【原文】下文摘錄自香港《文匯報》4月10日︰

英國（United Kingdom）白金漢宮（Buckingham Palace）4月9日宣布，王夫菲臘親王（Prince Philip）與世長辭，享年99歲，當地主要建築物下半旗致哀。菲臘親王與英女王伊利沙伯二世（Queen Elizabeth II）結婚74載，是英國史上保持君主配偶（consort）身份最長時間的人。作為英女王「背後的男人」，以幽默見稱的菲臘親王一直陪伴妻子經歷王室起起跌跌，包括戴安娜王妃（Princess Diana）致命車禍、兒子安德魯王子（Prince Andrew）近年的性醜聞，以及孫兒哈里王子（Prince Harry）夫婦跟王室疏遠等事件。

菲臘親王和94歲的英女王在新冠疫情封城（lockdown）期間，大多數時間留在溫莎堡（Windsor Castle），僅由少數侍從負責照護，從而把染疫風險降至最低，兩人在今年1月由家庭醫生接種新冠疫苗。菲臘親王2月因感到不適而入院治療，3月完成心臟手術後出院。

白金漢宮4月9日發聲明（statement）稱，菲臘親王當日早上於溫莎堡安詳辭世，英女王將哀悼（mourning）8天，喪禮將於溫莎堡舉行，遺體將長眠溫莎堡浮若閣摩爾宮（Frogmore Cottage）。英國首相約翰遜（Boris Johnson）表示，菲臘親王贏得英國、英聯邦國家（Commonwealth）和全球幾代人的愛戴（affection）。

菲臘本為希臘（Greece）王子，並擁有丹麥（Denmark）王室血統，但他年幼時隨父親流亡海外，先後於德國（Germany）、法國（France）和英國接受教育。1939年二戰（World War II）爆發後，18歲的菲臘轉讀皇家海軍學院（Royal Naval College），並認識當年參觀學院、年僅13歲的英女王，兩人當時暗生情愫，菲臘其後加入海軍。

英女王本來可在17歲時與菲臘結婚，但父母認為她年紀尚小，最後兩人在1947年結婚。菲臘為迎娶英女王，決定入籍英國，並捨棄希臘和丹麥的王室頭銜與繼承權，他婚後被冊封為愛丁堡公爵（Duke of Edinburgh）。

菲臘婚後繼續參與軍旅，直至英女王在1953年登基，菲臘才結束軍人生涯，跟隨英女王履行王室公務，四出訪問。雖然菲臘曾與其他女性傳出緋聞（scandal），甚至有報道指英女王夫婦不和，但這些謠傳一直未經證實（unsubstantiated），而英女王曾形容菲臘一直是她多年來的「力量和支柱」（"pillar of strength"）。

菲臘在2017年因年事已高，決定退休（retire）卸下公務，據白金漢宮估計，菲臘親王從1952年截至2017年退休，共出席2.2萬場海內外活動。

The man behind the Queen – Prince Philip dies aged 99

【譯文】Buckingham Palace of the United Kingdom announced on 9 April that Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, had died aged 99, with the flags of the major local buildings flying at half-mast. With a marriage with Queen for almost 74 years, Prince Philip was the longest serving royal consort in British history. As "the man behind the Queen", Prince Philip, known for his sense of humor, had been accompanying his wife through the ups and downs of the royal family, including Princess Diana's fatal car accident, their son Prince Andrew's sex scandals in recent years, and grandson Prince Harry and his wife's alienation from the royal family.

Prince Philip and the 94-year-old Queen stayed in Windsor Castle most of the time during the lockdown of the city because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with only a few attendants taking care of them, thus minimizing the risk of infection. They had both been vaccinated against COVID-19 by a royal household doctor in January this year. Prince Philip was then admitted to hospital in February after feeling unwell, and discharged after undergoing a heart surgery in March.

A statement issued by Buckingham Palace on 9 April said that Prince Philip passed away peacefully that morning at Windsor Castle, and the Queen would enter an eight-day period of mourning following his death. The funeral would be held at Windsor, with Prince Philip's body to be buried in Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Prince Philip earned the affection of generations in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world.

Philip was originally a Greek prince and a member of the Danish royal families, but was forced into exile with his father when he was young, and received education in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the 18-year-old Philip transferred to the Royal Naval College and met the then 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth who visited the college. They fell in love at that time and Philip later joined the Royal Navy as a cadet.

The Queen could have married Philip at the age of 17, but deemed to be young by her parents, they announced their engagement finally in 1947. Philip decided to become a British citizen and renounced his own hereditary title of Prince of Greece and Denmark in order to marry the Queen, and he was given the title Duke of Edinburgh after his marriage.

Philip continued his military career and service after the marriage until Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne in 1953. Since then, he followed the Queen to perform royal duties and visits. Although Philip had involved in sex scandals with other women, and the couple was even alleged to be having relationship problems, but the rumors were unsubstantiated, while the Queen had once described Philip as her "pillar of strength" over the years.

Philip decided to officially retire from royal duties in 2017 due to his old age. According to the estimates by Buckingham Palace, Philip was thought to have undertaken 22,000 domestic and overseas engagements from 1952 to 2017.●龐嘉儀

Q&A

1. 英女王夫婦於哪裡舉行皇家婚禮？

2. 菲臘親王歸化為英國公民後，採用了什麼姓氏？

3. 承上題，英女王夫婦後裔的姓氏定為什麼？

4. 英女王夫婦曾於何時首次訪華？

Answer

1. 西敏宮（Palace of Westminster）

2. 蒙巴頓（Mountbatten）

3. 蒙巴頓–溫莎（Mountbatten-Windsor）

4. 1986年