APRIL 20, 2019
Prince Philip, 97, Becomes Third Oldest Royal in All of British History – Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – A royal congratulations are in order!
On Friday, Prince Philip became the third oldest royal in British history, reaching 35,742 days of age.
The 97-year-old husband of reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II has since surpassed the previous record-holder, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone — who was one of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters, according to ITV. The royal was 97 years and 10 months at the time of her death in 1981.
The record for oldest British royal is currently held by Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who lived to 102, followed by Queen Elizabeth, who died when she was 101.
Though Philip still has a few years to go before he surpasses the milestone, the royal is the oldest living male British royal in history — an honor which he achieved in 2013, according to Metro.
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth | Andrew Milligan – WPA Pool /Getty Images
Additionally, according to fan account hm.queenelizabeth, Philip is also the longest living descendant of Queen Victoria.
The royal is set to celebrate his 98th birthday on June 10.
Philip, who celebrated his 71st wedding anniversary with Queen Elizabeth last November, has been retired from public life since May 2017, carrying out his final engagement in August of that year.
A short statement issued by Buckingham Palace read, “His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year. In taking this decision, The Duke has the full support of The Queen.”
Earlier this year, Philip was involved in a car accident near the royal family’s Sandringham Estate.
In January, Philip overturned his Land Rover following a collision with a Kia driven by a 28-year-old woman with a 9-month-old baby in the backseat.
The driver suffered cuts to her knee, while a 46-year-old woman sitting in the passenger seat broke her wrist. The baby was uninjured, local police in Norfolk said.
Buckingham Palace announced in a statement last Saturday that Philip had “taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving license.” It was subsequently announced that the royal would not face charges over the accident.
Friend and biographer Gyles Brandreth previously told PEOPLE that Philip would reluctantly accept that he has to give up driving in public if he was advised to do so.
“He is a pragmatist and a realist and I’m sure he will accept that while possibly muttering under his breath,” Brandreth told PEOPLE.
Courtesy/Source: People
