‘Distant cousins’: How the Queen was related to Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip were known to be distant cousins. Here's exactly how the late couple were related.

Sep 11, 2022 - 09:14
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‘Distant cousins’: How the Queen was related to Prince Philip

The late Queen Elizabeth II was a “distant” cousin to her husband Prince Philip. Here’s how the late royal couple were related.

HOW QUEEN ELIZABETH II WAS RELATED TO HER HUSBAND 

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II were married for over 70 years when he passed away at the age of 99 in April 2021. The pair got married in 1947 but they knew each other for much longer as they are distant cousins.

According to Insider, the Queen and Prince Philip met at Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and the Duke of Kent in 1934. Queen Elizabeth II was only eight years old while Prince Philip was 13. 

The pair was related through Queen Victoria, who is their great-great grandmother. The late Prince was related to Queen Victoria on his maternal side. Queen Elizabeth II was related to Queen Victoria on her paternal side.

Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert had nine children – Victoria, Albert “Bertie” Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice. 

Prince Philip
Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip. CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP.

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HOW THE QUEEN AND PRINCE PHILIP WERE RELATED TO QUEEN VICTORIA

Victoria’s (daughter of Queen Victoria) second daughter and third child Princess Alice married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Their oldest daughter Victoria gave birth to Prince Philip’s mother Princess Alice of Battenberg. 

Prince Philip was the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg.

On the other hand, Queen Victoria’s son Albert Edward ascended to the throne upon his mother’s death in 1901. King Edward’s eldest son Albert died during an influenza epidemic. So, the crown was passed down King George V – the Queen’s grandfather – in 1910. 

Edward VIII then took over in 1936 but he abdicated less than a year to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. So, his younger brother George VI became King. However, he passed away in 1952. So, his eldest child – which is Queen Elizabeth II took to the throne. 

Following his marriage to Elizabeth, the Prince was given the titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. 

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