Britain’s Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has been shocked by revelations his mother may have been born illegitimately.
The validity of the marriage between the duke’s grandparents has been brought into question after notes from a 1955 British government cabinet meeting detailing the revelation, which was initially covered-up, were released.
The documents concern the government’s discussion over a court case involving Prince Ernest of Hanover, a distant German cousin of Prince Philip and his now wife Queen Elizabeth, who wanted British citizenship.
During the case it emerged Philip’s grandmother Britain’s Princess Victoria and her German fiancé Prince Louis of Battenberg had not sought royal approval for their 1884 marriage from the ruling monarch, who at that time was Queen Victoria.
Under the British Royal Marriages Act of 1772 this meant the union was legally void, rendering their daughter Princess Alice illegitimate.
Minutes of the meeting, which were later censored, document the then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill telling ministers: ‘This does not affect the Duke of Edinburgh, but his mother.’ The minutes then note Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George’s fears.
He said: ‘Doubt will be cast on validity of the marriage of Prince Philip’s grandparents Prince Louis of Battenberg (who later changed his family name to Mountbatten) and Princess Victoria, a favourite grandchild of Queen Victoria.’ The notes were taken by Sir Norman Brook, the cabinet secretary, and have now been published on the UK’s National Archives website.
© bangshowbiz.biz
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