For royal observers, the news of the Duke of Edinburgh's death came as a terrible blow. Next to the Queen, he was the most prominent member of the British royal family and constantly in the limelight since the Queen's accession to the throne in 1952.
This makes Prince Philip part of every royalist's life for 69 years. His presence was a regular fixture on royal news and musing, thus his death felt like a loss of a family member.
It hits us the hardest since Princess Diana's passing in 1997.
Royals of Europe mourned the loss of a cousin
Prince Philip was a cousin to most Royals of Europe by virtue of his ancestry from Queen Victoria of Britain, King Christian IX of Denmark and Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.
Before his death he was the oldest surviving great-great grandchild of Queen Victoria and one of the last three remaining living grandchildren of King Christian IX of Denmark.
Prince Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who was born at Windsor Castle, was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Her mother, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, who was also born at Windsor Castle, was the eldest child of Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Prince Philip's father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, was the son of King George I of Greece and Queen Olga, the granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.
Today, most European royals directly descended from Queen Victoria and King Christian IX. Seven out of 10 Crown Heads of Europe came from this lineage.
Prince Philip directly descended from Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria. While his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, and King Harald V of Norway, descended from Queen Victoria's eldest child, King Edward VII.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, descended from Queen Victoria's two sons, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. The Swedish king's step-grandmother, Queen Louise, was Prince Philip's maternal aunt.
King Felipe VI of Spain is Prince Philip's nephew on many descents. Felipe's mother, Queen Sofia, is the daughter of King Paul of Greece, Philip's first cousin. While King Paul's wife, Queen Federica, was a third cousin to both Philip and Elizabeth.Â
More over, King Paul's mother, Queen Sophia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her eldest daughter, Princess Vicky.Â
To bind them together, Felipe's father, King Juan Carlos, was a great-great grandson of Queen Victoria through her youngest child Princess Beatrice whose husband, Prince Henry of Battenberg, was Prince Philip's grandfather, Prince Louis's younger brother.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is Prince Philip's double third cousin. Margrethe's mother was Queen Ingrid, a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her son, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. While Margrethe's father, King Frederick IX, was Prince Philip's second cousin.
Before 1953, Prince Philip was in succession to the throne of Denmark.
King Philippe of Belgium is also a double cousin. His great-great-great grandfather, King Leopold I of Belgium, was Queen Victoria's maternal uncle. And King Philippe's grandmother, Queen Ingrid, was a great-granddaughter of King Christian IX of Denmark through his eldest son, King Frederick VIII.
This is the same family tree of the reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri, whose mother, Princess Josephine-Charlotte, was the paternal aunt of King Philippe of Belgium.
Rounding up the royal relatives are the Crown Princess of Romania, Princess Margareta, a goddaughter of Prince Philip, daughter of his close cousin, King Michael of Romania, who descended both from Queen Victoria, King Christian IX and Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.
The Crown Prince of Yugoslavia/Serbia, Prince Alexander, is Philip's nephew, twice over, through Queen Alexandra (daughter of King Alexander of Greece, who was Philip's first cousin) and Queen Maria (paternal aunt of King Michael of Romania).
The ex-king of Greece, Constantine II, the godfather of Prince William and closest cousin of Prince Charles, is a younger brother of Queen Sofia. His wife, Queen Anne-Marie, is a younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
More over, Prince Philip's four older sisters had also married German princes, their grandchildren (except for Princess Cecille who died in a plane crash in 1936 along with her husband and sons and now no living descendants) still bearing the courtesy styles of prince and princess
So they're are all sort of one big extended royal family.
Thus, Prince Philip's death has been greatly felt all throughout the European royal court whose heads are all his cousins, due to their blood connection.
The messages of condolences sent by the Crown Heads in the continent are filled with sorrow, heartfelt and deeply personal.
Among all others, the Spanish king sent a deeply personal message of sympathy to his Aunt Lilibet for the passing of his dear Uncle Philip.Â
Dear Aunt Lilibet,
We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear Uncle Philip. At this painful time, we would like to convey to you our deepest condolences on behalf of the Spanish government and the people and all our closeness support.
With these same family roots, Prince Philip was a cousin and uncle to all European royals, thus the European monarchy mourned his death. He was the first prominent member of the European royalty to die in recent times.
This makes his passing a personal loss to the blue-bloods of Europe.
With Prince Philip's passing, the curtain of Europe's glorious age of royalty where royal spouses were also born royal and where monarchs married fellow royals, has been rolled down.
In the present time, no heirs in direct succession to any thrones in Europe married a fellow royal. Thus, the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, also marked the end of an era of the monarchy's glorious age.
We felt his death a great loss to the truest meaning of royalty in the present time. Our deep condolences to the Queen and the royal family. May the legacy and the dedicated life of public service of Prince Philip will never be forgotten.Â
He will be greatly missed but he will live forever in our hearts.
The funeral of His Royal Highness is scheduled next week, April 17. Due to COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, the service might just be a private family affair.
He will be buried at Frogmore gardens where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were laid to rest.
And with this, our heartfelt prayer:Â Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let your perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul through the mercy of God rest in peace.
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