Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died Friday at 99 years old. The prince married Queen Elizabeth II five years before she became queen, but when she was crowned, she was not given the title of king. This is because Prince Philip, who is actually a former prince of Denmark and Greece, was never on the line of the British throne.
Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947 and became queen in 1952 after the death of her father, King George VI. She later gave her husband the title of prince.
This title was neither a thing nor for Prince Philip, nor was it supposed to be called a king or prince. Her title was Duke of Edinburgh until 22 February 1957, when the palace issued a statement: “The Queen has been satisfied with the letters of patent under the Great Seal of the Kingdom dated 22 February. of 1957, to give and bestow to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, GBE, the titular style and dignity of a prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Whitehall. “
So the queen gave her husband the title of prince when he took the crown, but why not king?
A woman who marries the king may be called a queen, but for men who marry the monarch there are different rules. They cannot use the title of king because 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 office. Her other children: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward will hold these titles.
Prince William, son of Prince Charles and grandson of the queen, is next in line for the title of king, followed by his eldest son, Prince George.
Giving the title to Prince Philip is not the queen’s only decision on the denomination. In 1960, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip decided to distinguish themselves from previous royals, who did not use surnames. They began to use a divided last name: Mountbatten-Windsor, Mountbatten comes from Prince Phillip’s maternal grandparents.
According to BBC News, Prince Phillip called for this surname change. “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 convinced to keep Windsor, BBC News reports. “I’m just a bloody amoeba!”
Therefore, the Queen’s children and grandchildren can use Mountbatten-Windsor as a surname, when they need it. However, members of the royal family have little use for surnames; they already have long enough titles, such as Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
Prince Philip may not have been king, but he was constantly by his wife’s side and was the queen’s consort, with the main role of supporting her. He is the longest-serving consort of any British monarch and completed more than 22,000 solo engagements when he retired from his royal duties in 2017, according to BBC News.