Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has passed away at the age of 99.
For his subjects in Great Britain and the Commonwealth, the husband and consort of the Queen has been an enduring public figure for more than seven decades.
Yet there are many young people today who think they know the character of the Duke better than the man himself, after he was portrayed by ex Doctor Who lead Matt Smith, and latterly by The Terror star Tobias Menzies, in the Netflix series The Crown.
Take a look at the trailer for the show in the video below:As rigorously researched as the program is, it does take a lot of artistic license, particularly when it comes to the character of Prince Philip.
So to clear things up, we're taking a look at some of the myths, inaccuracies, and divergencies from reality in the TV drama.
1. Philip was a much more caring father in real life
The Crown shows Prince Philip as being continually frustrated with the young Prince Charles, and even goes as far as to call his eldest son "bloody weak" in one episode when he fails to stand up to his bullies. This is one aspect of the program that apparently upset the Queen personally, with a royal insider telling Glamour:
"The Queen realizes that many who watch The Crown take it as an accurate portrayal of the Royal Family and she cannot change that.
"But I can convey that she was upset by the way Prince Philip is depicted as being a father insensitive to his son’s well-being.
"She was particularly annoyed at a scene in which Philip has no sympathy for a plainly upset Charles while he is flying him home from Scotland. That simply did not happen."
2. Philip took part in the Queen's coronation willingly
The show has Prince Philip chafe at the thought of being subordinate to the Queen as her consort, especially when kneeling before her during her coronation in 1953.
While it is true that he resented not having any official role in the early years of his wife's reign, Philip was always far too respectful of the crown and the importance of the orders of precedence to ever rebel against the Queen's authority over him.
He was perfectly compliant during the coronation, as archival footage clearly shows.
3. He wasn't involved in the Profumo scandal
The finale of season two appears to implicate Prince Philip in the Profumo affair of 1963.The scandal saw Conservative Secretary of State for War John Profumo accused of lying to the House of Commons regarding his alleged affair with the 19-year-old model Edith Keeler, who had also had a relationship with a Soviet spy.
The Crown suggests that Philip came into contact with Profumo and Keeler through a mutual acquaintance with socialite Stephen Ward.
While it is true that Philip and Ward were friends, with Ward even sketching a picture of the Duke, there is no evidence at all to suggest that he met with either Profumo or Keeler, or was aware as to the extent of their intimacy.
4. Philip did not witness his mother's institutionalization
In a flashback in the fourth episode of season three, Philip has a flashback to the day his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, was institutionalized after being diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1930.
Not only is the actor playing Philip in the scene too old (he appears to be in his late teens, while Philip was only nine-years-old when his mother was committed to a sanatorium) but he did not personally witness his mother being taken away.
The Greek royal family was in exile at the time as a result of the Greco-Turkish War, and Philip was being educated at a prep school in England at the time when his mother was taken into Dr. Sigmund Freud's care and was living with his uncle, Lord Mountbatten.
5. He had nothing to do with his sister's plane crash
The Crown appears to lay the blame for the death of Philip's sister Princess Cecile, who decided to fly from Germany to London to see him due to his bad school behavior.
Philip's sister Cecile, and a number of members of his extended family, did die in a tragic plane crash in 1937. But the princess was flying to London to attend a wedding, not to visit her younger brother (who was then 16 and attending Gordonstoun School in Moray in Scotland).
Per The Daily Mail, Royal historian Hugo Vickers commented on the subplot by stating: "This is a truly shocking invention since Prince Philip had nothing to do with his sister’s air flight to Britain. He was in no way responsible for the accident."
6. He became a British subject much earlier in real life
In the TV series, Philip is shown to become an official British citizen at the same time that he earned the title of the Duke of Edinburgh, which is shown to have happened the day before he married Queen Elizabeth.
This is a definite compression of events. In real life, Philip's naturalization actually took place in March of 1947 – months before his marriage in November – so that the British public had time to get used to him as a member of the nobility before his nuptials.
7. Philip's infidelities are up for debate
The Crown explicitly presents Prince Philip as cheating on the Queen numerous times and having an affair with Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova.
In reality, although Ulanova was a real ballerina who danced in London in 1956, it's doubtful Philip ever met her, much less had an intimate relationship with her.
Rumors of infidelity have plagued the Duke of Edinburgh for years, although none have ever been substantiated. Some sources alleged that he was linked to actress Pat Kirkwood, although she fervently denied any romantic or sexual indiscretion.
Our thoughts and condolences are with the Royal family during this difficult time.
