Long before he became the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, grew up surrounded by four sisters whose lives were marked by exile, war, and heartbreaking tragedy. Their stories were largely pushed into the shadows of royal history. Yet, each sister played a powerful role in the turbulent years that shaped Philip's early life.
Today, their forgotten legacy reveals a dramatic chapter of royal history the world almost overlooked.
### Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark
Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark was the firstborn child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. She entered the world on April 18th, 1905, in Athens during a period when the Greek monarchy was still struggling to maintain stability in a country marked by political upheaval and military conflict.
As the eldest of five children, including her younger brother Prince Philip, Margarita's early life was shaped by both privilege and uncertainty. Her childhood unfolded in a turbulent era for Greece. The monarchy was repeatedly challenged by political factions, military defeats, and shifting alliances during the early 20th century.
When the Greek royal family was forced into exile in the early 1920s following the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War and the collapse of the monarchy, Margarita was still a teenager. The family fled Greece under dramatic circumstances, leaving behind their homeland and possessions. They spent years moving between different European countries, living in temporary residences, and relying on the support of relatives scattered throughout royal houses across the continent.
This period of displacement had a profound influence on Margarita and her siblings. The children grew up speaking several languages and adapting quickly to new surroundings, a necessity for exiled royals who had to rely on family connections rather than a stable national base.
In 1931, Margarita married Gottfried, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the head of the German princely house of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Through this marriage, she became Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and settled primarily in Germany. The match reflected a common pattern among European royal families where marriages often linked various aristocratic houses across national borders.
Margarita and Gottfried eventually had several children, and for the most part, she lived a quiet family life on the Hohenlohe estates. Yet, the political climate of the 1930s and 1940s inevitably affected the family. Like many German aristocrats of his generation, Gottfried served in the German army during the Second World War.
Over time, he became associated with conservative circles that opposed the regime of Adolf Hitler, particularly after the war turned against Germany.
After the war ended, anti-German sentiment remained strong in Britain and across much of Europe. This became painfully clear in 1947 when Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Princess Elizabeth and heir to the British throne. Because Margarita and her sisters had married German princes and because several of their husbands had served in the German military, they were not invited to the wedding.
The decision reflected the sensitive political atmosphere only two years after the end of World War II, but it was nevertheless a difficult moment for the family.
Despite that painful exclusion, relations between Margarita and the British royal family gradually improved in the years that followed. Margarita later attended important royal occasions in Britain, including the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, demonstrating that the earlier strain had softened with time.
Throughout the second half of her life, Margarita remained largely outside the public spotlight. Unlike her brother Philip, who became one of the most visible members of the British royal family, she preferred a more private existence centered on her family and estates in Germany. She died in April 1981 in Bavaria at the age of 76.
### Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark
Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark was born on May 30th, 1906, into a royal family whose fortunes would soon be shaken by political turmoil. She was the second daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.
Like her siblings, including her younger brother Prince Philip, her childhood was shaped by events far beyond her control. Theodora's early years in Greece were short-lived as the political situation surrounding the monarchy deteriorated. Following Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War and the subsequent collapse of royal authority in the early 1920s, the Greek royal family was forced into exile.
Theodora, still a teenager at the time, suddenly found herself living far from her birthplace. The family fled Greece under tense circumstances and began a life of constant movement across Europe, relying heavily on relatives from other royal houses. This period of displacement created a fragmented upbringing for the children.
The siblings were often separated, educated in different countries, and raised within various branches of their extended family network.
In 1931, Theodora married Berthold, Margrave of Baden, the head of the House of Baden. Through this union, she became Margravine of Baden, joining one of Germany's historic noble families. The couple made their home primarily at Schloss Salem in southern Germany, a large estate that had long served as a center of aristocratic life in the region.
Together, Theodora and Berthold had several children, and much of her life was devoted to family and the management of household affairs. Although the wider European royal network often attracted media attention, Theodora herself remained largely outside the public spotlight.
Theodora's adult life unfolded during one of the most turbulent periods in European history. During the 1930s and 1940s, Germany experienced the dramatic rise of the regime led by Adolf Hitler. Historians have noted that Theodora and her husband were not directly associated with the Nazi Party, a distinction that later helped distance them from some of the controversies that surrounded other relatives within the broader European aristocracy.
After 1945, Germany entered a long period of reconstruction, and the traditional roles of noble families gradually evolved. Theodora continued to live primarily at Schloss Salem, where she maintained her private family life while Europe rebuilt itself politically and economically. During these post-war decades, she watched from afar as her younger brother Philip's life became increasingly prominent on the international stage.
Princess Theodora died in October 1969 in Germany at the age of 63. Her death came during a particularly poignant moment for the family, as it occurred only weeks before the passing of her mother, Princess Alice. The close timing of the two losses marked the end of a significant chapter in the family's history.
### Princess Cecilia of Greece and Denmark
Princess Cecilia of Greece and Denmark was born on June 22nd, 1911, into a royal family whose history would be shaped by both privilege and profound upheaval. She was the third daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.
When the royal family was forced to flee Greece after political turmoil and military defeat, Cecilia was still very young. The family left their homeland under dramatic circumstances, beginning years of displacement across Europe. During this period, the children were often separated, living with relatives or attending schools in different countries.
Accounts from relatives and historians suggest that Cecilia had a warm and cheerful personality that made a strong impression on her younger brother. Philip, who was several years younger, reportedly admired her lively nature and kindness during their childhood years.
By the early 1930s, Cecilia's life took a more settled direction through marriage. In 1931, she wed Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse, the eldest son of Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse. Through this marriage, Cecilia became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, joining one of Germany's historic ruling families.
For several years, their life appeared stable and promising. Cecilia and Georg Donatus had children and were widely regarded as a young aristocratic couple representing the next generation of their house.
That promising future, however, was shattered in one of the most devastating tragedies to affect a European royal family in the 20th century. In November 1937, Cecilia and her family prepared to travel to London to attend the wedding of Georg Donatus's younger brother. At the time, Cecilia was 8 months pregnant.
Despite the advanced stage of her pregnancy, she boarded a plane together with her husband, two of their young sons, and several other family members. The flight ended in catastrophe. As the aircraft attempted to land in heavy fog near Ostend, it struck a factory chimney and crashed.
The accident destroyed the plane and killed everyone on board. Among the victims were Cecilia, her husband Georg Donatus, their children, and the unborn baby she was carrying.
The tragedy was particularly devastating for the surviving members of the family. Cecilia's younger brother Philip, who was only 16 years old at the time, was deeply affected by the loss. Despite his youth, he traveled to Germany to attend the funeral.
Photographs from the event show the teenage prince dressed in a black coat, solemnly walking behind the coffins of his sister and her family in a long funeral procession.
For Philip, the experience became one of the most traumatic moments of his early life. By that time, he had already endured exile from Greece, the breakdown of his parents' marriage, and long periods of separation from his family while attending schools abroad. The sudden and violent loss of Cecilia, one of the siblings to whom he had felt closest, added another layer of emotional hardship during his formative years.
Princess Cecilia's life was tragically brief, ending at the age of only 26. Yet her story remains one of the most poignant and haunting episodes in the history of modern European royalty.
### Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark
Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was born on June 26th, 1914, the youngest child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Her birth came at a moment when Europe was on the brink of enormous upheaval, as the First World War began only weeks later.
Although she was born into the Greek royal household, Sophie spent little of her early childhood in Greece. The political turmoil that followed the Greco-Turkish War led to the collapse of the Greek monarchy in the early 1920s, forcing the royal family into exile. Still a young child, Sophie left her homeland with her parents and siblings as they fled the country under dramatic circumstances.
In 1930, Sophie married Prince Christoph of Hesse. Through this marriage, she became part of the prominent German aristocratic House of Hesse. At the time, Germany was undergoing dramatic political changes, as the influence of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement was rapidly expanding.
Prince Christoph served as an officer in the German armed forces during the Second World War, specifically within the Luftwaffe. During the early years of the war, he held positions connected to German intelligence and aviation administration. His role placed the family close to the political and military structures of Nazi Germany, a situation that later became controversial once the war ended.
In October 1943, tragedy struck when Christoph was killed in an aircraft crash in Italy while returning from a military mission. His death left Sophie a widow with several young children at a time when Europe was still engulfed in war.
The political environment surrounding Sophie's first marriage would later create significant complications for the family. After the war ended in 1945, these connections became deeply controversial, particularly in Britain where public sentiment against Germany remained strong. This atmosphere directly affected Sophie and her sisters when their younger brother Philip prepared to marry Queen Elizabeth II, who was then Princess Elizabeth and heir to the British throne.
In 1947, Philip's sisters were not invited to the wedding ceremony in London. The decision was largely influenced by the political sensitivities of the post-war period and the German ties of their husbands. For Sophie, the exclusion was particularly painful as it meant missing one of the most important moments in her brother's life.
Despite these tensions, Sophie gradually rebuilt her life in the years following the war. In 1946, she remarried Prince George William of Hanover, a member of another historic German royal family. Through this second marriage, she entered the House of Hanover and went on to have additional children, eventually raising a large and extended family.
As the decades passed and Europe moved further away from the shadow of World War II, Sophie's position within the network of European aristocracy stabilized. She maintained connections with relatives across various royal houses and occasionally attended family gatherings and royal events.
Unlike her siblings, whose lives were often cut short by tragedy or illness, Sophie lived well into old age. She witnessed enormous changes in Europe, from the collapse of monarchies and the devastation of war to the rebuilding of the continent and the transformation of royal families into largely symbolic institutions. She also lived long enough to see her younger brother Philip become one of the most recognizable royal figures in the world through his marriage to Queen Elizabeth II and his decades of public service in Britain.
Princess Sophie died in 2001 at the age of 87. By the time of her passing, she had become the last surviving member of Prince Philip's immediate family, outliving all of her siblings by many years. Her life, spanning nearly the entire 20th century, reflected the dramatic transformations that reshaped Europe and its royal families, from exile and war to the quieter, more modern role of aristocracy in the contemporary world.