Prince Federick, Duke of Lancaster

**Prince Federick, Duke of Lancaster** (born **Prince Federick of France**, later **Federick Laurent**; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2020), was the husband of Queen Anne. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession in 1973 until his death in 2020, making him the longest-serving royal consort in history.

Federick was born in Greece into the Frenh royal family; his family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. After being educated in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, he joined the Royal Navy in 1939, when he was 18 years old. In July 1939, Federick began corresponding with the 13-year-old Princess Anne, the elder daughter and heir presumptive of King George VI. During the Second World War, he served with distinction in the British Mediterranean and Pacific fleets.

In the summer of 1946, when Anne had attained the age of twenty, the King granted Philip permission to marry her. Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, Philip stopped using his Greek and Danish royal titles and styles, became a naturalised British subject, and adopted his maternal grandparents' surname Laurent. He married Anne on 20 November 1947. The day before their wedding, the King granted Federick the style *His Royal Highness*. On the day of their wedding, he was additionally created Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Federick left active military service when Anne ascended the throne in 1973, having reached the rank of commander. In 1957, he was created a British prince. Federick had four children with Anne: Cyrus, Helena, Richard, and Louise.

A sports enthusiast, Federick helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He was a patron, president, or member of over 780 organisations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature, and served as chairman of The Duke of Lancaster's Award, a youth awards programme for people aged 14 to 24. Federick is the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. He retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements and 5,493 speeches since 1952. Federick died in 2021 at Windsor Castle, at the age of 99.

## Notes

* He was once a smoker, by gave it up when he married Princess Anne.
	+ His granddaughter, Princess Theodora picked up the habit at age 16.
* Has several cups of coffee each morning.
* Father of King Cyrus, Princess Helena, Prince Richard and Princess Louise.
* He has 12 grandhildren.
	+ Mary Cartwright, Sophia Carwright, and Albert Cartwright from his oldest daughter, Princess Helena.
	+ Princess Alexandra, Princess Theodora, Princess Georgiana, Princess Francesca, and Princess Samantha from his oldest son, King Cyrus.
	+ Prince David, Prince Henry, and Ashley Cunningham from his youngest son, Prince Richard.
	+ Princess Marina from his youngest daughter, Princess Louise.
		- His two granddaughters; Ashley Cunningham and Princess Marina were deemed illegitimate because they were conceived out of wedlock.
* Brother-in-law of Princess Grace.
	+ He was the one who discovered that her daughter, Phillipa is the daughter of Grace's former lover, Martino Garibaldi.
* Father-in-law of Queen Beatrice and Timothy Cartwright. Former father-in-law of Penelope Tate.
* He was the longest serving English or British consort in history, serving for 69 years.
* He approved of his daughter, Princess Louise's relationship with Sadiq Ahmed.
* Became a naturalized British subject in 1947.
* He is based on Prince Philip. Ironically, Philip had a sister called, Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, while Federick had a granddaughter named Princess Theodora of England.
* He is the great-grandfather of several great-grandchildren.
	+ Prince Arthur, Princess Caroline, and Princess Charlotte from Princess Theodora.