Prince Philip’s birth certificate is by the English publication The Mail on Sunday – after being buried for almost a century in an archive near the Greek villa where he was born in Corfu, Greece.
The document was written by hand in Katharevousa Greek, a purist version of modern Greek, written by a priest named Spiriodon Tryfonas on the island of Corfu.
Prince Philip was baptized in 1922 in the Greek Orthodox Church in Corfu in the Chuch of St. George.
It has been collecting dust for decades in a municipal archive housed in an old barracks of the British army, housed in the imposing Venetian fortress overlooking the old city of Corfu.
But yesterday, a staff member agreed to give The Mail on Sunday access to the textbook in which the prince’s birth was recorded.
It describes how Prince Andrew of Greece, Philip’s father, handed over a baby boy to the priest, who he said was born on May 28, 1921 at 10:00.
Philip was actually born on June 10, 1921, but according to experts, his birth was registered according to the old Julian calendar, which was still used in Greece in the early 20th century.
The document states that the mother of the baby was’ Her Royal Princess Aliki ‘(Alice), whose father Louis, Prince of Battenberg’ was born in Windsor Castle.
The Greek birth certificate (translated)
“In Corfu, on October 24, 1921, I, the undersigned priest of the Church of Our Christ, the Savior, located on the grounds of the Royal Estate Mon Repos, declare that His Royal Highness Prince Andreas (Andrew) from Greece, 39 years old, son of our late King George I, born in Athens and living in Corfu, appeared before me.
He presented me with a newborn male baby and said that he was born on Friday 28 May 1921 at 10:00 in her home as her royal princess Aliki (Alice), 36 years old, daughter of Louis, Prince of Battenberg in Windsor Castle.
At his baptism, the newborn was named Philippos (Philip) by his godparents, namely Her Royal Majesty Queen Mother Olga, represented by Her Highness Princess Olga, daughter of His Royal Highness Prince Nikolaos of Greece, and the Congregation of the Corfiates. . unanimously by mayor mr. Alexandros S. Kokotos and mr. Stylianos I. Maniarizis, president of the municipal council.
The registration deed was compiled in the presence of the witness, Theodoros Chrysovitsianos, son of Nikolaos, 45 years old, doctor, born in Corfu, and Konstantinos Alamanos, son of Pericles, 39 years old, lawyer, born in Corfu, and both municipal councils. .
The registration deed was legally signed by me, the appearing and the witnesses. ”
Prince Philip (of Greece) disconnected. What you may not know about his Greek background and his Greek connections