Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died on Friday at the age of 99. The prince married Queen Elizabeth II five years before she became queen – but when she was crowned, he was not given the title of king. That’s because Prince Philip, who is actually a former prince of Denmark and Greece, has never been in the line of the British throne.
Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 and became queen in 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI. She later gave her husband the title of prince.
This title was no bullshit for Prince Philip – he was not to be called a king or prince. His title was Duke of Edinburgh until February 22, 1957, when the palace issued a statement: ‘The Queen is pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated February 22, 1957 to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT , GBE, the style and titular dignity of a prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Whitehall. “
So the queen gave her husband a prince title when she took the crown – but why not king?
A woman who marries the king can be called a queen, but for men who marry the monarch, there are different rules. They cannot use the king’s title as it is only given to men who inherit the throne, according to BBC News.
Therefore, the couple’s eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, will receive the title of king when he takes over the position. Their other children: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward will keep these titles.
Prince William, the son of Prince Charles and the Queen’s grandson, is next in line for the title of King, followed by his eldest son, Prince George.
Giving Prince Philip his title isn’t the Queen’s only unique naming decision. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip decided to differentiate themselves from earlier royals, who did not use a surname. They started using a hyphenated surname: Mountbatten-Windsor, Mountbatten comes from Prince Phillip’s maternal grandparents.
According to BBC News, Prince Phillip asked to change this surname. “I am the only man in the country who is not allowed to give his name to his children,” he said when Queen Elizabeth II was persuaded to keep Windsor, BBC News reports. “I am nothing but a bloody amoeba!”
So the Queen’s children and grandchildren can use Mountbatten-Windsor as their last name – when needed. Royals aren’t really of much use for surnames, however; they’ve had titles long enough, like Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
Prince Philip may not have been a king, but he was constantly by his wife’s side and consort to the queen, with a primary role to support her. The longest-serving consort of all British monarchs, he has completed more than 22,000 solo assignments by the time he retired in 2017, according to BBC News.