When Sleeping Beauty premiered in 1959, audiences were swept away by the dashing Prince Philip, the first Disney prince to actually have a name. Unlike The Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the animated film featured a prince with a more robust personality (and one who had numerous lines). But royal watchers and Disney fans have long claimed that Prince Philip might have had a real muse: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
At the time, the duke—who died at the age of 99 in April 2021—was one of the most famous princes in the world, especially to American audiences. Married to Queen Elizabeth since 1947, he had become a familiar figure in newsreels and magazines across the pond. With a commanding presence and adventurous spirit, the royal figure certainly would have made an ideal candidate for Disney animators looking for a more modern and active prince.
