A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World

15 Rarely Seen Photos of Prince Philip

In recognition of Prince Philip's passing, here are some highlights from this near-centenarian's amazingly colorful life.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (wearing the regimental tie of The Rifles) attends a ceremony to mark the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles from him to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at Windsor Castle on July 22, 2020 in Windsor, England.
Pool/Max Mumby/Getty Images

The life of Prince Philip

Editor’s Note: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth II, has died at 99 years old.

In a statement on April 9, 2021, the Palace said: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.”

“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

In light of this sad news, we’re taking a look back at the Prince’s long, incredible life.

Born nearly 100 years ago, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the longest-serving and oldest-ever royal consort (spouse of the reigning monarch) in British history. Here are some incredible photos of him throughout the years—before and during his time as the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.

Historical Collection 171
Historia/Shutterstock

When he was the same age as Archie

The bouncing baby boy in this photograph, who was the same age as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie is today (one year old), was born on June 10, 1921—on a kitchen table in Corfu, Greece as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, the nephew of the reigning King of Greece at the time. In 2021, the late husband of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was styled as His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Here are more facts you may not have known about Prince Philip.

Historical Collection 168
Historia/Shutterstock

When he was the same age as Princess Charlotte

When Prince Philip was still an infant, his uncle was deposed and his family exiled to France. In this photograph, he’s the same age as Princess Charlotte is today (five). But his life and future were far more uncertain than little Charlotte’s.

Prince Philip Schoolboy, Paris, France
AP/Shutterstock

A mop-top schoolboy in Paris

At the time of this photograph (which was taken around 1927), Philip was a schoolboy in suburban Paris at the MacJannet American School. Not long after, when Philip was eight years old, his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg (a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria via Victoria’s daughter, Princess Alice, which means Philip and Elizabeth are actually related), who had been born deaf, was institutionalized. Soon after that, his traumatized father went to live in the South of France with his mistress, leaving Philip essentially an orphan.

Romania King Michael, Mamaia, Romania
AP/Shutterstock

Fun in the sun

Although times were tough for the young exiled prince, it wasn’t all bad. Here he’s seen in late summer 1928, vacationing in Mamaia, Romania with some of his European royal relatives, from left to right, Princess Feodora of Greece, King Michael of Romania (who had become king at age five one year prior), the Princesses Helen, Irene, and Marguerite of Greece, and Prince Paul of Greece (Prince Philip is between Marguerite and Paul). For even more Prince Philip photos, check out his life in 50 photos.

Prince Philip at Lynden Manor with His Cousins, 1936
Historia/Shutterstock

A dashing young man

This photo was taken the summer Philip turned 15. Philip is pictured with his cousins, Lady Tatiana Mountbatten and David, Earl of Medina. At this point, Philip was living in the United Kingdom with the Mountbatten family. “Mountbatten” is the anglicized version of “Battenberg,” which had been the name his mother had been born with, and which was changed due to anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom following World War I.

England British Royal Family
AP/Shutterstock

Meaningful eye contact?

At the wedding of Patricia Mountbatten in December 1946, Philip had the honor of being an usher. The women beside him? Princess Elizabeth of York, age 20, and her younger sister, Princess Margaret Rose of York. Elizabeth would one day become Her Majesty The Queen, but before that, she and Philip would fall in love and get married.

Historical Collection 174
Historia/Shutterstock

A newlywed

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip married on November 20, 1947. But at the time of the wedding, he was no longer Prince Philip, having renounced his European titles in order to marry his princess. The day before the wedding, his father-in-law-to-be, King George VI, gave Philip the title of Duke of Edinburgh. Philip was styled as a British prince after George’s death and Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne in 1952. Though he was a prince, here’s why Prince Philip was not considered a king.

England British Royals, London, United Kingdom England
Eddie Worth/AP/Shutterstock

A new dad

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is seen here arriving at the Royal Institute of Galleries in Piccadilly, London. It’s one of the very first photographs taken of Philip after he became a father to Prince Charles, who is expected to become king upon the death of his mother, the Queen.

Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick,
Queen Elizabeth & Duke Of Edinburgh - September 1952 Wearing Kilts - Duke Wears Balmoral Tartan .... The Queen Is In Grey And Her Hat Is Trimmed With Yellow Tassels; The Duke Of Edinburgh Wears The Mauve And Grey Balmoral Tartan. They Are Watching Th
Daily Mail /Shutterstock

The Queen and her Prince in kilts

On this day, September 4, 1952, it’s been seven months since the Queen ascended the throne. Here, she’s pictured with her husband of five years, Prince Philip, who wears a kilt (in the tartan of Balmoral), at the Games at the Braemar Highland Gathering. It was the first time in 54 years, since Queen Victoria was alive and ruling, that a reigning Queen attended the Games.

JFK Funeral 1963, Washington, USA
Bill Achatz/AP/Shutterstock

Arriving for the funeral of President John F. Kennedy

On November 24, 1963, the Prince arrived at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. to pay his last respects to the late President John F. Kennedy at the November 25 funeral. The Prince is being shown the way to his car by Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Here are the things Netflix’s The Crown got completely wrong about the royals.

Historical Collection 172
Historia/Shutterstock

Greeting President Richard Nixon

This photo memorializes the time the Queen and Prince Philip enjoyed lunch with President Nixon on February 25, 1969, at Buckingham Palace.

Nancy Reagan Wife Of Ronald Reagan And Prince Philip Riding In Windsor's Home Park With Escort Of Security Men 1982
Monty Fresco/Daily Mail/Shutterstock

Escorting First Lady Nancy Reagan

In this photo, taken in 1982, Prince Philip steers a horse-drawn carriage with First Lady Nancy Reagan as his passenger.

JAPAN, TOKYO, Japan
Itsuo Inouye/AP/Shutterstock

The Prince, pondering

Prince Philip wasn’t known for thinking before speaking, but he’s pictured here doing just that: pondering reporters’ questions during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo in March 1997.

POLISH PRESIDENT ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI VISIT TO BRITAIN - 07 MAY 2004
Shutterstock

With Her Majesty in 2004

Here Prince Philip and the Queen are struck by a mutual case of the giggles during a visit from Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski in May 2004.

The Wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, UK - 18 May 2019
Tim Rooke/Shutterstock

At the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor

It wasn’t quite the royal wedding of the century, but the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor to Thomas Kingston on May 18, 2019, was nevertheless quite an event considering Lady Gabriella is the daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, who is Queen Elizabeth’s paternal first cousin. Next, read on for the 14 things Queen Elizabeth would rather you not know about Prince Philip.

Lauren Cahn
Lauren has covered knowledge, history, the British royal family, true crime and riddles for Reader's Digest since 2017. Having honed her research and writing skills as an attorney in the 1990s, she became one of HuffPost's first bloggers in the early 2000s, graduated to reporting hyperlocal news in the 2010s and has been researching and writing news and features for a wide variety of publications ever since. Aside from Reader's Digest, her work has appeared in Mashed, Tasting Table, Eat This, Not That!, Grown and Flown, MSN, Yahoo, AOL, Insider, Business Insider and many others.