Prince Philip “built a shell around himself” so he could “function as [an] outwardly cheerful person”, according to royal commentators. The Duke of Edinburgh’s turbulent early childhood was discussed by experts in Channel 5’s documentary, ‘Prince Philip: The Bachelor Years’. They notably pointed to the hospitalisation of his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, and the abandonment of his father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
From nine years onwards, Philip saw little of his parents for his childhood.
Concerning this, author Philip Eade said: “Prince Philip as a boy seemed to take all of this in his stride.
“He was a very cheerful, mischievous practical joker.
“It didn’t seem as though he was especially affected by it.”
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Royal historian Hugo Vickers gave insight: “I talked to Prince Philip and he said, ‘my mother was ill, my father was away so I had to get on with it’.
“That really is what he’s done all his life.”
Mr Eade added: “Child psychologists would say that he built himself a sort of shell around himself.
“He could sort of function as this outwardly cheerful person.”
On an Easter holiday trip to stay with relations in Germany, Alice’s mother organised for psychiatric doctors to take her away.
After that, according to royal historian Dr Anna Whitelock, his father seemed to “somewhat abandon the family”.
Philip’s father ended up living this a “lavish, playboy lifestyle in many ways”.
The exiled Greek prince moved to Monte Carlo with a mistress.
This was a different kind of life than the one he’d had in Greece, Dr Whitelock claimed.
