It’s been almost a week since the unfortunate death of Duke of Edinburgh and nowadays all kinds of images and anecdotes of the husband Regina Isabel. With a life documented in detail over the years, it was not surprising that there is an extensive collection of images and portraits in which the evolution of a man dedicated to service was seen. From those pictures of a blond baby in Greece, the little boy growing up in various boarding schools where he excelled in arts and sports, his impressive naval career, to his last years of active service, of course, without missing the most special. photos that tell of his relationship with the queen for over seven decades. Among these images is one, the last official portrait of the duke that was painted, at that time, under the pretext of commemorating his retirement from public life in 2017.
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At that time, a gallant Prince Philip posed in the corridors of Windsor Castle, the very place where he took his last breath. Australian artist Ralph Heimans managed to capture each of the duke’s signature stamps and, after Philip’s passing, shared some details behind his various meetings with the prince. For this portrait it was decided that the best place would be the large hall in the private rooms he shared with the queen.
On his website, the Australian went into detail about where the duke had decided to pose. Although one might think that this was an ordinary corridor or that it was chosen for an aesthetic aspect, the reality is that this point of residence had a special significance for the Duke. As the artist revealed, both Felipe’s mother and grandmother were born in a room at the end of the corridor known as the Tapestry Room..
Another curiosity that can be seen in this portrait in which nothing was left to chance, is the painting next to him on the wall known as the Queen Victoria Family, painted in 1887 by Tuxen, in which you can see Princess Alice – Felipe’s mother – and her grandmother, Princess Victoria, in the company of Queen Victoria, seated in the Green Room – the same setting as the official portrait of Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
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In an interview with the podcast Sky News Daily, the artist recounted how they spent their fun hours posing, in which the prince remembered his own work in front of the easel. It is known that, over the years, the duke liked to paint and that it was not unusual in his time at sea, he put his canvas on the British deck to paint the sea and the landscape. “His position was actually a lot of fun. As you can imagine, it was full of humor, but underneath was the sense of seriousness of the portrait. And I think he was very involved in the process; he liked it very much and was very talkative after that, so it was a really pleasant experience, as well as an extraordinary privilege, ”said Heimans.
How the Duke was linked to Queen Victoria
Despite being born in Greece, Felipe’s blood was British, German and Danish – which was also documented in the portrait of the Elephant Order given to him by that Royal House. The prince was linked to Queen Victoria by his mother who was the great-granddaughter of the mythical monarch. Princess Alice, the duke’s mother, was named in honor of her grandmother, Queen Victoria’s daughter, so it was not uncommon for the prince’s mother and grandmother to have been born in Windsor Castle.
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