Prince Philip, reportedly, had a heartbreaking and traumatic childhood after his sister, Princess Cecilie died in a plane crash.
According to New Idea, Princess Cecilie was terrified of flying so she avoided it at all costs. But whenever she had no other choice but to fly, she would wear an all-black ensemble.
On one occasion, Princess Cecilie boarded the plane from Germany to London while she was heavily pregnant to attend the wedding of her brother, Prince Ludwig.
Their flight took off on Nov. 16 and Princess Cecilie was joined by her husband and two children. Her youngest daughter, Johanna was unable to join their on the flight because she was still too young.
According to reports, the weather in Germany was good during take-off but it drastically changed midway during the flight. As the fog made it difficult for the flight to continue, the pilot tried to make an emergency landing.
However, the plane emerged from the clouds and clipped a factory chimney, which resulted in the tearing off of a wing and losing an engine. All of the 11 people on board the plane died.
According to reports, emergency workers were devastated to find a newborn baby among the casualties. And they concluded that Princess Cecilie must have given birth while she was on the plane.
Prince Philip and Princess Cecilie’s family and friends back in London at the wedding were unaware of what just happened. The nuptials continued but they soon learned the tragic news.
Prince Ludwig and his wife, Margaret immediately flew to Ostend to recover the bodies of their deceased loved ones. Princess Cecilie’s funeral took place a few days later in Germany.
Years later, Prince Philip, reportedly, walked behind the coffins of his mother following her death. Johanna, the surviving daughter of Princess Cecilie was adopted by Prince Ludwig and Margaret, but she passed away two years later.
In the Netflix series The Crown, it was revealed that Princess Cecilie was supposed to stay in Germany to tend to her younger brother, Prince Philip. But the Duke of Edinburgh stayed at his boarding school because of a series of punishments.
As such, Princess Cecilie had the free time to go to London to attend her brother’s wedding.
In the series, Prince Philip’s dad blamed him for his sister’s death. However, royal historian Hugo Vickers said that this didn’t happen in real life.
“This is a truly shocking invention since Prince Philip had nothing to do with his sister’s air flight to Britain. He was in no way responsible for the accident. It is very harsh and unfair to Prince Philip who is still living with this tragedy,” he told Daily Mail.