Philip becomes third oldest royal in British history

LONDON: The Duke of Edinburgh has become the third oldest royal in British history.Philip, 97, has overtaken Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone who lived for 35,741 days and was 97 years and 10 months when she died in 1981. Princess Alice was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

The duke, who retired from public duties when he was 96, has reached 35,742 days of age. He is the oldest ever male member of the British royals. But the record for oldest British royal ever goes to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester who lived to 102, followed by the Queen Mother who was 101.

Philip, who is known for his direct, no-nonsense approach, was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark on the island of Corfu on June 10, 1921 to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He is set to turn 98 in June.

Philip holds the record as the longest-serving consort in British history. His duties began on February 6 1952 when his young wife, Princess Elizabeth, became Queen. The monarch has now reigned for more than 67 years.

In February 2013, the duke became the oldest ever male member of the royal family. He overtook the record set by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn — Queen Victoria’s third and favourite son — who died in 1942 aged 91 years and 260 days.

Philip has been spending much of his retirement in the sanctuary of Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate. But, early in the new year, he miraculously escaped unscathed when the Land Rover he was driving was involved in a serious crash with a car carrying a mother and a baby.Philip was spotted driving without a seatbelt just 48 hours later. Three weeks later, his days of driving on public roads were over when he decided to voluntarily surrender his licence.