Prince Philip was used as a pawn to fulfil his uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten’s “dynastic ambitions”, according to a new royal documentary. Channel 4‘s ‘Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown’ explored the Duke of Edinburgh’s developing relationship with the Queen. Experts discussed claims that their initial meetings may have been “engineered”.
Narrator Jane Whittenshaw told viewers: “The meeting was likely orchestrated by Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, a friend of King George VI.
“He had dynastic ambitions of his own.”
Historian Dominic Sandbrook explained: “There was always this sense that Mountbatten was trying to take over the Royal Family.
“That Philip was his weapon, that Philip was the sort of Trojan horse through which Mountbatten’s influence would become felt.”
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Author Clive Irving added: “Mountbatten set out very early on to engineer the meeting of Philip and Elizabeth.”
According to documents from the time, obtained by the documentary, his efforts seemed to be paying off.
The diary of politician Sir Henry Channon revealed insider gossip on Lord Mountbatten’s efforts to secure the union of his nephew with then-Princess Elizabeth.
The record showed that Philip was touted as a royal husband as early as 1941.
Philip spent the war fighting in the Navy, and was among the first British officers to enter Tokyo Bay following the surrender of Japan in 1945.
When on leave, he was able to see a…
