Duke Philip of Edinburgh was a member of several noble families in Europe, despite having four sisters, numerous nieces and nephews, uncles and cousins, he always thanked Queen Elizabeth II for giving him what he never had: a family.
Philip had an intricate and tragic family tree. He was born in a war zone, lived on the charity of his relatives and multiple tragedies struck his family.
When he married Elizabeth II in 1947, he had to renounce his title of Prince of Greece and Denmark, his religion, his nationality and had to accept that his sisters were not invited to his wedding.
The sisters of the future consort were married to German princes and aristocrats who had fought on Hitler’s side and who to a greater or lesser extent sympathized with the National Socialist regime.
All of Philip’s sisters married between 1930 and 1931. The first to do so was Princess Sophie in December 1930, with Prince Christopher of Hesse-Kasel. In February 1931 Princess Cecilia married Grand Duke George Donatus of Hesse-Darmstadt. Princess Margarita did it in April of the same year with Prince Godefroy of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and finally Princess Theodora in August with Prince Bertoldo of Baden.
Prince Philip’s nieces and nephews
In total, Prince Philip had 21 nieces and nephews.
Princess Sophie had five children with Prince Christopher:
- Princess Christina of Hesse
- Princess Dorothea of Hesse
- Prince Karl of Hesse
- Prince Rainer of Hesse
- Princess Clarissa of Hesse
In 1946, after three years of being widowed, Sofia married Prince George Wilhelm of Hanover with whom she had three children.
- Prince Welf Ernst of Hanover
- Prince Georg of Hanover
- Princess Friederike of Hanover
The princess had three sons, two of them died with her in a tragic plane crash.
- Prince Louis
- Prince Alexander
- Princess Johanna
Princess Margaret had five children:
- Kraft, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
- Princess Beatrix
- Prince Georg Andreas
- Prince Rupprecht
- Prince Albrecht
Princess Theodora had three children:
- Princess Margaret
- Maximilian, Margrave of Baden
- Prince Ludwig
She had only two nephews on Queen Elizabeth II’s side. The children of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones are:
- David Armstrong-Jones
- Sarah Armstrong-Jones
