The week
Prince Philip “wore the No. 1 British passport” and more fascinating facts about the late king
Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died Friday at the age of 99, giving a collective look back at his fascinating life. Obituaries for the late Duke of Edinburgh ran through the late king’s life from his birth in 1921 to his service in World War II and his marriage to Queen Elizabeth II. He was born on a dining table on the Greek island of Corfu, according to the Washington Post and “smuggled out of Greece in a fruit crate” as a child while his father fled execution, reports the New York Times. The obituaries were also filled with interesting little nuggets about him, including the fact that he was “wearing the No. 1 British passport (the Queen didn’t need one),” the Times wrote. Philip introduced “efficiencies” at Buckingham Palace, including installing intercoms, and while he loved sailing, he is said to have “had so little patience with horse racing that he fitted his top hat with a radio so he could hear cricket games could if he accompanied the queen to her favorite spectator sport, “said the Times. He was also the “first member of the royal family to conduct a television interview,” according to NBC News. His large personal library was “particularly enlightening” to him and his interests, the Post wrote, as it reportedly contained “560 books on birds, 456 on religion, 373 on horses, and 352 on navy and ships.” Speaking of which, a report in The Sun once claimed that Philip was “an avid reader of books on UFOs and aliens”. Of course, obituaries for Philip also took note of his reputation as insulting sexist and racist comments, with BBC News writing, “That he might be rude, terrifying, sometimes there is no doubt.” However, historian Sarah Gristwood told NBC: “He helped create the British royal family model that allowed it to move forward into the 21st century. We may have lost sight of that now, but I hope we have will remind us. ” . More stories from theweek.comHow Red States Silence Urban VotersAmerica’s summer bipolar Manhattan prosecutors get active help when they turn over Trump’s CFO from his former daughter-in-law
