Prince Philip is a loving husband.

The argument

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II have been married for 73 years. Although we don’t have an inside view of how the Prince and Queen privately act towards one another, we can infer that he is a loving husband from the information we have about his marriage. The man has been committed from the start. He was born a royal in Greece, but dropped his titles and became a British citizen in order to marry Queen Elizabeth. When they married in Westminster, none of his German mother’s relatives were allowed because it was just after World War II, when Great Britain and Germany were enemies. None of this deterred his pursuit of her. Later on, he was the one who told her she had ascended the throne. They were in Kenya, where he was taking her on a global tour. This devotion and passion began to burgeon when he and Queen Elizabeth started exchanging letters when she was only 13. Obviously, this marriage has truly been a lifelong love affair. No evidence has ever come to light that he cheated on her, another indicator of his commitment. He calls his beloved wife “Cabbage,” which is a term of endearment in French.

Context

Prince Philip's 73 year marriage has two sides - that the public sees and that they don't. To determine what kind of husband Prince Philip is, we must look for evidence about what his marriage is like in private. Knowing what kind of husband he is could help us uncover who he really is, as he has a whole self separate from his public persona. As he nears death, it is important for us to understand him in order to determine how we should regard him. Speculation and clue-seeking is the only avenue we have for this until he dies, and biographers gain access to more private information.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Prince Philip is portrayed in the media as a jerk of a husband. Evidence of this can be found in the Netflix series “The Crown." This persona could have been inspired by his tendency to embarrass the monarchy with his inappropriate, outspoken political sentiments. This is relevant to us because this poor, public behavior likely translates into poor marital behavior. Queen Elizabeth II is quite possibly trapped in this marriage because divorce is unbecoming for a queen. Prince Philip has likely resented her since she became Queen far earlier than expected, thus derailing the naval career he loved. As if that wasn’t enough, he has to walk three full steps behind his wife in public. This started when she was queened; he was 31. Such a situation undoubtedly causes resentment, given that Prince Philip is both a royal himself and a man. However, this is all speculation, just like the argument presented. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II’s marriage is totally private. All we know is how they interact in public and the tidbits we’ve learned over the years. We’ll never really know what kind of husband he is, as the fulfillment of that role takes place in the private, domestic sphere we are barred from. Thus, we cannot personify him as a family man based on his marital behavior, because it is almost entirely unknown to us.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Duration records that a marriage lasted, not that it was loving, and for a monarch's consort in the twentieth century divorce carried consequences that make longevity a weak indicator of affection. [Rejecting P2] Renouncing titles to marry into a reigning house is compatible with ambition as much as with love, and the premise cannot distinguish the two from the outward facts. [Rejecting P3] Absence of evidence of infidelity is not evidence of its absence, particularly for a household this well shielded from scrutiny — and as the counter concedes, everything here is inference from public conduct about a relationship conducted in private, which cannot settle what kind of husband he was.