Prince Philip, August 7, 1950, playing Polo -

AFP

  • Two steps back, he faithfully accompanied Queen Elisabeth for more than 73 years.

  • Far from fading away, Prince Philip, who died this Friday shortly before his hundredth birthday, had remained impetuous, despite the sacrifice of his career and the burden of protocol.

  • Over four seasons,

    The Crown

    has managed to give depth to this central figure of the British royal family.

The successful series

The Crown

allowed the international public to discover the man behind the title.

Senior member of the British Royal Family, Prince Philip died on Friday at the age of 99 at Windsor Castle, three weeks after spending a hospital stay with an infection and then a heart problem, the palace said from Buckingham.

If he spent his life in the background, eclipsed by his wife Queen Elisabeth II, the Netflix series has paid tribute to this central figure of the royal family.

Here is a look back at five key facts that viewers were able to discover while watching the series that has become cult.

Abandoned in his childhood

Born in Corfu on June 10, 1921 with the titles of Prince of Greece and Denmark, Prince Philip did not have a happy childhood.

Abandoned by his parents, he was sent to an English school before being taken in by one of his sisters, then sent to the Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun where he received an education the hard way.

Season 3 of

The Crown

devotes an episode to his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, deaf from birth, who falls into mysticism.

Diagnosed with schizophrenia, she was interned before devoting her life to god by converting to the Orthodox religion.

An abnegation that recalls that of Prince Philip for Elisabeth II.

To be able to marry the princess in 1947, he renounces his title of prince of Greece and Denmark to take British nationality and become Duke of Edinburgh shortly before her marriage, then prince of the United Kingdom in 1957. When she becomes queen, he also gives up his career as an officer in the Royal Navy.

Orthodox, he accepts to adhere to Anglicanism and, to please his fiancée, quits smoking, recalls AFP.

The series perfectly describes how difficult it was for him to come to terms with all of these renouncements and how long it took him to come to terms with his assigned role.

A loving husband (if not being faithful)

The love of the royal couple transpires from season to season.

To believe that Queen Elisabeth II is one of the only ones in her family to have been really happy in love, in comparison to her sister Princess Margaret and her son Prince Charles, summoned to marry Lady Diana whom he did not did not like.

From affectionate expressions to personal sacrifices, Prince Philip has never ceased to support the Queen.

He nicknames her "Lilibeth" when he doesn't call her outright "sweetie", as Stephen Frears reveals in a scene from

The Queen

.

Prince Philip is seen saying to his wife upon entering her bed, "Push yourself, sweetheart!"

»(Move over, cabbage!).

This affectionate term would come from a literal translation of the French "mon chou", country where Prince Philip lived during his childhood.

Great love of the queen, she described him on several occasions as her "rock".

A charming prince

The Crown

repeatedly evokes rumors of infidelity from Prince Philip.

While preparing to leave for Australia for a "Commonwealth Tour", Queen Elisabeth II discovers in her suitcases a medallion on which appears a ballerina.

The tour itself is surrounded by rumors of his misconduct.

“We told a lot of things, explains Stéphane Bern in an article by

Madame Figaro

published in 2017. We especially said that his best friend and private secretary, Michael Parker, brought him show girls.

There was certainly a duchess or two… I think everyone lent her a lot, probably more than he did.

“Over more than seventy years, no ordeal has managed to separate the couple.

An airplane pilot thirsty for freedom

A thrill-seeker, Prince Philip learned to pilot from the start of his reign, to afford a few hours away from the constraints.

The Crown

describes him as a hothead when he takes his flying lessons with Peter Townsend, the first love - unlawful - of Princess Margaret, the sister of Elizabeth II.

According to

Point de vue

, “his logbook shows that he flew nearly 6,000 hours, on 59 different machines until August 11, 1997, the date of his last flight at the controls of an aircraft, in Scotland, between Carlisle and Islay ”.

He was also passionate about horse riding, polo and harness racing.

A cold father with Charles

Relations with his eldest son, Charles, are not very warm.

Philip, generally described as a cold father, decides to send young Charles to Gordonstoun, an austere Scottish boarding school where he himself was raised.

“A Colditz in kilts,” Charles later commented, referring to the German POW fortress.

The Crown

even dares to describe a rivalry between father and son at the time of the death of Louis Mountbatten - maternal uncle of Prince Philip - in an IRA attack.

The latter, who had taken Prince Philip under his wing, also played a role of mentor for Prince Charles, who has a hard time finding favor in the eyes of his father.

A proximity that Prince Philip would have blamed on his son, according to the Netflix series.

Culture

Death of Prince Philip: Rain of tributes after the announcement of the death of the husband of Elizabeth II

Media

Death of Lady Diana: "Photographers have done their job", pleads "the king of the paparazzi"

  • UK

  • Monarchy

  • Queen elizabeth ii

  • Culture

  • Netflix

  • Disappearance