Saturday, April 15, 2017

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh----

Philip of Greece
Duke of Edinburgh
Philip of Greece
Duke of Edinburgh.
(1921-Present)
Prince of Greece & Denmark
Prince of the United Kingdom 1957.

Son ofAndrew of Greece & Denmark & Alice von Battenberg.

Husband ofElizabeth II of the United Kingdom, mar 1947.
Princess Elizabeth, 21, (born 21 April 1926)  and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, 26, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark on 10 June 1921) in their 1947 engagement photo.:
Philip & Elizabeth
@ Pinterest
The gifts of a charmer: "Prince Philip is attractive to women. He has the gifts of a charmer: he listens, he laughs, he looks into your eyes, he takes you seriously, he makes you feel he wants your company. He never looks over shoulder to see if someone more interesting is coming along." (Telegraph)

The Duke of Edinburgh's fan club.
" . . . For those not in the know, the Tatler published 'The royal Collection,' which provided the names, biographies, and photographs of thirteen women described as 'the Duke of Edinburgh's fan club.' The list included minor British stars but omitted major American ones like Jane Russell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Shirley MacLaine. The British aristocrats included two Princesses, one Duchess, one Countess, and five titled ladies, including the seventy-year-old wife of one of the Queen's former equerries. 'That's an appalling image of my mother-in-law---in bed with Prince Philip.' pooh-poohed the woman's son-in-law. 'It's like Love Among the Ruins.'" (The Royals: 423)

"Among numerous other women alleged to have featured in Philip’s extramarital love life were Jane, Countess of Westmorland, widow of the Queen’s late Master of the Horse; the novelist Dame Daphne du Maurier; the actresses Merle Oberon and Anna Massey; and TV personality Katie Boyle." (Daily Mail)

They said, everybody said. . . : "Other women with whom he is said to have dallied include his cousin Princess Alexandra, Italian Countess Bonnie Frescobadi, actress Anna Massey, Canadian Osla Benning, who later married Lord Henniker, and Jane, Countess of Westmorland." (Independent)

Linked with many women: "Over the years Philip's name has been linked with many women, from the late.......

The wifey knew about it! And she was into it, too!!: "Elizabeth had known that Prince Philip chased other women including the late Helene Cordet, TV star Katie Boyle, actress Anna Massey, Jane Russell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Shirley Maclaine, Merle Oberon (Duchess of Abercorn?), the Countess of Westmorland, the late Susie (sic) Barrantes (Sarah Ferguson's mother), Patti Kulge, Christina Ford and many polo wives. However, The Queen also became romantically involved with another man, Henry George Reginald Molyneux Herbert, Earl of Carnarvon (Lord Porchester)." (Yahoo Answers)

That's how men are, wifey says: "However, Sarah Bradford, author of Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times, was more forthright. 'The Duke of Edinburgh has had affairs,' she said in an (sic) 2011 interview, 'yes, full-blown affairs and more than one. He has affairs and the Queen accepts it. I think she thinks that's how men are.'" (Belfast Telegraph)

The rumours were . . . : "After Kirkwood and Cordet, numerous other famous and beautiful women have been alleged to have been Philip's lovers. They include the Countess of Westmorland, wife of the Queen's Master of the Horse, the novelist Daphne du Maurier, wife of the Comptroller of the Royal Household, the actresses Merle Oberon and Anna Massey, the TV personality Katie Boyle, the Duchess of York's mother, Susan Barrantes, the Duchess of Abercorn, wife of the Lord Steward of the Royal Household, the Queen's first cousin, Princess Alexandra and Philip's glamorous carriage-driving companion, Lady Romsey." (Daily Mail)

And the real situations were . . .: "Of these, Daphne du Maurier was merely a casual acquaintance. Katie Boyle has rubbished suggestions of intimacy. Anna Massey met Philip only once socially. And the Duchess of Abercorn, while admitting to 'a highly charged chemistry' with Philip, denied any physical relationship, adding that 'the passion was in the ideas.'" (Daily Mail)

"Since the '50s and '60s — the time period largely focused on in the show — there are many persistent reports of Philip's affairs, all of which were always denied by the Palace on grounds of no evidence. However, many biographers have repeatedly pointed to romantic relations with other women, notably a mystery woman who was once seen boarding the royal yacht Britannia on an overseas tour. In addition to this, during the early years of his marriage, Prince Philip was also accused of conducting extra-martial affairs with Greek cabaret singer Hélène Cordet, several actresses, a renowned female novelist and even the Queen's own cousin, Princess Alexandra. And although none of these relations have ever been proven, they continue to cast a shadow on the reputation of the British Royal Family." (Movie Pilot)

Over more than seven decades, Philip has been accused of liaisons with a Greek cabaret singer, several actresses, three peeresses of the realm, a famous TV personality, a renowned female novelist and the Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra. It has also been claimed he has fathered 24 illegitimate children — and even that he once had a gay fling with the former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Thar absurd suggestion aside, it is easy to understand why, at the time of his marriage in 1947, he was pegged as a potential philanderer." (Press Reader)

"And at the end of the war, by then a bearded Adonis with a taste for dancing, he had joyous flings with three girls while in Australia (a certain boathouse in Sydney, owned by a titled friend, was apparently the setting for his sexual dalliances). There was a society beauty, Sue Other-Gee; a close friend, Georgina Kennard; and Sandra Jacques, about whom little is known other than that it was ‘a very full love affair’. . . ." (Press Reader)

Philip's physical appearance & personal qualities: "Tall and athletic with the looks of a Viking god, Philip at 17 was already attractive to women. Aspasia’s daughter, Alexandra, described him as “very amusing, gay, full of life and energy and a tease.” He reminded her of “a huge, hungry dog; perhaps a friendly collie who never had a basket of his own and responded to every overture with eager tail-wagging.'" (Telegraph)

His lovers were:

1) Princess Alexandra of Kent.
"Rumours Philip had a relationship with the Queen’s first cousin, Princess Alexandra, are especially distasteful. Her late husband, Sir Angus Ogilvy, described Philip as ‘a good man, a really good man, hopelessly misreported, misrepresented and misunderstood’. In 2003, the Queen appointed Princess Alexandra as a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter, a great honour that she would have been unlikely to bestow on her husband’s lover." (Daily Mail)

2) Anna Massey.
British actress.

"Of these, I know Anna Massey only met Philip once socially and never saw him again. Du Maurier, whom I knew well, met the Queen and Philip occasionally during the years her husband, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick ‘Boy’ Browning, was Comptroller of their household. Daphne was invited to Balmoral but was never a close friend of the royal couple." (Daily Mail)

3) Bonnie Frescobaldi.
Italian aristocrat.

4) Cobina Wright.
"One girl, Cobina Wright, began to stand out from the rest and Philip begged his aunt to be allowed to stay out in the boat a little longer. “Very well”, she agreed. “But you are to cruise round and round the island and don’t stop the engine! I shall be listening.” Alexandra was listening, too, and after three or four circuits the engine went silent and remained so for the next five minutes. Philip’s explanation was that they had had “trouble with the sparking plugs.'  Cobina Wright was a budding American actress whose pushy mother, also called Cobina, was among those who entertained Philip during his time in Venice. Cobina Wright Senior organised debutante parties in New York and was grooming her daughter for a film career capped by a spectacular marriage. Cobina was two months younger than Philip – they both turned 17 that summer – tall, slim and blonde with huge blue eyes and a radiant smile. By 1938, she was already under contract with 20th Century Fox while also modelling and singing in nightclubs. The next year, she won the title of Miss Manhattan and was named “most attractive and talented New York girl of the 1939 season.' Her first meeting with Philip was at Harry’s Bar, and Cobina later recalled that, on seeing the prince, her mother had “shoved” her into his arms. Over the next three weeks, Philip escorted Cobina around Venice, spending “passionate evenings in gondolas on the Grand Canal”, before following her back to London. Her friend, Gant Gaither, the Broadway producer, later maintained that Philip wrote her impassioned love letters and “desperately wanted to marry her, but [in the end] Cobina Jr just wasn’t all that interested.” She married a wealthy American corporal, Palmer Beaudette, instead. Interviewed by the American Town and Country magazine in 1973, she revealed that in her bedroom she kept photographs of the three loves of her life, one of them being Philip."
(Telegraph)

4) Daphne Du Maurier.

5) Helene Cordet (1924-1996)
Greek cabaret singer.

Wife of:
1. William N. Kirby
2. Marcel Boisot.

The first 'mistress' to be mentioned: " . . . Then there was the Helene Cordet affair, which surfaced right before the wedding, when she was described in the French press as the 'mystery blonde divorcee' whom Philip had visited in Paris the year before. Since then, Helene is always the first name mentioned as one of Philip's mistresses and the mother of his illegitimate children. If course, he and Helene claim that they're merely childhood friends who grew up together in Paris. He gave her away when she married the first time in 1938, and he's godfather to both her children, so who knows?'" (The Royals: 75-76)

Helene's economics professor son to the rescue: "He's even rumoured to have had a number of children out of wedlock, one of whom, Max Boisot, was sufficiently annoyed some time ago to issue an official denial that Philip was his father from the depths of China where he was living. His mother was a French singer called Helene Cordet, who had known Prince Philip since childhood. . . ." (Independent)

Godfather? Father? Who knows?: "Not only Kirkwood was linked with him romantically, but also his childhood friend, the Greek cabaret star Helene Cordet, who had two children by her future second husband while separated from her first husband, but declined at the time to name the father. When Philip elected to become godfather to both children, it was instantly assumed that he must be their father. Many years later, Cordet's son, Max, who became a professor of economics, was finally provoked into issuing a public statement denying this utterly." (Daily Mail)

No, they're not an item!: "Philip and Helene [Cordet] were friends, not lovers. He is not the father of her children. Rumours started because, when her son Max was born, Helene was still married to William Kirby, though they had lived apart for two years. At the time, no one knew about Marcel Boisot [her lover at the time that Max was born in 1943]. Helene allowed the paternity of her children to remain a mystery. Even in her memoir, Born Bewildered, published in 1961, years later, she does not name him. I get the impression (though she denied it) that Helene Cordet rather relished the frisson created by the rumours surrounding her friendship with Prince Philip. I get the impression Prince Philip thinks so, too, and it irritates him." (Telegraph)

"Philip and Helene [Cordet] were friends, not lovers. He is not the father of her children. Rumours started because, when her son Max was born, Helene was still married to William Kirby, though they had lived apart for two years. At the time, no one knew about Marcel Boisot [her lover at the time that Max was born in 1943]. Helene allowed the paternity of her children to remain a mystery. Even in her memoir, Born Bewildered, published in 1961, years later, she does not name him. I get the impression (though she denied it) that Helene Cordet rather relished the frisson created by the rumours surrounding her friendship with Prince Philip. I get the impression Prince Philip thinks so, too, and it irritates him." (Telegraph)

"There was also concern over the nature of his relationship with a childhood friend, the Greek-born cabaret star Hélène Cordet. While she was separated from her first husband, Cordet had two children by a French airman, Marcel Boisot, who became her second husband. Owing to her uncertain marital circumstances, Cordet declined to reveal the children’s paternity, and when Prince Philip became godfather to both, it was assumed he was the father.

This belief persisted until 1989, when Cordet’s son, the economist Professor Max Boisot, openly dismissed the idea as ‘ridiculous’." (Press Reader)

Helene's personal & family background: "Adler smiles and shrugs when talking about his old friend's relationship with Helene Cordet, who worked in a Paris dress shop before moving to London to open a nightclub and become a cabaret singer. Her parents, staunch Greek royalists, had helped support Philip's parents during their exile in France when Philip was growing up. 'Mercifully, he spared us the personal details of his relationship with Helene,' said Adler in 1992. 'But we made certain assumptions at the time, and whether we were right or wrong, we understood why the King was agitated about his daughter falling in love with a bounder like our old pal. As I told Philip then, be glad your zipper can't talk.'" (The Royals: 76)

6) Jane, Countess of Westmorland.

7) Katie Boyle (1926-Present)
Lover in the 1950s.
Italian aristocrat, actress, presenter, writer & celebrated beauty.

Daughter ofMarchese Demetrio Imperiali di Francavilla & Dorothy Kate Ramsden.

Wife of:
1. Richard Bentinck Boyle, 9th Earl of Shannonmar 1945, div 1955.
2. Greville Pollard Baylis (d.1976), British racehorse owner, mar 1955.
3. Sir Peter Saunders (1911-2003), mar 1980

"Katie Boyle, a celebrated beauty from the 1950s, is another good-looking woman regularly mentioned in dispatches as one of Philip's flings, particularly in a book called Queen Elizabeth II: A Woman Who is Not Amused by Nicholas Davies. Boyle was a TV personality in the late 1950s and 1960s, and presented the Eurovision Song Contest the first time it has held in Britain in 1960. In those days, broadcasting tended to have cut-glass accents, and Boyle had that in spades. She was born Caterina Irene Elena Maria Imperiali di Francavilla, the daughter of an Italian aristocrat and her frist husband was Richard Bentinck Boyle, 9th Earl of Shannon, Viscount Boyle, of Bandon and Baron of Castle Martyr, Co Cork. According to Davies'd book, Philip's affair with Boyle was very steamy and they had the most extraordinary times together. 'Yes, I've met Prince Philip several times,' Boyle has said. 'I think he's the most fantastic man. I love his dryness. But an affair? It's ludicrous, pure fabrication. When it appears in prince, people believe it. You can't talk legal action because it fans the flames, so you just have to accept people telling complete lies about you.'" (Independent)

Pure fabrication: "Katie Boyle certainly met Philip several times, but has described suggestions of an affair as ‘pure fabrication’ and utterly denied a story that the Prince once rapidly exited through the back entrance of her house as her husband arrived at the front. It is true that Hollywood beauty Merle Oberon, who was ten years Philip’s senior, kept a signed photograph of him in a silver frame and entertained him lavishly at her estate in Mexico City. But Merle’s couturier, Luis Estevez, ‘never saw anything romantic going on between them’.' (Daily Mail)

7) Merle Oberon.
American film star.

8) Osla Benning.
Canadian debutante.

"Princess Elizabeth was still only 15, and while she was undoubtedly going to be a catch before long, Philip was free to play the field. Cobina Wright’s place was soon taken by Osla Benning, a beautiful Canadian-born debutante with “dark hair, alabaster white skin, an exquisite figure and a gentle loving nature,” according to her friend Sarah Norton [later Baring]. They met in late 1939, when Osla was living with Sarah, a god-daughter of Dickie [Lord Louis] Mountbatten, Philip’s uncle. Osla was two years younger than Philip and had been brought over from Canada when she was very young, following her glamorous mother’s divorce. Mrs Benning married three more times and Osla’s childhood was, according to her daughter, Janie Spring, lonely, isolated and confusing. Like Philip, she had a weakness for practical jokes and was 'always getting involved in escapades involving itching powder.' After finishing school in Austria, she came out in August 1939, one of the foremost debutantes of her year. They made a startling pair. Philip was: 'Tall, with piercing blue eyes and a shock of blond hair swept back from his forehead,' recalled Eileen Parker, wife of his great friend, Mike Parker. 'I was not at all surprised to hear that every unmarried Wren on the base had her sights on him.' At the time she met Philip, Osla was working at the Hawker-Siddeley aircraft factory in Slough and living in a cottage nearby with Sarah Norton and her father, Lord Grantley, the film-maker and raconteur. Grantley found Philip 'the best of company' and was impressed by his forceful intellect. 'He seemed to be interested in everything; and when asking me questions about films, for instance, he did not want to know about the stars but about the technicalities of how films were made.”" (Telegraph)

"At the age of 18, there had been a romantic friendship — although not a full-blown affair — with Canadian- born debutante Osla Benning." (Press Reader)

9) Pat Kirkwood.
British actress & singer
Lover in 1948.

"It was after one of these gatherings, in October 1948, that Philip’s reputation as a royal Lothario took off. Baron introduced his friend to actress and singer Pat Kirkwood, the highest-paid star on the London stage, with whom the photographer was in love. Her fans included King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who invited her to Windsor Castle to perform. Then 27 years old, the sensuous and flirtatious actress with legs once described as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ was separated from her husband. Philip was smitten and he and Kirkwood created a sensation by dining a deux at Les Ambassadeurs restaurant in Mayfair, packed with celebrities and staff who could not tear their eyes away from their table. They went on to dance the night away, cheek to cheek, at the Milroy nightclub and ended up eating scrambled eggs at dawn in Baron’s apartment. This encounter created headlines all over the world. Princess Elizabeth was eight months pregnant with their first child at the time, and the King and Queen were furious on their daughter’s behalf. Pat Kirkwood spent the rest of her life haunted by the ‘Prince and the Showgirl’ label, vehemently denying any impropriety, either then or later. But she became the target of lurid rumours and a claim Philip had given her a white Rolls-Royce. I know for a fact that my friend Pat never owned such a vehicle." (Press Reader)

"But legend or not, Pat Kirkwood lived for six decades under the cloud of suspicion she had been the mistress of Prince Philip. The more she denied the rumour, the more it was believed. Philip himself, adhering to the Royal Family's tradition of declining comment on matters relating to their private lives, failed to come to her defence. He said nothing, one way or the other, despite repeatedly imploring him to set the record straight. And when she died" almost exactly a year ago, after 60 distinguished years of stardom during which she helped to rally the nation's morale in World War II, her life ended devoid of official recognition and without so much as a humble MBE." (Daily Mail)

"A month before his wife gave birth to Charles, Philip was introduced to Pat Kirkwood, 'the first of the showgirls with whom he was rumored to have had an affair,' according to Philip Eade in his biography The Young Prince Philip. The critic Kenneth Tynan once pronounced Kirkwood’s legs to be 'the eighth wonder of the world.'" (The Daily Beast)

10) Penelope Meredith Eastwood.

11) Sacha Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn.

It's Jung's fault!: "'They're the ones people talk about.' 'You mean, women like Sacha Abercorn,' I suggested. 'Yes,' said Mrs. Bradford, putting down her wine glass. 'She is certainly one of them. Philip and Sacha Abercorn certainly had an affair. Without a doubt.' . . . The Duchess of Abercorn is tall, slim and striking. she is quietly spoken: intelligent, articulate and thoughtful. She was born in 1946, the daughter of Lt. Col. Harold Pedro Joseph Phillips and Gina Wernher. She is 25 years Philip's junior. 'It was later [after her marriage in 1966] that we became close. It think it was at The gables - when Nicky was running the shoots - that we particularly got interested in each other. What brought us together? Jung. Yes. Jung. I've always been interested in Jung, his work, his ideas. And Philip is interested in Jung. Prince Philip is always questing, exploring, searching for meaning, testing ideas. We had riveting conversation about Jung. That's where our friendship began.'" (Telegraph)

"A British aristocrat has admitted enjoying a 'passionate friendship' and 'highly charged chemistry' with Prince Philip in an authoritative new book on the state of the royal marriage. The Duchess of Abercorn, 58, revealed she had an intimate relationship with the Prince, 83, over two decades from the late 1960s. She denies sleeping with him. The book is by Gyles Brandreth, a former Tory MP, journalist and a long-time friend of Prince Philip, who has been linked to scores of beautiful, aristocratic and often younger women over the decades. The Duchess said she had been the Prince's 'playmate and intellectual partner'. "Our friendship was very close," she said. 'We were close because we understood one another. It was a passionate friendship, but the passion was in the ideas. It was certainly not a full relationship. I did not go to bed with him.'" (The Age)

"Brandreth shines the spotlight on Sacha Hamilton, the Duchess of Abercorn, in particular. She is the daughter of Lady Kennard, reportedly one of the Queen's closest friends, and she married her husband, James, the Duke of Abercorn was appointed Lord Steward to the Royal household in 2001." (Independent)

"The Duchess of Abercorn admitted to royal author Gyles Brandreth, a friend of Philip, that she had a 'passionate friendship' with him for more than 20 years, describing him as someone who 'needs a playmate'. . . Sacha Abercorn was first linked with Philip in 1987 when a newspaper published a picture of him, wearing only a towel, with his arm around her in a swimsuit. According to Brandreth, they have also been seen holding hands at her holiday home in the Bahamas - something she did not deny. . . In the book, published later this month, the Duchess of Abercorn recounts how her friendship with Philip began in the late 1960s with a conversation about the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, in whom they had a shared interest. 'Prince Philip is always questing, exploring, searching for meaning, testing ideas. He asks the difficult questions and that's what drew me to him. 'Yes, he is practical, unsentimental and logical, but he is also emotional and intuitive. He is deeply sensitive. Deeply sensitive. His senses are so supercharged.'" (Evening Standard)

12) Sandra Jacques.
"According to Australian author Robin Dalton, who met Prince Philip back then, he had to special Australian girlfriends, a society girl called Sue Othergee, and then Sandra Jacques. The affair with Jacques was 'a terrific love affair. A very full love affair.'" (Independent)

13) Sue Othergee.
Australian socialite

"Now, Sue Other-Gee has been named in a new book about the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as one of his 'special girlfriends' whom he escorted during the war. She spoke lovingly of him to her family, but she was to carry the full truth of her relationship with him to the grave, after she was taken from her home in Sydney's exclusive harbourside suburb of Rose Bay to hospital, where she died of pneumonia 22 years ago, aged 62." (Highbeam)

14) Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

15) Zsa Zsa Gabor.

The Duke of Edinburgh's physical appearance & personal qualities:
"However for the ladies of the Court Philip was 'tall, good-looking, blond, blue-eyed, a royal prince by birth, a Navy-man, a sailor, athletic, funny, fun to be with, sensitive, generous, sometimes slightly cool, a little distant in his bearing, but teasing you all the time, and lovely to children.  Of course everyone was in love with him.'"  (La Stampa)

Prince Philip Gallery.
Prince Philip by The British Monarchy, via Flickr:
Andrew of Greece
@ flickr.com
Prince Philip of Greece (later Duke of Edinburgh):
Philip of Greece
@ flickr.com
Prince Philip at age 15:
Prince Philip @ 15
@ tumblr.com
Prince Philip. The world's most handsome man is either him or James Dean.  - B:
Philip of Greece
@ flickr.com
Young Prince Philip. My I can see the resemblance to Prince Charles in his younger years.:
Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com
Prince Phillip / Prince Harry Can definately see a likeness between them both with this early photo of his grandfather Prince Phillip.:
Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com
Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh Actor | The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. - British Royalty:

vickievictoriana:  Portrait of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Consort of Queen Elizabeth II:
Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. I think Prince William looks a lot like his grandfather.:
Prince Philip
@ facebook.com
hrhsussex:  Beardy Windsor Men-Prince Philip during WWII:
Prince Philip
@ Daily Mail
Ce 10 juin, le prince Philip, duc d’Edimbourg, époux de la reine d’Angleterre Elisabeth II, fête ses 95 ans. Le Royal Blog déroule sa vie en photos.:
Prince Philip
@ Paris Match
I guess Mountbattens fall in here as well:
Prince Philip
@ tumblr.com

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Not a beautiful marriage life.