Prince Philip, the 95-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, made headlines this week as an announcement of his retirement Thursday sparked some now debunked rumors.
The prince, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, "will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year," Buckingham Palace announced in a statement, later addressing rumors regarding the prince's health, saying that there's no cause for concern.
An announcement regarding The Duke of Edinburgh. https://t.co/SF1bgo68Un pic.twitter.com/TO9mR70xTk
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 4, 2017
» Photos: Prince Philip through the years
Here are five things to know about the monarch’s prince as he announces that he will step back from royal duties:
He was born on Corfu, an island off Greece’s northwest coast.
Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born June 10, 1921, on the Grecian island Corfu to Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece, according to The Associated Press.
He is the youngest of five children and the only son.
Corfu is known for its lush greenery, archaeological sites and lots of olive trees.
Fun fact: Prospero's island in "The Tempest" is modeled after Shakespeare's idea of Corfu, according to Conde Nast.
» Related: A look at Prince Philip, the queen's most loyal subject
He had a pretty rough childhood.
Prince Philip had an unconventional, tragic childhood. As a boy, his mother was sent to a psychiatric clinic in Switzerland for schizophrenia, his parents separated and he was sent to Britain to be raised by his uncle and extended family.
According to Town and Country magazine, his father took off with a mistress.
Later, the prince was sent to boarding school in Scotland.
He had a promising career in the Royal Navy.
According to The Associated Press, Philip joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1939 at age 18 and served during World War II. Philip rose to the level of commander and was appointed Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom in 2011.
He was also the youngest first lieutenant of HMS Wallace at age 21.
Queen Elizabeth II is the prince’s third cousin.
Both Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II are directly related to Queen Victoria.
According to Business Insider, Victoria is Elizabeth's paternal great-great-grandmother and Philip is related to the monarch on his mother's side.
Prince Philip married the queen on Nov. 20, 1947, but the two first made an impression on one another eight years earlier during a tour of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth when she was just 13 years old.
According to Vanity Fair, Philip was invited to dine with the royal family during the 1939 visit. Queen Elizabeth's governess would later recall that Elizabeth "never took her eyes off him," but Philip "did not pay her any special attention."
The two have four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He has some interesting nicknames for Queen Elizabeth II.
The Duke's pet names for the Queen include “cabbage” and sometimes “sausage.”
According to the Sunday Times, the nickname "cabbage" could come from the French term of affection — "mon petit chou" — which can be literally translated to "my little cabbage."
» Photos: Queen Elizabeth II through the years
Test more of your Prince Philip knowledge by taking the quiz below:
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