Philip, the Man Behind the Monarchy

A man of contradictions emerges in this portrait of the Queen of England's consort by Fleet Street journalist Hall. Prince Philip is seen as not entirely likable, a man who ``has walked a tightrope for all his married life.'' Aggressive by temperament, he weathered the storm his Germanic origins roused among the English when he married into the monarchy; although dominant by nature, he has accepted his public position of appearing at least one pace behind his wife. In private, Philip is an exponent of machismo, finding reflection of this spirit more in his daughter, Anne, an accomplished horsewoman, than in his three sons, according to Hall. Despite gossip about his marital straying, it is Philip's role as family man and husband to the queen that enhances the enduring image of the British monarchy, the author maintains in this balanced, if unfinished, picture of a man ``who is obsessed with being top dog.'' Photos. (July)