Prince Philip in military uniform, 9 November 1947. (Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The life and times of a thoroughly modern royal By Nathan Morley
Prince Philip set the tone for the royal family of the post-war era.
In fact, he grew up at the speed of war. As a young lieutenant aboard the battleship Ramillies in the Mediterranean fleet, Phillip ran the gauntlet of German U-boats preying on Allied targets between Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and Gibraltar. For any man, let alone a 19-year-old, it was an exhausting and dangerous existence. Against this background, he joined H.M.S. Valiant and took part in a skirmish off Cape Matapan when seven Italian warships were destroyed, earning him a mention in dispatches.
