Who Was Prince Philip Really? Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About His Life

2. His Family Was Forced To Flee Greece

Philip’s uncle, Constantine I, was forced to abdicate, for the second and last time, when the Greeks lost the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-22. This meant that he and his family, including the young Philip, who was just 18 months old at the time, were forced into exile.

 independent.co.uk

A British vessel, the HMS Calypso was sent to Greece to pick up the family. This was due to their connections to the Mountbatten dynasty in England. Philip was reportedly carried from the country in a wooden fruit crate. They eventually settled in France, and the young prince grew up in Saint-Cloud, on the outskirts of Paris, with his aunt, Marie Bonaparte, Princess George of Greece and Denmark.