --> 00:14:39.950 people practical skills, resilience, a sense 00:14:39.950 --> 00:14:42.269 of responsibility, as they put it. It feels very, 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:45.830 Philip, structured, challenging, focused on achievement 00:14:45.830 --> 00:14:48.250 and self -reliance, not just passive patronage. 00:14:48.370 --> 00:14:50.750 Exactly. It reflected his own values, his own 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:53.309 need to build identity through doing. It's had 00:14:53.309 --> 00:14:55.870 a huge impact globally. He also pushed the boundaries 00:14:55.870 --> 00:14:57.809 with travel and media, didn't he? Absolutely. 00:14:57.870 --> 00:15:01.009 That world tour on Britannia in 56, 57. He went 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:02.970 to the Antarctic, first royal to cross the Antarctic 00:15:02.970 --> 00:15:05.389 Circle. He understood the power of showing up, 00:15:05.429 --> 00:15:07.970 exploring, engaging with science. And media. 00:15:08.090 --> 00:15:10.649 He was quite revolutionary for a royal back then. 00:15:10.850 --> 00:15:15.129 A real trailblazer. 1961, he does that panorama 00:15:15.129 --> 00:15:18.669 interview on the BBC, the first major TV interview 00:15:18.669 --> 00:15:20.730 by a royal. talking about technical training. 00:15:20.850 --> 00:15:23.509 That must have seemed radical at the time, humanizing 00:15:23.509 --> 00:15:25.830 the monarchy, explaining their work. It was. 00:15:26.029 --> 00:15:27.990 And he followed it up, appearing on Meet the 00:15:27.990 --> 00:15:30.750 Press in the U .S. in 69. He saw the potential 00:15:30.750 --> 00:15:33.529 and the necessity of engaging with modern media. 00:15:33.809 --> 00:15:36.149 Then there's his environmental work, co -founding 00:15:36.149 --> 00:15:40.470 the World Wildlife Fund, WWF, in 1961. Decades 00:15:40.470 --> 00:15:43.269 ahead of the curve on conservation. He was WWF 00:15:43.269 --> 00:15:45.870 UK president, then international president, at 00:15:45.870 --> 00:15:47.809 a time when environmentalism wasn't really mainstream. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:50.600 But, and this is the tricky part, he was also 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:54.009 an avid hunter. Yes, the contradiction. Fox hunting, 00:15:54.129 --> 00:15:56.769 shooting game birds, that infamous incident shooting 00:15:56.769 --> 00:16:00.269 a tiger in India in 1961, the same year he helped 00:16:00.269 --> 00:16:03.230 found WWF. How did he square that circle? It 00:16:03.230 --> 00:16:05.710 seems he saw traditional country sports as separate 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:07.750 from the need for global conservation efforts, 00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:11.409 a kind of pragmatic, perhaps aristocratic distinction 00:16:11.409 --> 00:16:13.830 that many people found and still find difficult 00:16:13.830 --> 00:16:15.610 to understand. It caused a lot of criticism. 00:16:15.789 --> 00:16:18.230 But looking at the sheer volume of his work, 00:16:18.389 --> 00:16:21.870 it's staggering. Over 780 organizations he was 00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:24.940 involved with. Patron, president, member, and 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:28.399 those numbers. 22 ,219 solo engagements by the 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:31.879 time he retired in 2017. Plus over 5 ,000 speeches. 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:34.259 It's an almost unbelievable workload for someone 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:37.500 who technically had no constitutional role. He 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.299 defined his own role through sheer effort. But 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:43.460 despite all that work, for many people, the image 00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:47.399 that sticks is the bluntness. The so -called 00:16:47.399 --> 00:16:50.360 gaffes. And he knew it. That term he coined, 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:53.120 dontopedology. Yes, the science of opening your 00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:54.940 mouth and putting your foot in it. He admitted 00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:57.559 in 1960 he'd been practicing it for years. He 00:16:57.559 --> 00:16:59.519 even acknowledged later it made him seem like 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.279 a cantankerous old sog. So why did he keep doing 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:04.940 it? That direct, almost military way of speaking 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:07.279 just didn't always land well publicly. I think 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:09.859 it's partly that lack of a filter, maybe. What 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:11.839 might have worked fine in a naval officer's mess 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.559 or among a certain generation or class just sounded 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.430 jarring. Even offensive on the world stage. Especially 00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:19.829 with global media broadcasting every off -the 00:17:19.829 --> 00:17:22.609 -cuff remark. The China comment in 1986 is probably 00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:25.670 the most famous example. Right. Visiting China, 00:17:25.849 --> 00:17:27.869 chatting privately with British students in Xi 00:17:27.869 --> 00:17:31.210 'an. He jokes, if you stay here much longer, 00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:33.930 you'll go slit -eyed. And the British press went 00:17:33.930 --> 00:17:37.410 into meltdown. Racial intolerance. Instantly. 00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:41.630 But the context often gets missed. Reports suggest 00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:43.690 the Chinese officials nearby weren't actually 00:17:43.690 --> 00:17:46.369 that bothered. They apparently made similar jokes 00:17:46.369 --> 00:17:48.569 about Westerners getting round -eyed. But that's 00:17:48.569 --> 00:17:51.130 the point, isn't it? His intent or the local 00:17:51.130 --> 00:17:53.269 reaction didn't matter once it hit the global 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:55.910 headlines. It was interpreted literally and the 00:17:55.910 --> 00:17:58.890 damage was done. You see it repeatedly. The jokes 00:17:58.890 --> 00:18:01.049 about Cantonese eating habits. If it has four 00:18:01.049 --> 00:18:04.069 legs and is not a chair. Yeah. Or asking that 00:18:04.069 --> 00:18:06.369 indigenous Australian entrepreneur, do you still 00:18:06.369 --> 00:18:09.240 throw spears at each other? It seems like a kind 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:11.880 of provocative, maybe awkward attempt at icebreaking 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:14.920 that just misfired badly in a modern, sensitive 00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:17.420 context. He struggled to adapt his style, perhaps. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:20.380 It seems so. But where his directness had arguably 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:22.799 the most significant impact was within the family 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:25.460 during the Charles and Diana crisis. Here, his 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:27.819 role wasn't just public consort. It was patriarch 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:31.000 trying to manage an unfolding disaster. And he 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.259 was involved right from the beginning. Early 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:36.940 1981, Charles is dithering about Diana, pressure's 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:40.000 building. Philip writes to him. Not gently, apparently. 00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:42.940 No, reportedly quite direct, basically. Decide. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:45.859 Propose or break it off. Don't leave her hanging. 00:18:46.680 --> 00:18:49.400 Charles felt pressured and he proposed. And later, 00:18:49.500 --> 00:18:51.559 when the marriage was collapsing. He and the 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:54.079 Queen tried to mediate. Hosted that difficult 00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:56.799 meeting in 1992. It didn't work. But then he 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.200 wrote directly to Diana. Those letters, they're 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:01.640 fascinating. What was his approach? He expressed 00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:03.700 disappointment about the affairs on both sides. 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:06.400 He wasn't just blaming Diana, he told her Charles 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:09.039 had faults too. He asked her to try and see it 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.200 from the other perspective. Classic Philip. Trying 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:14.500 to impose rational order on emotional chaos. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.220 How did Diana take it? Sources say she found 00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:20.400 the letters very tough, very direct, uncompromising. 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:23.160 But she also apparently appreciated his intent 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:26.240 was good, that he was trying in his way. it was 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.220 maybe the wrong approach for what she needed 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:31.019 emotionally but it was his approach logical analytical 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:33.720 like a commander trying to write a ship exactly 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:37.690 and that pragmatic Protective instinct came to 00:19:37.690 --> 00:19:41.230 the fore again after Diana's death in 1997. The 00:19:41.230 --> 00:19:43.750 immediate aftermath. The Queen and Philip kept 00:19:43.750 --> 00:19:46.390 William and Harriet Balmoral, shielded them from 00:19:46.390 --> 00:19:49.170 the media frenzy for five days. A controversial 00:19:49.170 --> 00:19:51.289 decision at the time, the public wanted to see 00:19:51.289 --> 00:19:53.970 the royals grieving, but crucial for the boys' 00:19:54.049 --> 00:19:56.730 well -being. And then the funeral, the walk behind 00:19:56.730 --> 00:19:59.630 the coffin, the princes were hesitant. Understandably. 00:20:00.379 --> 00:20:02.740 teenagers grieving, about to walk in front of 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:05.319 the entire world. Philip's intervention was key. 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.940 He spoke to William directly. Yeah. If you don't 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:10.140 walk, I think you'll regret it later. If I walk, 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.680 will you walk with me? Wow. Not an order, but 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:15.400 an offer of solidarity. From his own experience 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:17.819 of loss, perhaps. It made it possible for them. 00:20:18.180 --> 00:20:20.960 He walked with them, Charles and Earl Spencer, 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:23.640 a grandfather supporting his grandsons in the 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:25.970 toughest moment imaginable. Of course, after 00:20:25.970 --> 00:20:28.349 Diana's death, he got dragged into those awful 00:20:28.349 --> 00:20:30.869 conspiracy theories. Muhammad Al -Faiz claims 00:20:30.869 --> 00:20:33.950 that Philip had ordered her death. Utterly baseless. 00:20:34.029 --> 00:20:36.369 But Philip had to endure years of that speculation. 00:20:36.750 --> 00:20:40.109 Until the official inquest in 2008. Which completely 00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:42.630 exonerated him. Found absolutely no evidence 00:20:42.630 --> 00:20:46.069 of any conspiracy. But it shows the kind of relentless, 00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:49.470 often unfair scrutiny he faced. And he just kept 00:20:49.470 --> 00:20:51.529 going, didn't he? He became a symbol of sheer 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:54.589 endurance, outliving expectations, setting records. 00:20:54.869 --> 00:20:57.549 He joked about not wanting to reach 100. But 00:20:57.549 --> 00:21:00.490 in April 2009, he officially became the longest 00:21:00.490 --> 00:21:03.289 serving British consort, overtaking Queen Charlotte. 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:07.170 Then, February 2013, the oldest ever male British 00:21:07.170 --> 00:21:10.369 royal. And that platinum wedding anniversary 00:21:10.369 --> 00:21:15.160 in 2017, 70 years. married to the queen unprecedented 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:18.079 for a british monarch he did start to slow down 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:21.200 eventually said in 2011 age 90 he'd done his 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.220 bit but official retirement from solo duties 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:26.660 didn't come until august 2017 he was 96 after 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:29.200 those 22 000 plus engagements even in retirement 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:32.019 he made headlines that car crash in january 2019 00:21:32.019 --> 00:21:34.559 near sandringham thankfully he wasn't injured 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:36.700 but it sparked a big debate about elderly drivers 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:39.119 he did give up his license voluntarily a few 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:41.450 weeks later good responsibility yes Though apparently 00:21:41.450 --> 00:21:43.250 he could still drive on private estates, that 00:21:43.250 --> 00:21:45.549 little bit of independence maintained. His health 00:21:45.549 --> 00:21:48.029 was generally robust, but he had procedures later 00:21:48.029 --> 00:21:51.490 on, heart issues. Coronary angioplasty in 2011, 00:21:51.809 --> 00:21:55.509 another heart procedure in March 2021, just weeks 00:21:55.509 --> 00:21:57.809 before he died. He passed away peacefully at 00:21:57.809 --> 00:22:01.269 Windsor Castle, April 9th, 2021, just shy of 00:22:01.269 --> 00:22:05.210 his 100th birthday. Age 99. The official cause 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:08.549 was simply old age. His daughter -in -law, Sophie, 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:11.460 described it as so gentle. Like someone just 00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:14.440 took his hand. The funeral was quite stark, wasn't 00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:17.740 it, due to COVID rules? Only 30 mourners. And 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:19.799 the queen reportedly refused an offer from the 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:22.480 government to relax the rules for her. Insisted 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:24.819 on sticking to them, like everyone else. A very 00:22:24.819 --> 00:22:27.220 Philip -like sense of duty, perhaps. He was initially 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:29.339 placed in the royal vault. But after the queen 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:32.039 died in September 2022, they were buried together 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:34.740 in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor. 00:22:35.049 --> 00:22:37.430 Side by side. Beyond the duty, his personal interests 00:22:37.430 --> 00:22:39.609 really show his character. Giving up polo. And 00:22:39.609 --> 00:22:41.210 then throwing himself into carriage driving. 00:22:41.450 --> 00:22:43.769 Helped develop the rules. Competed internationally. 00:22:44.309 --> 00:22:45.829 He won a world championship with the British 00:22:45.829 --> 00:22:48.730 team in 1980. Typical Philip, if you do something, 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:51.670 master it. Absolutely. And aviation. He was a 00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:54.490 passionate pilot. Logged almost 6 ,000 flying 00:22:54.490 --> 00:22:57.650 hours in 59 different aircraft types. Retired 00:22:57.650 --> 00:23:00.690 his license only in 1997. And that amazing detail. 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:05.880 1959, he flew solo in a Druin Turbulent, the 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:08.119 only Royal ever to fly a single -seater plane. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:11.319 That says so much about his need for hands -on 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:13.940 action, for testing himself. He was also an artist, 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:17.039 a writer. Painted oils, collected contemporary 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:20.200 cartoons, wrote 13 books on conservation, carriage 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:22.660 driving, his speeches. There was a thoughtful, 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:25.299 creative side, too. His painting of the Queen 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:27.099 at breakfast is quite tender. And then those 00:23:27.099 --> 00:23:29.690 extraordinary footnotes to his life. The DNA 00:23:29.690 --> 00:23:33.470 link. To the Romanovs. In 1993, his mitochondrial 00:23:33.470 --> 00:23:35.890 DNA was the key to identifying the remains of 00:23:35.890 --> 00:23:38.650 Tsar Nicholas II's family members. His lineage 00:23:38.650 --> 00:23:40.869 literally helped solve a historical mystery. 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:43.509 And the other end of the spectrum, the Tana movement. 00:23:43.789 --> 00:23:46.730 In Vanuatu. Islanders who worship him as a godlike 00:23:46.730 --> 00:23:48.769 figure believe he's the son of a mountain spirit 00:23:48.769 --> 00:23:51.349 who married a powerful lady overseas. They have 00:23:51.349 --> 00:23:53.450 portraits, feasts on his birthday, it's incredible. 00:23:53.849 --> 00:23:56.190 Shows the almost mythical status his image achieved 00:23:56.190 --> 00:23:58.339 in some corners of the world. Which makes the 00:23:58.339 --> 00:24:01.240 final point even more striking. The secrecy around 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:03.759 his will. Sealed by the high court for at least 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.440 90 years. Why? Officially, to protect the dignity 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:10.359 and standing of the sovereign. It means his personal 00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:13.359 wishes, his bequests. Completely hidden for almost 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.599 a century. A final act of control, ensuring privacy 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:19.059 after a lifetime in the public eye. Hashtag tag 00:24:19.059 --> 00:24:22.700 outro. So... What a life. From that Greek prince 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:25.319 born on a dining table, exiled in a fruit box. 00:24:25.539 --> 00:24:28.339 To a decorated war hero, then a longest serving 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:31.160 consort, clocking up that mind -boggling number 00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:34.119 of engagements. What was it? Over 22 ,000. He 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:35.980 was clearly shaped by that early instability, 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:38.960 always seeking structure, purpose, merit. Absolutely. 00:24:39.059 --> 00:24:41.319 He wrestled with the vagueness of his consort 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:43.839 role. The bloody amoeba comment really shows 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:45.880 that frustration. But he didn't just complain. 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:48.279 He acted. He carved out his own significance. 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:51.539 The Dofie Award, the WWF pushing the family towards 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:54.079 modernity with media and travel. He became this 00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:57.099 force for often blunt, pragmatic change within 00:24:57.099 --> 00:24:59.400 a very traditional system. A legacy of incredible 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:01.859 endurance, service, and maybe necessary friction. 00:25:02.200 --> 00:25:05.779 And yet, after that lifetime, lived under the 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:08.980 microscope performing that duty, his final personal 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:12.269 testament, his will, is locked away. Sealed for 00:25:12.269 --> 00:25:15.109 90 years. Yeah. Which leaves us with a really 00:25:15.109 --> 00:25:17.210 provocative thought for you, the listener. If 00:25:17.210 --> 00:25:20.170 his public life demanded such transparency, such 00:25:20.170 --> 00:25:23.210 relentless service. What does this final act 00:25:23.210 --> 00:25:26.539 of mandated secrecy tell us? About that balance 00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:28.740 the monarchy tries to strike between its public 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:31.039 role, its dignity and standing, and the modern 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:33.480 world's desire to know everything. How much of 00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:35.420 a public life is owed to the public, and how 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:37.799 much remains private, even in death? Something 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:40.140 to definitely think about. A fascinating, complex 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:42.500 figure. Indeed. That's all we have time for on 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:44.420 this Deep Dive. Thanks for joining us. Join us 00:25:44.420 --> 00:25:45.599 next time on the Deep Dive.