Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

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Chris Green
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Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Chris Green » 04 May 2017, 13:11

On the day that it has been announced that Prince Philip will be standing down from royal duties in the Autumn (at the age of 96!), it is perhaps a good moment to examine his heraldic history. Fortunately the job has already been done for us by J Paul Murdock:

http://aroyalheraldry.weebly.com/blog/hrh-the-prince-philip-duke-of-edinburgh

For those who prefer just to look at an emblazonment of HRH's current arms:

Image

The arms of the previous Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, were very different:

Image

It is an interesting thought that Prince Philip's arms will die with him, although theoretically (but only theoretically) he is the head of his family and his arms should be used by his heir, Prince Charles. The Dukedom of Edinburgh will pass to the Earl of Wessex, who could in theory use the Edinburgh quarter, though this would sit oddly with his present arms:

Image
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Arthur Radburn
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Arthur Radburn » 04 May 2017, 15:32

Chris Green wrote:The Dukedom of Edinburgh will pass to the Earl of Wessex, who could in theory use the Edinburgh quarter, though this would sit oddly with his present arms
As I understand it, the dukedom will pass to the Prince of Wales, as the eldest son, and when he becomes king (or if he is already king), the title will "revert to the Crown" and King Charles will re-create it for his brother by means of a fresh patent.

Could the Edinburgh quarter be used by future dukes? None of the other royal dukes -- Cornwall, Rothesay, York, Cambridge, Gloucester, Kent -- quarter the arms of the counties or cities whose names form their titles.
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Chris Green
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Chris Green » 04 May 2017, 15:47

Arthur Radburn wrote:
Chris Green wrote:The Dukedom of Edinburgh will pass to the Earl of Wessex, who could in theory use the Edinburgh quarter, though this would sit oddly with his present arms
As I understand it, the dukedom will pass to the Prince of Wales, as the eldest son, and when he becomes king (or if he is already king), the title will "revert to the Crown" and King Charles will re-create it for his brother by means of a fresh patent.
Could the Edinburgh quarter be used by future dukes? None of the other royal dukes -- Cornwall, Rothesay, York, Cambridge, Gloucester, Kent -- quarter the arms of the counties or cities whose names form their titles.


It was announced by the Palace when Prince Edward was made Earl of Wessex in 1999 that he would succeed to the Dukedom of Edinburgh when Prince Philip dies. There would otherwise have been considerable controversy as to why Prince Edward did not receive a dukedom. The inwardnesses of how/if this may come to pass are discussed here:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f23/the-future-of-the-duke-of-edinburgh-title-24343.html

As to the Edinburgh quarter being re-used, I agree that no other royal Duke quarters the county or city from which their title derives. And I cannot see how Prince Edward's present arms could be amended without doing irreparable damage to the royal arms. But the Duke of Edinburgh does (uniquely) quarter Edinburgh and I suppose Edward might wish to continue the precedent in some fashion. Incidentally, the Swedish royal Dukes and Duchesses all use the royal arms with "their" landskap (county) arms as Q3.
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Chris Green
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Chris Green » 04 May 2017, 15:53

Here's an interesting "pub quiz" question: How is the present Duke of Edinburgh (Philip) related to the previous one (Alfred)?
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Torsten Laneryd
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Torsten Laneryd » 04 May 2017, 18:58

Chris Green wrote:Here's an interesting "pub quiz" question: How is the present Duke of Edinburgh (Philip) related to the previous one (Alfred)?

Alfred was his wifes father-father-fathers brother

and his father-fathers sisters husbands brother

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Arthur Radburn
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Arthur Radburn » 04 May 2017, 20:34

Torsten Laneryd wrote:
Chris Green wrote:Here's an interesting "pub quiz" question: How is the present Duke of Edinburgh (Philip) related to the previous one (Alfred)?

Alfred was his wifes father-father-fathers brother

and his father-fathers sisters husbands brother

and his mother's mother's mother's brother
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Torsten Laneryd
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Torsten Laneryd » 04 May 2017, 22:17

Arthur Radburn wrote:
Torsten Laneryd wrote:
Chris Green wrote:Here's an interesting "pub quiz" question: How is the present Duke of Edinburgh (Philip) related to the previous one (Alfred)?

Alfred was his wifes father-father-fathers brother

and his father-fathers sisters husbands brother

and his mother's mother's mother's brother

It was easier to find through agnatic lines so I missed that.

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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Chris Green » 05 May 2017, 05:32

Well done Torsten and Arthur! Very impressive. But .....

As the maths exam questions say - please demonstrate how you reached the answer! Who were all these ancestors? I suspect that most readers will have guessed that both Dukes were descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Arthur Radburn » 05 May 2017, 10:14

Chris Green wrote:Well done Torsten and Arthur! Very impressive. But .....

As the maths exam questions say - please demonstrate how you reached the answer! Who were all these ancestors? I suspect that most readers will have guessed that both Dukes were descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
I reached my answer by looking up the family tree in Whitaker's Almanack :
- The present Duke's mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg, who married Prince Andrew of Greece;
- Princess Alice's mother was Princess Victoria of Hesse, who married Prince Louis of Battenberg (later 'Mountbatten');
- Princess Victoria's mother was Princess Alice of the UK, who married Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse;
- Princess Alice of the UK was a sister of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (both children of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert).
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Torsten Laneryd
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Re: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Postby Torsten Laneryd » 05 May 2017, 17:02

Chris Green wrote:Well done Torsten and Arthur! Very impressive. But .....

As the maths exam questions say - please demonstrate how you reached the answer! Who were all these ancestors? I suspect that most readers will have guessed that both Dukes were descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.



I am a happy owner of the wonderful book:
Lines of succession, Heraldry of the royal families of Europe. Jiri Louda & Michael Maclagan, 1991.

There I could easily find Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and see that his brother was Edward VII. I followed the monarchs down and came to Elisabeth II via George V and George VI.

I also knew that Prince Philip is related to the Danish and Greek monarchies, as you kan see in his coat of arms (first and second quarter). His father, Andrew, was son to the king of Greece, George I, who was son to the Danish king Christian IX. Christian also had a daughter Alexandra, who was married to Edward VII, brother to Alfred.


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