A suicide, a bankrupt and an adulterer: The perils of being one of Prince Philip’s 50+ godchildren as the Duke becomes a godfather AGAIN at 97

Even at this late stage in the game, Prince Philip takes huge pleasure in defying convention. Who says that at 97 you can’t become a godfather again?

Recently, he did just that, hauling himself into a helicopter to make the 200-mile journey from his Sandringham roost to Romsey in Hampshire to stand at the font in Romsey Abbey for six-month-old Inigo Hooper, his first cousin three times removed.

The Queen was at Windsor taking tea with President Donald Trump. But for Philip this mission was more important.

Inigo, son of Lady Alexandra Hooper, 35, and her husband Tom, will one day inherit Broadlands, Philip’s Hampshire home-from-home since he first came to Britain, and for decades the stately pile of his uncle, Earl Mountbatten.

The Godfather: Prince Philip, pictured at the christening of his niece in 1957, has recently become a godparent once again 

It’s possible, but by no means certain, that Inigo may one day inherit the famous Mountbatten title — thus the journey was doubly important for Philip, so strong are his family ties.

Most likely, the lad will be the last in the very long line of children for whom the Prince has been godfather over the past 75 years.

So who are they — and where are they now?

Among them was a Sixties pop star, one committed suicide in a car in California, there’s a Queen, an adulterer, a used car salesman, a science teacher, a bankrupt, a glass engraver and a university professor. Sadly, several have predeceased their godfather.

There’s no definitive record of how many godchildren Philip has — Buckingham Palace says it’s ‘a private matter’ — but there are probably in excess of 50. Here, then, is just a selection . . .

DUKE’S ‘LOVECHILD’

PROFESSOR MAX BOISOT b. 1943. Died 2011.

Max took the unprecedented step of issuing a statement in 1996 saying he was not Philip’s son.

His Greek cabaret star mother Helene Cordet’s lifetime closeness to Philip, the mystery over the identity of his father, and the fact that Philip helped pay his school fees at Gordonstoun led successive generations to believe that Max must have royal blood.

His father was Free French pilot Marcel Boisot. At the time, Helene’s husband was an Englishman and she refused to name Max’s father.

Marcel Boisot later became her second husband, but the royal rumours continued after Helene’s death in 1996.

Max set up the first business school in China and wrote a book on the Large Hadron Collider (the world’s largest particle accelerator). He died of cancer aged 67.

SIXTIES POP POPPET

LOUISE CORDET b. 1945. Aged 73.

Louise is Max Boisot’s sister. A pop star in the Sixties with a single hit, I’m Just A Baby, she toured with The Beatles, Roy Orbison and Gerry And The Pacemakers.

Gerry Marsden wrote Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying for her. She appeared in films such as Just For Fun — about teenagers setting up a political party — alongside DJ Jimmy Savile, but her showbiz career was over by the age of 20.

Married to a Greek national, she’s the mother of singer-songwriter Alexi Murdoch.

Soul sister: Louise Cordett, now 73, rose to fame in the Sixties with a successful career in pp music with her hit I’m Just A Baby

A TRAGIC SUICIDE 

NICKY PHILLIPS b. 1947. Died 1991.

As a young man, Philip was romantically linked with the glamorous aristocrat Gina Wernher, descendant of Russian royalty whose parents owned Luton Hoo, a stately home north of London.

However, she married ‘Bunnie’ Phillips, a lieutenant colonel in the Coldstream Guards, and asked Philip to be godfather to their first child, Nicky.

Tragically, Nicky committed suicide aged 43 after a failed property venture. Nicky’s sister Sacha, the Duchess of Abercorn, caused headlines after saying that she held hands and had a ‘passionate friendship’ with Philip, who was 25 years older than her.

Glamorous history: Nicky Phillips was romantically linked with the aristocrat Gina Wernher, a descendant of Russian royalty 

HANGED IN EFFIGY  

3rd EARL MOUNTBATTEN of BURMA b. 1947. Aged 70.

The grandson of Lord Mountbatten, he left his wife and Philip’s carriage-driving friend Penny Romsey — and the family stately home Broadlands — to run off with his Bahamian fashion designer mistress Jeannie Nuttall in 2010.

He returned home to find Penny had taken control of the estate.

Once, his effigy was hanged by Romsey residents opposed to plans to build a supermarket on his estate. His son and heir Nicholas, now Lord Romsey, is an ex-drug addict and unlikely to inherit Broadlands, though he will inherit the earldom.

If he has no children, Philip’s most recent godson, Inigo, may become Earl Mountbatten one day.

It’s believed the Broadlands house and estate will be inherited by the 3rd Earl Mountbatten’s daughter, Alexandra. His other daughter, Leonora, died aged five from cancer.


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SON OF A WAR HERO

PAUL BRANDRAM b. 1948. Aged 70.

Princess Katherine of Greece was born in the royal palace in Athens shortly after her grand-father, George I of Greece, was assassinated. Her three brothers all became King of Greece in turn and she was Philip’s first cousin.

She married British war hero Major Richard Brandram and took the lesser title of ‘Lady Katherine Brandram’. Their only son, Paul, forged a career in the City. His first wife was a lieutenant colonel’s daughter. He married again in 2009.

When his daughter, Alexandra, married last year, guests included King Constantine of Greece and Queen Sofia of Spain (Paul is uncle by marriage to both).

KINGLY CONNECTIONS

COLIN NEVILLE b. 1948. Aged 70.

HIS father, General Sir Robert Neville, was a long-standing friend of Earl Mountbatten. He was sent by postwar Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee to be governor of the Bahamas and was also aide-de-camp to George VI.

BITTER CUSTODY BATTLE

JULIE PARKER b. 1948. Aged 70.

Daughter of Philip’s close friend and later equerry, Commander Mike Parker. The two shipmates’ infamous ‘lost weekend’ in the late Fifties lasted five months as they sailed to Australia and back. 

Later, Parker admitted: ‘Of course we had fun, but never anything outrageous . . . There was always armfuls of girls.’ Their antics led to questions being asked in Parliament.

And another one! Julie Parker, the daughter of Philip’s close friend and later equerry, Commander Mike Parker, is among the Prince’s many godchildren 

Parker was forced to resign as Philip’s right-hand man when his marriage broke down. His wife fought for custody of Julie, then aged nine, and her elder brother.

In 1972, Julie married Timothy Buxton, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Knightsbridge. But after having two children, they divorced in 1986.

GORDON BROWN’S EX 

Case of the Ex: Princess Margareta dated former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown

PRINCESS MARGARETA of ROMANIA. b. 1949. Aged 69.

Her father, King Michael of Romania, was Philip’s cousin. British-educated, she was the lover for five years of future Labour PM Gordon Brown. She later went back to Romania and married actor Radu Duda, the son of a professor.

She now claims to be de facto Queen of Romania since her father’s 2017 death, though the country is a republic. She lives in Bucharest.

NOT SO CHURCHILLIAN 

5th LORD MOTTISTONE b. 1949. Died 2013.

His father had been the godson of Winston Churchill and the Duke of Windsor, but he himself had an unspectacular career in the financial service industry. Married twice, with five children.

USED CAR SALESMAN 

PHILIP HOWARD-JOHNSTON b. 1950. Aged 67.

Grandson of World War I hero, the 1st Earl Haig. A used car salesman running Howard-Johnston Cars in Edinburgh — ‘established since 1969 and with a strong commitment to customer satisfaction’.

REFLECTS GODS GLASS 

PHILIP LAWSON JOHNSTON b. 1950. Aged 67.

Son of 2nd Lord Luke, who for a time ran the beef paste Bovril business. Self-taught glass engraver based in Oxford with a royal warrant. Says he creates designs ‘that not only are pleasing to the eye and accurate in what they portray, but also reflect in some way the care and attention to detail of the Creator, as observed in the world around us’.

ART IS HER FOCUS 

PRINCESS MARIA TATIANA of YUGOSLAVIA. b. 1957. Aged 61.

Her great-grandmother was Princess Alice, Philip’s mother. Her father, Prince Andrej of Yugoslavia, married three times and committed suicide in a car in California in 1990, aged 60, after a complicated love-life.

Having married a furniture craftsman and trained at the London College Of Printing, Tania Thune-Larsen is now a landscape and fine art photographer living in Provence, France.

THE SECRET BLUEBLOOD 

PRINCE CHRISTOPHER of YUGOSLAVIA. b. 1960. Died 1994.

Tania’s brother, who was a science teacher on the Isle of Islay. Killed, aged 34, when his bike collided with a car after he had just returned from a weekend at Windsor Castle with his godfather, Philip. Keeping his title a secret, he was known to most people on Islay simply as Christopher George.

NOT THAT CAMILLA 

LADY CAMILLA HIPWOOD b. 1957. Aged 60.

Daughter of the 15th Earl of Westmorland, sometime Master of the Queen’s Horse. As Camilla Fane, she dated Prince Charles before marrying legendary polo player Howard Hipwood, but they later divorced. The Hipwoods’ daughter, Rose, was part of Prince Harry’s set and established a travel business. Her mother hates being confused with the other Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

Early days: Prince Charles pictured walking with Lady Camilla Hipwood in June 1977 

BANKRUPT FINANCIER 

DAVID GERARD LEIGH b. 1958. Aged 59.

His father played polo with Philip and was boss of the Guards Polo Club. David is an Eton-educated consultant based in Berkshire. Despite his financial experience, a personal bankruptcy order was issued against him in June. His niece, Laura, was Prince Harry’s first girlfriend.

A JOLLY GOOD SPORT 

THE HONORABLE PHILIP ASTOR b. 1959. Aged 59.

Jolly, fun-loving son of 2nd Viscount Astor of Hever, at 25 he inherited the Tillypronie sporting estate near Balmoral — described as a ‘gloriously Gothic extravaganza’ and built by the son of Queen Victoria’s physician. Married to journalist Justine Picardie, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar.

BACK IN THE LINE 

GEORGE, EARL OF ST. ANDREWS b. 1962. Aged 56.

First son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. His grandmother, Princess Marina, was Philip’s cousin. George served in the Diplomatic Service in New York and Budapest.

From 1988, when he married Catholic academic Sylvana Tomaselli, until 2015, when the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 became law, he was disbarred from any claim to the throne. The Act of Parliament restored his entitlement and he is 37th in line.

A CAMPAIGNER AGAINST BAD LANGUAGE  

ANNABEL COPE b. 1952. Aged 66.

Daughter of the Queen’s cousin, the recently deceased Margaret Rhodes. Was bridesmaid to Princess Margaret at her 1960 wedding to Lord Snowdon. Married twice.

In 2000, Annabel Cope (pictured) gave sanctuary in her Devon home to her brother, Simon Rhodes, when he and his family were forced out of Zimbabwe by Mugabe’s gangs.

In 2016, she launched a local ‘Swear That You Care’ campaign, asking people who broke their ‘no-cursing’ New Year resolutions to give money towards her Northam Lodge charity, which provides services for people with learning disabilities.

SON OF PHILIP’S WAR-TIME GIRLFRIEND  

9th LORD HENNIKER b. 1947. Aged 70

Before Philip married in 1947, the woman in his life was Canadian debutante Osla Benning, who worked at code-breaking HQ Bletchley Park during the war. They remained boyfriend and girlfriend throughout World War II.

In 1946, Osla married diplomat John Henniker-Major, later 8th Lord Henniker. Their son Mark (pictured), the present Lord Henniker, was Philip’s third godchild. He runs the 2,000-acre Thornham Estate in Suffolk. Osla died in 1974.

INSTAGRAM LOVE 

ASHLEY HICKS b. 1963. Aged 55.

Grandson of Earl Mountbatten through the Earl’s daughter, Lady Pamela Hicks. Author, architect and designer. Twice married, he met his second wife, fashionista Kata de Solis, via Instagram. Has his own line of fabric, a collection of carpets and created a collection of bed linen.

BLOOD FEUD

LADY HENRIETTA PURBRICK b. 1964. Aged 54.

Daughter of Philip’s friend and former Treasurer and Private Secretary, Lord Rupert Nevill, and granddaughter of the 4th Marquess of Abergavenny. Married to Colonel Tim Purbrick, whose Uncle Reggie is married to showjumper Lizzie Purbrick, who was found guilty recently of criminal damage for swilling pig’s blood all over her ex-lover Lord Prior’s flat.

COMING FULL CIRCLE 

PRINCE PHILIPPOS of GREECE b. 1986. Aged 32.

Named after Philip, the youngest son of the deposed King Constantine. Educated at Washington DC’s Georgetown University, Philippos is a New York-based financial analyst with Ortelius Capital, which was founded by Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, whose son — piccolo mondo — has as his godfather, Prince Philip’s grandson, Prince William.

One of many: Prince Philippos of Greece, pictured above with his wife Princess Theodora in May, is one of Philip’s many godchildren 

 

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