Young Prince Philip: His Turbulent Early Life

I felt I knew a lot about British history but this was one hole in my knowledge. I don't think I've ever come across another book which devoted itself to Prince Philip in such a detailed way. I found this book to be very informative and Prince Philip's life is certainly full of exciting, interesting twists and turns. It is also a look into a life filled with sadness, hardship, loneliness and tragedy. It is not a "royal watcher" book per se - full of adoring fluff, but a solid history unknown (at least to me).

This is not a great work of history, but it was very interesting to read, and informative. It is especially interesting if combined with another biography of Philip later in his life. That said, it was very interesting, and I was not aware of the difficult background of Prince Philip, who always stands so proud and straight ;). I liked it.

Great book on the Prince behind the throme.

Very interesting. A good man. Deserves all the knighthoods he can get.

What a different slant on Prince Phillip's life. He certainly didn't have it easy in his early years. He comes across as a reasonably decent person and the book was readable and informative, although the family histories were a big complicated and not very easy to follow. Some genealogical charts would have been welcome. I enjoyed this book very much.

I wished to learn more about his early life & hadn't know he was almost an orphan!

Good writing, well researched, and entertaining. Deals with HRH Phillip's early life and ends during his and the Queen's first years of marriage.

This is an interesting and revealing account of Prince Phillip's early life and perhaps sheds a light on his personality of today. Historically, it is a wonderful account of his family and their connections to history and today's royal family. It tells of candid moments experienced by other people in his milieu.

What an incredibly interesting story HRH Prince Phillip had to tell. HRH Prince Phillip led an extremely honourable life, as did his family. He did so much selflessly in service to this country, serving in the armed forces during ww2, in service, supporting so admirably, Queen Elizabeth 2nd and in the many good things he did - for instance, for the WWF and Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, which I enjoyed at school, got me experiencing things I never would have done, with a purpose, and led me to make new friends in different situations. Sllight digression - the words were a little small but i found myself reading for hours so it isnt as bad as some books nowadays. Maybe a spoiler alert from now on… Such a pity people who don't know these things assume this that and judge Prince Phillip and his family wrongly. I am talking about his German connection and ww2. Well i hope people who judge, get judged the same way they judge others. Also I find nowadays people are very good at judging people of the past on knowledge we know now. This is so unfair and it is like putting someone on trial because there is new evidence but this evidence was not known to them at the time, so how could they know different. Maybe one day these people who try those of the past will be tried themselves for damaging the planet by driving cars!!! Eg: Even as late as the 1940s people of Europe, even the world, didn’t know for sure, or ignored, what the Nazis were up to, probably because it was too dreadful to believe anyone could be so evil. So, you have to look at the times. This is an important thing to say, because certainly in the 1920s, 1930s and even into the early 1940s, Europe and the world didn't know what Hitler's plan was, so it is reasonable someone would join his army SS etc in the 1920s, wouldn’t know this, they were just joining their nations army as anyone would,- but when they find out what is going on, they try to do something about it. Many did this and were killed. If you did anything against Hitler you risked death. So knowing the above, His sisters married German officers, long before the rise of Nazism and before Europe, and England, so certainly long before his family, knew of the evils and dangers. But, when one of his sisters husbands found out how bad Hitler was he was part of the plot to kill Hitler! Much of Prince Phillips relatives, sisters, mother, stayed in Germany during the war, but risked death in fighting secretly against the Nazis in various ways. His mum, such a brave, courageous lady, who lived simply giving what she had to those starving etc, hiding Jewish people saving their lives, i am glad she was honoured after the war. His brother in law by plotting against Hitler obviously risked death too, as did his sister. Then Prince Phillips relatives who were sent to extermination camps. Yes this book tells us so many things we didn’t know which show us his family were honourable and brave. Another thing I remember is how his father wanted to go back to his mother, but couldn’t because of the war, and the reason family couldn’t get to the funeral. These were different times, there was a war on so people couldn’t do some of the basic things people nowadays take for granted. But it is because of this we have our freedoms. So yes this book gives us a fascinating insight into his family, which makes me want to research more. But then it goes on to how he met our Queen and so on…. This is such a well written book, really easy to read and understand, telling alsorts of information re Prince Phillips naval career. I really enjoyed reading it, not finished it yet… but I come away with the impression of a man who gave his life in service to his country, England (now known as Great Britain). I have the deepest respect for him. And his humour, I loved his humour, again a product of his time, my time, and lets be honest – the world would be boring if we all liked the same things, such as jokes. We are all different, laugh at different things. I laughed at his jokes. Those who criticize Prince Phillip for this because they take offence, probably say and watch things that I find deeply offensive, so please don’t judge Prince Phillip or others. I’m sorry this review is long but it shows how well written the book is, drawing you into the stories and making you want to know more, and obviously lots of the things a person may know the basics, but this book goes into such depth, I am really glad it gives people the opportunity to read the true stories. I come away with a new respect for Prince Phillip, for his dedication to duty and despite tragic losses, he kept going, as many obviously did, bravely, during ww2.

An excellent biography of the young Prince who I consider is a great but often underated asset to his time.

I bought this book for a gift. The person who read it enjoyed the stories a lot. Well written. What a prince. Il a vecu !

Ah what a man !!! Excellent book depicting what prince philip went through his early life .I guess this book did justice to his character .

Not a dish fit for the Queen. he improved with age, the bastard!.