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Prince Philip’s naval uniform to go on display marking a painful anniversary

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PORTSMOUTH, England (CU)_A naval uniform and the admiral’s cap worn by Prince Philip, the late husband of Queen Elizabeth, is expected to go on display this week. The items will be part of an exhibition that will be held at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) in Portsmouth.

The uniform worn by the late-duke will go on display for the first time to mark his first death anniversary on Saturday (9 April). Although he ended his active naval career back in July 1951, Prince Philip continued to have a close relationship for over a half a decade since then. He started his naval career in May 1939, at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He rose through the ranks over the next few years and became one of the youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be made First Lieutenant as well as second-in-command of a ship in 1942. Five years later, renounced his rights to the Greek throne in February 1947 and became a British subject, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.

Shortly before his wedding in November that year, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich. In 1952, Prince Philip was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Cadet Force, Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps and Air Commodore-in-Chief of the Air Training Corps, before being promoted to the rank of commander in the Royal Navy that same year. For several decades since then, the Duke of Edinburgh continued to have a close relationship with the military, with his final solo royal engagement being an event with Royal Marines in August 2017.

In addition to Duke of Edinburgh’s naval uniform, the exhibition at the NMRN will also feature photographs depicting the Queen’s many engagements as ceremonial head of the Royal Navy. “It captures the wide variety of duties, from the launching of ships, visits to personnel and the presentation of Queen’s Colours to world tours on the Royal Yacht, fleet reviews and street parties,” a spokesperson for the Museum said, adding that as the daughter and granddaughter of monarchs who served in the Royal Navy, Her Majesty has a deeper, more personal connection to the force.

“She has experienced the same emotions felt by every member of a naval family and paid testimony to this at the commissioning ceremony of HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2017,” the spokesperson said. “Photographs exploring the Queen’s long and loyal service and a recently acquired naval uniform belonging to the Duke of Edinburgh displayed for the first time alongside his admiral’s cap, add an intimate touch to the exhibition.”

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