Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was a member of the British royal family as the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He was the consort of the British monarch from Elizabeth's accession in 1952 until his death, making him the longest-serving royal consort in history.
Philip was born in Greece, into the Greek and Danish royal families; his family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939 at the age of 18. In July 1939, he began corresponding with the thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the elder daughter and heir presumptive of King George VI. Philip had first met her in 1934. During the Second World War, he served with distinction in the British Mediterranean and Pacific fleets.
In the summer of 1946, Philip was granted permission by the King to marry Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, he relinquished his Greek and Danish royal titles and styles, became a naturalised British subject, and adopted his maternal grandparents' surname Mountbatten. He married Elizabeth on 20 November 1947.