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Full name: Philip

Full Title: HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Born: Corfu, June 10 1921, Prince of Greece and Denmark, only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenburg.

Prince Philip's family is connected to many of the Royal houses of Europe. His father, Prince Andrew, was the grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark; his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, was the eldest child of Prince Louis of Battenberg and sister of Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Prince Louis became a British subject in 1868 and rose to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord. He married one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters and changed the family name to Mountbatten, which Prince Philip also adopted when he too became a British subject in 1947.

The Prince and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, share Queen Victoria as their great-great-grandmother and are also related through his father's side.

Education: Started in France, then Cheam Preparatory School in England and Gordonstoun in Scotland.

Marriage and family: Married Princess Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey on November 20 1947. The couple had four children - Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, and have eight grandchildren so far.

Official roles: Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich; Knight of the Garter; Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Cadet Force and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps; was made Admiral of the Fleet and appointed Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force in 1953.

Captain-General of the Royal Marines and Colonel-in-Chief, or Colonel, of a number of British and overseas regiments; Patron or President of some 800 organisations; Patron of the Industrial Society; President of World Wildlife Fund - UK (WWF) from its formation in 1961 to 1982, and International President of WWF (later the World Wide Fund for Nature) from 1981 to 1996. He is now President Emeritus of WWF.

President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1964 to 1986; President of Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR); Admiral of the Royal Yacht Squadron; former President of the Marylebone Cricket Club; Grand Master of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators of the British Empire; Master of Trinity House.

Chairman of Trustees of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme; Knight of the Thistle; Chancellor of the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh; former Chancellor of the Universities of Wales and Salford; life Governor of King's College in the University of London.

Life and times

The young Prince Philip was sports mad and was captain of both hockey and cricket at school, as well as being made Head of School. After leaving Gordonstoun he joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet at RNC Dartmouth, where he was awarded the King's Dirk and a prize as the best Cadet of his entry.

He saw active service throughout World War II on a number of ships, and was eventually promoted to First Lieutenant (second in command) of HMS Wallace at the very early age of 21. In July 1943, Wallace took part in the Allied landings on Sicily.

He was on board HMS Whelp in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the surrender. Whelp returned home in January 1946.

His distinguished naval career continued to flourish and he was promoted to Commander - but the career came to an end when the death of his father-in-law, King George VI, meant the young Prince was now husband of the Queen.

In 1953 The Queen declared by Royal Warrant that he had 'place, pre-eminence and precedence' next to herself 'on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament'. He was later granted the style and dignity of a Prince of the United Kingdom.

Although Prince Philip gave up his active naval career many years ago, he remains very interested in all aspects of of Service life.

His is also keenly interested in many aspects of national life, including science and technology, sport, young people and environmental issues.

Like most members of the Royal family the Prince is a top horseman, and excelled at polo and carriage driving.

The Duke of Edinburgh accompanies The Queen on all her Commonwealth tours and State Visits overseas, as well as on tours and visits to all parts of the United Kingdom. He has also travelled abroad a great deal on his own account.

His most lasting achievement, though, will probably be the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, launched in 1956 to encourage young people to push themselves in four major areas - service, expeditions, skills and physical recreation.

More than two million young people, aged between 15 and 25 and both able-bodied and disabled, have since qualified for either the bronze, silver or gold awards.

The Prince is committed to supporting the development of young people and spends much time each year presenting gold awards and meeting participants and helpers, in the UK and overseas.