The Duke of Edinburgh was born in the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921. His family tree includes members of the royal families of Denmark, Germany, Russia and Britain.Prince Philip was the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg.The prince began his education in France at the MacJannet American school in St-Cloud and is seen here (second from left) with his schoolmates. At the age of seven he went to live with his Mountbatten relatives in England, where he attended a prep school in Surrey.Later he attended Gordonstoun boarding school, founded by educational pioneer Kurt Hahn in northern Scotland, where he excelled at sport.This is believed to be the first time Princess Elizabeth (third from left) and the then naval cadet Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark (in the white cap on the far right) were pictured together. It was taken during a visit to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth on 23 July 1939.During World War Two, Prince Philip saw action as a midshipman on the battleship HMS Valiant. When the Italian fleet was trapped off Greece in 1941, Philip commanded the searchlights that illuminated the enemy and he was later mentioned in dispatches.His engagement to Princess Elizabeth was officially announced in July 1947.They married on 20 November that year.In 1951 a photographer caught the moment the Duke of Edinburgh jumped off his water skis as he reached the beach at Marmaris in Turkey. It was taken during his last posting as commander of HMS Magpie.The prince is seen here playing polo for Cowdray Park in the semi-finals of the Roehampton Cup. He was one of the leading polo players in Britain.The duke was also a keen cricketer. Here his team, made up of former England stars, were pitted against one captained by the Duke of Norfolk, with Sussex players.image captionTzhe duke and Queen had four children, (from left) Edward, Andrew, Anne and Charles, pictured here in the 1960s.image captionThe couple are seen here during a visit to a farm on their Balmoral estate, to celebrate their Silver Wedding anniversary.image captionIn 1977 the prince accompanied the Queen as she celebrated her Silver Jubilee. They are seen here both wearing Maori Kahu-Kiwi (Kiwi feather cloaks) at Rugby Park in Gisborne, on the North Island of New Zealand when they attended the opening of the Royal New Zealand Polynesian Festival in February.image captionLater that year the royal couple waved as Concorde flew past the Royal Yacht Britannia as they neared Barbados.image captionIn August 1979 the Queen’s cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was killed by an IRA bomb blast on his boat in Ireland. The Duke of Edinburgh returned to the UK after hearing the news, having taken part in a coach-driving championship in Normandy, northern France.image captionNature and conservation were lifelong passions of the Duke of Edinburgh and he seemed a natural choice to become the international president of what was then the World Wildlife Fund.image captionIn 1985 the Duke of Edinburgh was surrounded by his family, including the young princes William and Harry, as they gathered to watch a flypast over Buckingham Palace after Trooping the Colour.image captionIn 1996 the duke escorted the South African President Nelson Mandela as he prepared to review an honour guard in Horse Guards Parade on the first day of his state visit to Britain.image captionPrince Philip supported the Queen through more than 60 years of her reign, including the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002.image captionThe prince set up the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, which is aimed at developing young people’s abilities, in 1956. Here he shares a joke with Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award holders at Holyroodhouse in 2010.image captionThe duke continued to compete in sport late in his life, including this carriage-driving event at Sandringham in 2005.image captionThousands gathered outside Buckingham Palace to greet the Royal Family after the wedding of Prince Philip’s grandson, Prince William, to Catherine Middleton in 2011.image captionTwelve months later, the prince had appeared to be in good health when he accompanied the Queen on the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell, which formed part of the rain-drenched Diamond Jubilee river pageant on 3 June 2012. He and the Queen stood for most of the 80-minute journey, as they were accompanied by 1,000 boats travelling seven miles down the River Thames to Tower Bridge. However, the duke was admitted to hospital with a bladder infection before the Diamond Jubilee concert on 4 June.image captionAfter making a recovery, he was fit enough to accompany Princess Anne to watch Great Britain’s equestrian team, which included his granddaughter Zara Phillips, compete in the eventing at the 2012 London Olympics.image captionIn June 2013 the duke attended a church service at Westminster Abbey to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.image captionIn 2014 he accompanied the Queen on a tour of Northern Ireland. He is pictured here signing the visitors book at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast.image captionQueen Elizabeth II accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh lit the first of more than 200 beacons to commemorate the 70th anniversary of VE Day at Windsor Castle.image captionThe duke and his son Charles shared a funny moment together during a visit to Poundbury, an urban development on the edge of Dorchester, where the Queen unveiled a statue of the Queen Mother.image captionIn April 2017 the duke accompanied his wife to open a new Centre for Elephant Care at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. In May however he announced he was to stand down from public engagements at the age of 95, with the full support of the Queen.image captionAlongside the Queen the duke observed a minute’s silence at the start of a garden party at Buckingham Palace on 23 May 2017 in tribute to those killed at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.
