Greece: Made in Germany

[lavce pelagonski]

Well done, how will the Greeks find an excuse for this.

[Carlin]

How Philip the Greek was British all along

Despite all the debate before his marriage, the Duke of Edinburgh’s link to Queen Victoria meant he was a British subject

URL:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.the...e-of-edinburgh

To those unwilling to analyse the dynastic blood that coursed through his veins, the duke was always Phil the Greek, though there was probably not one corpuscle of Hellenic origin. Danish, definitely, with Russian and German too. But the only thing tangibly Greek when he was exiled from Corfu in an orange box aged 18 months, was the worthless title he took with him of Prince Philip of Greece.

Despite the brouhaha that forced him to seek British naturalisation in order to marry, it would emerge 25 years later that he was, indeed, British all along. Not only that, but he was infinitely more “royal” than his bride, being descended from royalty on both sides.

Such was the intermarrying of royal families in Europe, it took time to unravel Philip’s complex origins to the satisfaction of all.

Philip’s father, Prince Andrew of Greece, was the fourth son of George I of the Hellenes, formerly Prince Wilhelm of Denmark, who was elected king of Greece following a protocol signed in 1863 by England, France and Russia, and who was to die from an assassin’s bullet.

Andrew’s brother, King Constantine I, was deposed by a military junta following the Greeks’ heavy defeat by the Turks in the war of Asia Minor in 1922. Andrew was charged with treason, imprisoned, and sentenced to death before fleeing with his family to live in much reduced circumstances in Paris.

Philip harboured not one jot of emotional attachment to the country of which he was prince. “I certainly never felt nostalgic about Greece. A grandfather assassinated and a father condemned to death does not endear me to the perpetrators,” he said.

His Danish dynastic name was Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, and his father was also descended from Russian emperors.

His mother, Princess Alice, who was profoundly deaf and later became a Greek orthodox nun, was the daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg who, in 1917, renounced his German titles to take the anglicised surname of Mountbatten and was created the first Marquess of Milford Haven.

His maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

His parents’ marriage would eventually break down, with his father moving to Monte Carlo and becoming a melancholy figure who died in 1944. His four sisters, all much older and more like aunts to him, married Germans.

Philip’s nationality remained ambiguous – and was the subject of fervent political debate – in the run-up to his marriage. But eventually, in 1972, some 25 years after his naturalisation and in the year of his silver wedding anniversary, Lord Dilhorne, the former lord chancellor, replied to an inquiry from Philip’s uncle Lord Mountbatten.

It was undeniable, said Dilhorne, that under a 1705 act of parliament, all descendants of the Electress Sophia Hanover (including Philip, through his link to Queen Victoria) were British subjects.

So, Phil the Greek, Phil the Dane, or Phil the German, had been British all along.

[Amphipolis]

Actually, Philip's ancestry is not so complicated or unclear. His father was 50% German, 25% Danish and 25% Russian and his mother was 75% German and 25% Britsh. So Philip's ancestry was not Greek at all. Through his small British ancestry he was actually a third cousin of his wife, Queen Elisabeth.

Furthermore, while his father DID have a strong Greek conscience, Philip was practically abandoned and grew up (fatherless and motherless) in a foreign country, raised as British.

[sydney]

So he wasn’t related to Leonidas, Philip or Alexander?

[Amphipolis]

Originally Posted by sydney

So he wasn’t related to Leonidas, Philip or Alexander?

Actually, in case you don't know it,

Leonidas had a son, but no grandchildren
Alexander had two sons, but no grandchildren either
Philip DID have grandchildren, but none of them was survived.

[sydney]

Why let facts get in the way of a good Greek story

[Soldier of Macedon]

Originally Posted by Amphipolis

Furthermore, while his father DID have a strong Greek conscience........

Such was the "strong Greek conscience" of the father that most of the daughters chose to marry Nazis instead. I guess it kind of makes sense given the immense contribution of the Germans concerning the creation of modern Greece. I suppose his inbred Germanic kinsmen that were monarchs in Sofia also had a strong (Bulgar) conscience. It was so strong in both cases that none of them ever bothered taking a native wife from their adoptive countries to solidify the bond between master and subject or ensure their progeny could claim a legitimate ancestral connection to their respective populations.

[Carlin]

Rita Wilson thought that Prince Philip had Greek ancestry and identity lol:

American actress Rita Wilson, who has Greek ancestry, on American television network TBS, that when she met Prince Philip, she told him in small-talk conversation “We have something in common! We’re both Greek!”, to which Philip replied “Oh, sorry for you.”

https://www.quora.com/Since-Prince-P...succeed-Greece

[Amphipolis]

Originally Posted by Soldier of Macedon

Such was the "strong Greek conscience" of the father that most of the daughters chose to marry Nazis instead. I guess it kind of makes sense given the immense contribution of the Germans concerning the creation of modern Greece. I suppose his inbred Germanic kinsmen that were monarchs in Sofia also had a strong (Bulgar) conscience. It was so strong in both cases that none of them ever bothered taking a native wife from their adoptive countries to solidify the bond between master and subject or ensure their progeny could claim a legitimate ancestral connection to their respective populations.

Actually, this IS interesting, but you won't easily find someone who really cares. A Greek royalist might bother to explain it, support Andrew or take a look at his life and actions, or the royal morals and political views of 1920-1930-1940s.

In short,
- there are not many morganatic marriages in the Royal houses
- daughters don't really matter, they're probably trained to adopt the national conscience of the country they'll get married to, I'm not sure, who cares
- all four daughters of Andrew had more or less the same fate as Philip, they grew abroad, fatherless and motherless under unclear influences
- their personalities and views (if they had any) are also not well known or easy to find, it seems very interesting but nobody cares


==

[Soldier of Macedon]

Originally Posted by Amphipolis

Actually, this IS interesting, but you won't easily find someone who really cares. A Greek royalist might bother to explain it......

A Greek royalist is the same as a Bulgar royalist - basically a Balkan peasant that liked the idea of being on a Germanic leash. Some may find that interesting, I myself find it momentarily amusing, thus falling within the "who really cares, nobody cares" camp.