Prince Philip: The Truths and Fantastic Facts on Netflix’s The Crown

He would have turned 100 in June and had been married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 full years. The United Kingdom is mourning today the death of Prince Philip at the age of 99.

The modern history of the British royal family has recently occupied the media internationally and due to the extremely popular Netflix series, The Crown (The Crown).

One of the protagonists of the series is of course Prince Philip and People magazine had recently made an analysis of these events that are presented and are true and those that are the product of the imagination of screenwriters.

Philip was a “poor prince” – True

Born in Greece as a member of the royal family, in a turbulent period, Philip was exiled with his family when he was only 18 months old. His mother was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and taken to an institution, and his father moved to the south of France, while Philip received his education in England.

The young prince had almost no property himself when he met and fell in love with the future queen.

Elizabeth had to fight to marry Philip – True

Some of the old palace guard – including Elizabeth’s father, King George VI – had objections to Philip, but Elizabeth insisted he was the right one for her. “One of Elizabeth’s greatest achievements is that she was allowed to marry the love of her life,” the Crown producer told People.

The dramatic encounter with an elephant – Fantastic event

Elizabeth, then a princess, was in Kenya with him Philip when her father died. She was thrilled with the photography and wildlife of the country. But the dramatic encounter with an elephant in the series is a product of the imagination of the screenwriters of the series.

Philip’s relationship with his uncle – True

Lord Mountbatten, the uncle who was more of a paternal figure to Philip, was very close to the prince and assisted him in his decisions, as in the series. In fact, it was Mountbatten who, thanks to his relationship with the current queen’s father, arranged the first meeting between the couple in 1939.

Philip fought for the children to take his name – True

According to The Crown, there were fears that if Elizabeth’s children took the surname Mountbatten, the last family would gain more power than that of the Windsor. In 1952 Elizabeth announced that her children would use the surname Windsor when needed. But in 1958 he silently changed his name to Mountbatten – Windsor.

Philip did not want to kneel before the queen – Probably a fantastic fact

The series focuses on Philip refusing to kneel before the queen at her coronation ceremony. However, it is considered extremely unlikely that he even thought of such a thing, as he would understand the importance of such a move as a member of the royal family himself.

The relationship he was supposed to have with a ballerina – Probably a fantastic event

Galina Ulanova, the Russian ballerina whom Elizabeth suspects is the woman with whom Philip cheats on her in the series, existed and traveled to Britain in the late 1950s. But there is no evidence that there was any connection between her and Prince Philip. says historical consultant of the series to People.

People have often said that “he must have been an infidel” but there is no evidence of this, he notes.

The relations of Philip’s family with the Nazis – Truth

In The Crown, Winston Churchill reports that Philip’s sisters are not at the royal wedding because they are married to a Nazi. Indeed, three of his four sisters were associated with the Nazi party and none of them went to his wedding.

The only member of the family present was his mother, Princess Alice, who sheltered a Greek Jewish family at her home in Athens during the Nazi occupation.