Review : Philip, Prince of Greece

Philip, Prince of Greece
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Early Life and the Greek Succession
Auteur: John Carr
9781526790828
Uitgever : Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Many books have been written about the life of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, yet there always seem to be corners of his long life that have remained unexplored. In this long look back into his early years, Constantinos Lagos and John Carr uncover hitherto unknown aspects of Philip’s life as a Greek prince and his gradual transformation from a mere appendage of the troubled Greek royal family to an enduring pillar of the British monarchy. For the first time, Lagos and Carr delve into neglected Greek archives for a fascinating picture of Philip’s early Greek life and the constant insecurity that dogged his steps as his father Prince Andrew of Greece and mother Princess Alice struggled to order their own lives in the maelstrom of unstable and often violent Greek politics in a Europe sliding towards world war. The Greek royal family, in which Philip has his roots, is dealt with at length, to bring out the particular family history and circumstances that played no small part in shaping his personality. Anyone curious about how Prince Philip actually grew up will find in this book a wealth of eye-opening, often startling details that will add more brush strokes to the portrait of the often-elusive but real Prince Philip.

Around the centenary of Prince Philip you can read some more books about the recently deceased prince. This time the choice fell on the book: Philip, Prince of Greece. The book takes us back to Prince Philip’s childhood. To get a complete picture of this, we learn a lot in the book about the origin of the monarchy in Greece and all the problems and unrest that existed around the Greek royal house at that time.

The title of the book makes people suspect that the prince’s childhood is extensively discussed. That is partly true. The largest part, however, is about political relations in Greece at that time. We learn a lot about Prince Philip’s parents: Andrew and Alice. As a reader, you therefore get the feeling that Prince Philip plays a subordinate role in this book. The book tells a lot about numerous exiles of his uncle and father from the country, and an explanation of why Philip grew up in England. Despite the slight criticism, as a reader you notice that it has all been well researched. The author had access to previously unpublished sources, as a reader this provides a lot of new information. The first part of the book is a detailed account of the Greek and Turkish wars and the Balkan Wars and the role of Greek Royals in them.

The book contains some stories about Philip’s school days in Scotland, his time in the navy, and his alleged relationships with women before his marriage. Nothing shocking and normal for a young man in whatever era you live in. The anecdotes of the prince are not missing in the book. Typical Philip. The author has a smooth writing style with good references to the sources and the photos in the book complete the picture.

In Summary: A captivating look at Prince Philip’s life prior to his 1947 marriage to Princess Elizabeth, particularly his place within the Greek Royal Family. This well-informed and easy-to-read book examines the Greek royal family in depth from 1864 to the 1970s and is full of interesting and little-known details. The book will certainly be a feast for the people who love history, especially the Greek. For the real royalty lover it will be a bit disappointing, you still hope for more of Prince Philip and his youth and time in Greece.

I would like to thank Pen & Sword Publishers for making a review copy available.

Book is available at: Pen & Sword, Amazon, Bol.com, Libris , Bookspot