Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Born into the Greek and Danish royal families in 1921, Philip was exiled at 18 months old and educated across France, Germany, and the United Kingdom before joining the Royal Navy at 18 in 1939. He began writing to 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth that same year and served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Pacific during the Second World War. In 1947, he renounced his Greek and Danish titles, became a naturalised British subject, adopted the surname Mountbatten, and married Elizabeth - receiving the title Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding day. When she became Queen in 1952, he left active naval service as a commander and was created a British prince five years later. Over the next 65 years he completed 22,219 solo public engagements, championed carriage driving as a sport, chaired The Duke of Edinburgh's Award for young people, and served as patron of more than 780 organisations. He retired in 2017 at 96 and died at Windsor Castle in April 2021, two months short of his 100th birthday - the longest-lived male member of the British royal family.