Then, less than five years later when Elizabeth became Queen following the sudden death of her father George VI, this no-nonsense, straight-talking man had to adjust to the life of a royal consort; his true personality jutting up against the expected protocol that required him to walk a few paces behind his wife.
Listen below to the episode ofour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Daywhere we are looking back atPrince Philip’s life and legacy.
“He was an alpha male in a beta role,” Ingrid Seward, author of the newPrince PhilipRevealedsays in theinaugural issue of PEOPLERoyals.
Philip, whodied at the age of 99 on Friday, and Elizabeth had been married for more than 73 years.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their wedding day.Hulton Archive/Getty
Philip may have been second to his wife in their public role, but at home, he took the lead in family discussions, and decisions from schooling of the couple’s four children to running the royal estates.
“For his immediate family – his legacy is in every scrap of land, in the way the royal homes are run the way the royal collection is displayed. He had a huge influence over every aspect of royal life both private and public,” Seward adds.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.Steve Parsons/Press Association via Getty
Can’t get enough ofPEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!
Seward, who has written 14 books on the British royal family, says she wanted to write about arguably history’s longest-serving male royal consort to show “life from his perspective – everything we see and read is from the Queen’s point of view.”
source: people.com
