Born in Corfu on 10 June 1921, Prince Philip attended Cheam Preparatory School before joining Gordonstoun School (after a short spell at Salem School in Germany) where he became Head Boy and captained the cricket and hockey teams.

In 1939, having left school, Prince Philip joined the Royal Naval College Dartmouth where he won two best cadet awards. A year later he was midshipman on the battleship HMS RAMILLIES. After serving on two cruisers, he joined the battleship HMS VALIANT in the Mediterranean fleet. And it was there in 1941, during the battle of Cape Matapan, that Prince Philip was mentioned in dispatches for his command of a section of the ship’s searchlight control.

In July 1947, his engagement to Princess Elizabeth was announced. The marriage took place in Westminster Abbey on 20 November. Prince Philip gave up his active naval career in July 1951 but remained close to the forces as Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Cadet Force and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps.

In 1956 he established and became patron of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award to which he still commits a large proportion of his time, including attending Gold Award presentations in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland.