Ancestors of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

compiled by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2021

Credit – Wikipedia

Although the initial articles in the ancestors series dealt with current European monarchs (ancestor articles for European heirs have since been added, all the articles can be seen at Unofficial Royalty: Royal Relationships), Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, was included. The initial articles were published in 2021, the year of Prince Philip’s 100th birthday. Sady, Prince Philip died on April 9, 2021, just two months short of his 100th birthday. At that time, he was the only consort of a currently reigning European monarch to have been born royal – and it is quite likely that he may be the last.

Born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark via his patrilineal descent from his grandfather King George I of Greece (formerly Prince Vilhelm of Denmark) and his great-grandfather King Christian IX of Denmark, Philip has an impressive royal pedigree that includes British, Danish, Greek, Prussian, and Russian monarchs, in addition to rulers from German principalities, duchies, and grand duchies. Through his mother Princess Alice of Battenberg, Philip is a descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Indeed, his royal pedigree is more royal than the royal pedigree of his wife Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. (See Unofficial Royalty: Ancestors of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.) The only major blip in his pedigree is the morganatic or unequal marriage of his great-grandfather Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine to Countess Julia von Hauke.

The marriage of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine to Countess Julia von Hauke deprived their children of their paternal royal titles, status, and inheritance. Julia was created Countess of Battenberg, with the style Illustrious Highness by her brother-in-law Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and by Rhine. Her children took their titles from her, becoming Count/Countess of Battenberg. In 1858, the Grand Duke elevated Julia and her children to the rank of Prince/Princess, with the style Serene Highness. However, they remained ineligible for the Grand Ducal throne of Hesse and by Rhine.

The status of the Battenberg family was raised considerably by two marriages. In 1884, Alexander and Julia’s son Prince Louis of Battenberg married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, the daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and therefore, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Louis of Battenberg and Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine are Prince Philip’s maternal grandparents. The following year Queen Victoria’s youngest child Princess Beatrice married Prince Louis of Battenberg’s brother Prince Henry of Battenberg, and they are the ancestors of the Spanish royal family.

In 1917, due to anti-German sentiments during World War I, King George V of the United Kingdom decreed that all his relatives who had Germanic names and titles and were British subjects should exchange their old names and titles for new English-sounding ones. The Battenberg surname was anglicized to Mountbatten – berg being the German word for mountain – and Philip’s grandfather Prince Louis of Battenberg, who had become a British subject, became the Marquess of Milford Haven in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Prince Philip is:

A descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom through his mother
Queen Victoria → Princess Alice of the United Kingdom → Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine → Princess Alice of Battenberg → Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

A descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark through his father
King Christian IX of Denmark → King George I of Greece (born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark) → Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark → Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

A descendant of Peter the Great of Russia and Catherine the Great of Russia through his father
Emperor Peter I (the Great) → Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna → Emperor Peter III of Russia married Empress Catherine II (the Great) (born Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst) → Emperor Paul → Emperor Nicholas I → Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia → Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia → Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark → Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark

Parents, Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, Great-Great-Grandparents, and Great-Great-Great-Grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921 – 2021)

The links below are from Unofficial Royalty,  Wikipedia, Leo’s Genealogics Website, or The Peerage.

Parents

Prince Philip’s parents; Credit – Wikipedia

Grandparents

Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, maternal grandparents Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Grandparents

Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Grandparents

Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia and Charlotte of Prussia, great-great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Great-Great-Great-Grandparents

Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia and Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, great-great-great-grandparents; Credit – Wikipedia

Sources:

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