The Duke of Edinburgh: The Early Years | Prince Philip was born in Corfu in 1921 into the Greek and Danish royal families. He joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18 and from July that... | By The Royal Family Channel | He's the longest serving consort in British history but despite his royal pedigree, the Duke of Edinburgh did not have the easiest start in life. Prince Philip was born in june 1921 on the Greek Island of Corfu to Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. This made Philip a great great grandchild of Queen Victoria. Just like his future wife, Queen Elizabeth. When he was just 18 months old, Prince Philip's family were forced to leave Greece following a military coup. They ended up in Paris, royal refugees without palaces or riches. Sadly for the young prince, when he was just 8 years old, his mother suffered a nervous breakdown and ended up being sent to a sanitorium in Switzerland. Philip would have very little contact with her for the rest of his childhood. Being sent off to boarding schools in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Gordonston in Scotland provided Philip with the stability and discipline that had been missing during much of his childhood. Physical achievement, sports were drilled into pupils and Philip excelled as captain of the school's cricket team. He also took up sailing which was to lead to a successful career in the Royal Navy. After leaving Gordonston in nineteen thirty-nine, Philip enrolled as a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where he would soon meet his future wife. During a royal visit to the college, Philip was asked to entertain the king's daughters. The then eighteen-year-old future consort can be seen standing behind 13 year old Princess Elizabeth, pictured his seated alongside her parents. After passing out of Dartmouth as the best cadet in his class, Philip saw military action during the Second World War fighting against both Italy and Japan. The Prince and Princess exchanged letters throughout the war and their relationship blossomed when he returned home from active service. Shortly after attending the wedding of Counters Mount Baton in october 19 forty-six, Philip and Elizabeth announced their own engagements. The couple were married at Westminster Abbey the following winter. Philip were go on to renounce his Greek and Danish titles and take his mother's maiden name of Mount Baton before King George the sixth conferred upon him the title of Duke of Edinburgh.