Happy Birthday Prince Philip: Facts About the Oldest Man in British Royal Family History

As today marks the 92th birthday of Prince Philip, IBTimes UK looks at some lesser-known facts of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Born in 1921, Prince Philip is the oldest-ever male member of the British royal family. He became the longest serving consort in British history when he out-lived Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, who died in 1818 at the age of 74.

Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947. Two thousand guests were invited and 200 million people around the world listened to the ceremony on the radio.

Both Prince Philip and the Queen are great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria. The Queen is a direct descendent of Queen Victoria's eldest son, Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII). The Duke is descended from Queen Victoria's second daughter, Princess Alice, the third child of Queen Victoria.

Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy in 1939. During the Second World War, he served in the British forces, while two of his brothers-in-law, Prince Christopher of Hesse and Berthold, Margrave of Baden, fought on the opposing German side.

Prince Philip abandoned his career in the navy in 1953, after 14 years of service. During his tenure, he was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, and appointed Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force.

Prince Philip is the only person, so far, to have won both the horse teams class (1983) and the pony teams class (1988) at the Lowther Horse Driving Trials.

He frequently invites sporting friends to the Royal Family's 20,000-acre Norfolk estate at Sandringham. His shooting parties are estimated to have killed about 150,000 pheasants over the last two decades. He provoked an outcry by declaring shooting "an intelligent leisure activity" for children.

The Duke was instrumental in creating the Windsor Farm Shop, which was opened in 2001. It sells produce, such as beef, lamb, pork, poultry and eggs from the Windsor Estate.

He is patron of some 800 organisations, particularly focused on the environment, industry, sport, and education. He served as UK President of the World Wildlife Fund from 1961 to 1982, International President from 1981, and President Emeritus from 1996. He is patron of The Work Foundation and has served as Chancellor of the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Salford, and Wales.

At the beginning of 1981, Philip wrote to his eldest son, Charles, counselling him to make up his mind to either propose to Lady Diana Spencer or break off their courtship. Charles proposed to Diana in February. They married six months later.