Prince Philip’s Heartbreaking Confession Revealed After Milestone 98th Birthday

Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, once made a heartbreaking confession about aging that was revealed in an interview published after he reached a milestone birthday. The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated his 98th year of life on June 10.

In an article for The Daily Telegraph, it was revealed that the duke once spoke openly on the topic of growing older with grace, but made this shocking statement about facing his own mortality following the centenary of his late mother-in-law, the Queen Mother, in 2000.

The duke revealed at that time that he could not think of anything worse than reaching his 100th year. He said at the event, as reported by The Daily Telegraph, that he had “no desire whatsoever” to live to the age of 100.

The royal made the admission when he was just 79-years-old. He then joked, per the interview, that he could “not imagine anything worse. Bits of me are falling off already.”

The duke maintains a steady presence in the royal clan. He and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, have been married for 72 years. The couple tied the knot on November 20, 1947. Prior to marrying, Prince Philip went by the name of Philip Mountbatten. Hence, the nod to Prince Harry’s infant son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who took his grandfather’s surname upon his birth.

He officially retired from royal duties in 2017 after 65 years of service to the monarchy. CNN reported Prince Philip conducted more than 22,000 solo engagements and delivered nearly 5,500 speeches during his service.

Prince Philip made news in January of this year when he was involved in a car crash while behind the wheel near the Sandringham estate of his wife. He had an accident with a car that had two passengers and a child. One woman broke her wrist in the crash but thankfully, the other two passengers were not injured. After the accident, the duke turned in his license and no longer operates a vehicle.

CNN reported that the duke would not face any charges in the incident. They reported the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement which read, “We have decided that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute.”

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip met when she was just 13-years-old at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in 1939. The couple became secretly engaged in 1946 but didn’t announce their betrothal until Elizabeth was 21-years-old. Their engagement was officially announced in July 1947.

Town & Country reported that the ring Prince Philip gave his future wife was originally part of a tiara that was owned by his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter. She allowed the tiara to be dismantled so Philip could create the ring of Elizabeth’s dreams.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth have four children: Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward. The couple shares eight grandchildren as well as eight great-grandchildren.