A gripping biography of the early life of Prince
Philip, published to coincide with his 90th birthday
Married for more than sixty years to the most famous
woman in the world, Prince Philip is the longest-serving
royal consort in British history. Yet while he is still
one of the most recognisable figures in public life, his
origins remain curiously shrouded in obscurity. In
'Young Prince Philip', the first book to focus
exclusively on his life before the coronation,
biographer Philip Eade recounts the Prince's
extraordinary upbringing in Greece, France, Nazi Germany
and Britain, where he inhabited a notably colourful
milieu yet was beset by continual turbulence and a
succession of family tragedies. This revealing book
examines the formative psychological effects of having a
mother who was born deaf and was committed to a
psychiatric clinic when Philip was nine, and a father
who was so traumatised by his treatment at the hands of
Greek revolutionaries that he later left his young son
to be brought up by his wife's family, the Milford
Havens and Mountbattens, just when Philip needed him
most.Remarkably, there emerged from this unsettled
background a character of singular vitality and dash --
self-confident, capable, famously opinionated and
devastatingly handsome. Girls fell at his feet, and the
princess who would become his wife was smitten from the
age of thirteen. Yet alongside the considerable charm
and intelligence, the young prince was also prone to
volcanic outbursts and to putting his foot in it.
Detractors perceived in his behaviour emotional
shortcomings, a legacy of his traumatic childhood, which
would have profound consequences for his family and the
future of the monarchy. Published to coincide with the
Prince's ninetieth birthday and containing new material
from interviews, archives and film footage, 'Young
Prince Philip' is the most complete and compelling
account yet of his storm-tossed early life. |
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