Young Prince Philip: His Turbulent Early Life

‘The narrative is as suspenseful as any thriller. Truly, an excellent read’ Lynn Barber, Sunday Times

Married for almost seventy years to the most famous woman in the world, Prince Philip is the longest-serving royal consort in British history. Yet his origins have remained curiously shrouded in obscurity.

Married for over seventy years to the most famous woman in the world, Prince Philip is the longest-serving royal consort in British history. Yet his origins have remained curiously shrouded in obscurity.

In the first book to focus exclusively on his life before the coronation, acclaimed biographer Philip Eade uncovers the extraordinary story of the prince’s turbulent upbringing in Greece, France and Nazi Germany, during which his mother spent five years in a secure psychiatric clinic and his father left him to be brought up by his Mountbatten relations in England just when he needed him most.

Remarkably the young prince emerged from this unsettled background a character of singular vitality and dash – self-confident, capable, famously opinionated and devastatingly handsome. Girls fell at his feet, and the princess who was to become his wife was smitten from the age of thirteen.

Yet alongside the considerable charm and intelligence, the prince was also prone to volcanic outbursts and to putting his foot in it. Detractors perceived in his behaviour emotional shortcomings, a legacy of his traumatic childhood, which would have profound consequences for his family and the future of the monarchy.

Containing new material from interviews, archives and film footage, this revelatory biography is the most complete and compelling account yet of his storm-tossed early life.

• Philip Eade is author of the critically acclaimed Sylvia, Queen of the Headhunters.

• No definitive biography of Prince Philip currently exists.

• In focusing on the Prince’s early life, this book differs from conventional royal biographies, revealing a gripping story.

• Hardback received rave reviews and was instant Sunday Times bestseller

• Paperback published for the Diamond Jubilee 2012

Competition: Prince Philip Revealed;My Husband and I;The Mountbattens;Diana;Battle of Brothers;Finding Freedom;The Duke:100 Chapters;Lady in Waiting;Prince Philip’s Century. Ingrid Seward;Andrew Lownie;Andrew Morton;Omid Scobie;Robert Lacey;Ian Lloyd;Nigel Cawthorne;Anne Glenconner;Robert Jobson