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Prince Philip’s Birth Certificate Unearthed on Corfu, Greece

Prince Philip
The birth certificate of Prince Philip (left) and Prince Philip wearing the traditional Greek fustanella in 1930 (right). Greek Reporter illustration

The birth certificate of Prince Philip, the consort of Queen Elizabeth, was unearthed recently on the Greek island of Corfu.

Philip was born in Corfu almost 100 years ago, in June 1921.

The Certificate of Prince Philip’s Birth

The handwritten certificate was unearthed from a municipal archive of Corfu, close to Mon Repos, the royal villa where Prince Philip was born.

The certificate is written in Katharevousa, the official version of Greek at the time, which resembles more to the ancient Greek rather than the demotic language Greeks speak among themselves.

Of course, the local authorities knew about the existence of the certificate, however, following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, accepted the request of Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper to show it to them so that the public could see it.

The certificate notes that Philip was born on May 28, 1921, however, this is the date according to the Julian Calendar.

The Gregorian calendar’s equivalent is June 10, 1921.

The certificate explains all the details about the family tree of the newborn, such as that his mother was Princess Aliki (Alice in English). It also adds that the newborn royal’s name is Philippos, the Greek equivalent of Philip, and that he was baptized Orthodox Christian at the chapel of Saint George in Corfu.

Prince Philip
The birth certificate of Prince Philip. Credit: Corfu Municipality / Daily Mail

The turbulent early years of Prince Philip

After the Asia Minor Disaster of 1922, the king of Greece and Philip’s uncle were unwanted in the country and were forced to flee into exile in Paris.

After the infant Prince Philip was spirited away from Greece hidden inside a crate of oranges, his father, Prince Andrew, was sentenced to death by an extraordinary military court, but his sentence was later reduced to exile.

Princess Alice was so traumatized by the events that she turned to mysticism as a solace, and she began to embrace the Greek Orthodox faith. At the time, she was also diagnosed as suffering a nervous breakdown.

Although Princess Alice tried to escape the sanatorium in which she lived many times, she eventually stayed there for two years, where her husband visited her only once. He preferred to spend his days in southern France, drinking and playing cards, surrounded by women.

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