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After leaving the ''Whelp'', Philip spent time at the Petty Officers' School in [[Wiltshire]] as an instructor, then took a position at the Naval Staff College in [[Greenwich]]. In 1949 (after his marriage to Princess Elizabeth), he was appointed first lieutenant of the destroyer ''HMS Chequers'', stationed in [[Malta]], which would be the couple's effective home until Elizabeth's succession to the throne in 1952. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in 1950 and given command of the frigate ''HMS Magpie'', then promoted again to Commander in 1952. This was the highest rank Philip would reach during his active service.
After leaving the ''Whelp'', Philip spent time at the Petty Officers' School in [[Wiltshire]] as an instructor, then took a position at the Naval Staff College in [[Greenwich]]. In 1949 (after his marriage to Princess Elizabeth), he was appointed first lieutenant of the destroyer ''HMS Chequers'', stationed in [[Malta]], which would be the couple's effective home until Elizabeth's succession to the throne in 1952. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in 1950 and given command of the frigate ''HMS Magpie'', then promoted again to Commander in 1952. This was the highest rank Philip would reach during his active service.
== Death ==
==Marriage==
Though the two had briefly met on a couple of prior occasions, Philip and Princess Elizabeth, daughter of the reigning [[King George VI]] and heir apparent to the British throne, only became seriously acquainted in 1939 while the royal family was touring the naval college at Dartmouth; he acted as an escort for her and her younger sister Margaret. The two began a romantic correspondence not long thereafter (despite Elizabeth being only 13 at the time), and as early as 1941 there was private speculation that the two would be married in time. Philip asked the King for his daughter's hand in marriage in 1946, which he granted but postponed the announcement of until after Elizabeth's 21st birthday in April 1947. They were married at [[Westminster Abbey]] on November 20, 1947. (Due to their German marriages, none of Philip's surviving sisters attended the wedding. His mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, did attend, as did his uncle, Louis Mountbatten. Philip's father, Prince Andrew, had died in 1944.)
Before the wedding took place, to finalize his association with the United Kingdom, Philip renounced any claim he might have to the thrones of Greece or Denmark as a member of the Glücksberg royal family, taking the "Mountbatten" surname of his maternal relatives. George VI then made him a Knight of the Garter and, on the morning of the wedding, created him [[Duke of Edinburgh]], with the additional titles of Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, allowing him to style himself as His Royal Highness. He also formally converted to the [[Church of England]], having been baptized a Greek Orthodox.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20100529132154/http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/TheDukeofEdinburgh/Navalcareer.aspx</ref>
After their marriage, Philip and Elizabeth spent the next several years at Clarence House, a royal residence in [[London]], and later in Malta on account of his naval duties. The first of their children, [[Prince Charles]], was born in 1948, followed by [[Princess Anne]] in 1950. In 1951, with George VI in increasingly poor health, the couple began assuming more of his royal duties, going on a tour of [[Canada]], and at the beginning of 1952 began an extended visit to the [[British Commonwealth]].
==Royal Consort==
On February 6, 1952, King George VI died at the age of 56. Philip and Elizabeth were in [[Kenya]] when they received the news, and immediately returned to Britain. Elizabeth at once became queen, assuming the title Elizabeth II, and plans were made for her coronation the following year.
Some small controversy arose over how the royal house would now be titled. Philip's relatives expressed the belief that it would be titled the ''House of Mountbatten'', a title Elizabeth herself may have been willing to adopt. However, her own family and leaders of the British government (including Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]]) prevailed on her to maintain its title of ''House of Windsor''. This was accepted by all parties, though Philip was said to be disgruntled by the decision, remarking that he was "the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children." (Complicating matters further was the fact that "Windsor," like "Mountbatten," was a name only invented in [[World War I]] in response to anti-German sentiment; prior to that, the British royal family had born various German surnames.) In 1960, Elizabeth would issue a decree amending this decision; their male-line descendants who did not bear the title of Prince or Princess would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Two of their grandchildren and one of their great-grandchildren currently bear this name.<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/feb/18/monarchy</ref>
As a Royal Consort, Philip's duties were to accompany the Queen in her capacity as head of state and to represent her on various occasions. He was in charge of the planning of Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 (successfully pushing to have the ceremony televised, the first time this had happened), and went on a sole tour of the Commonwealth in 1956-57. Shortly after his return, in February 1957, Elizabeth elevated her husband to the rank of "Prince of the United Kingdom"; from then until the rest of his life, he was officially styled as "His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh."
==Death==
It was reported that Prince Philip died on the morning of April 9, 2021 at the age of 99, his cause of death is not confirmed, Buckingham Palace saying only that he died peacefully. At his death, Philip was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11437314 Prince Philip has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace announces]. ''BBC News''. Retrieved 9 April 2021.</ref>
It was reported that Prince Philip died on the morning of April 9, 2021 at the age of 99, his cause of death is not confirmed, Buckingham Palace saying only that he died peacefully. At his death, Philip was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-11437314 Prince Philip has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace announces]. ''BBC News''. Retrieved 9 April 2021.</ref>
==References==
==References==