Prince Philip's heartbreaking grief over sister's death was recorded in school reports

ALREWAS, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 12: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (wearing a Royal Marines regimental tie) attends a dedication ceremony for the new Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum on October 12, 2007 in Alrewas, England. The Armed Forces Memorial is made from Portland stone into which the names of British armed forces personnel who have been killed whilst on active duty or died in terrorist attacks since the Second World War have been carved. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty )

By Emma Dooney 2021-04-15T10:52:08Z

Prince Philip's grief after his sister's tragic death was detailed in his school reports, a royal expert has revealed.

Prince Philip's heartbreaking grief following his older sister's death has been revealed in old school reports.
Prince Philip lost his sister, Princess Cecilie, in a tragic plane accident in 1937 when he was studying at an elite private school in Scotland.
In other royal news, Sarah Ferguson is not invited to Prince Philip’s funeral.

The late Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99 at Windsor Castle last Friday, experienced a gutwrenching loss in his youth when his 'favorite' sibling was killed in a plane crash in 1937.

Princess Cecilie of Denmark and Greece died while flying from Germany to London for a wedding after the aircraft crashed into a factory building and blew up in flames. Everybody on board was killed, including the royal's husband and her two sons. At the time, 16-year-old Prince Philip was at Gordonstoun, a private boarding school in Scotland. Far away from any family members, he was informed of the horrific news by his principal, Kurt Hahn.

The headmaster recalled that Prince Philip maintained his composure at the time, revealing that 'his sorrow was that of a man.' However, recently unearthed sources have shown that the teenage aristocrat was torn apart by the devastating loss.

circa 1930: Cecilia, Grand Duchess of Hesse (1911 - 1937). She is the daughter of Princess Alice and Prince Andrew of Greece, (sister of the Duke of Edinburgh). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) — Princess Cecilie, Prince Philip's older sister

"A report came out a couple of days ago from the Gordonstoun archives and in it Kurt Hahn describes how very, very distraught Philip was, and this is a man who doesn't show his emotion," said Ingrid Seward, Editor-in-Chief of Majesty Magazine. "He kept a little piece of wood from the aeroplane. It was a real tragedy.”

Prince Philip attended the funeral of his sister and her family in Germany, which was under the reign of Adolf Hitler at the time. He was pictured flanked by Nazi officers as he followed the procession through the streets of Darmstadt, where Cecilie had lived with her husband and two sons, as well as her one surviving daughter.

Prince Philip graduated from Gordonstoun a year later and enrolled in the Royal Naval College, where he would meet the future Queen of England, Princess Elizabeth.