Prince Philip visited Australia more than 20 times over 72 years — with and without the Queen

When the British battleship HMS Ramillies sailed into Sydney Harbour on March 14, 1940, the crew included an 18-year-old midshipman, Philip Mountbatten (also known as Philip, Prince of Greece).

It would be first of more than 20 visits to these shores for Prince Philip — who died on Friday — with or without his wife, the Queen.

The Ramillies stayed in the Garden Island dockyards for a couple of weeks while the high-profile young sailor enjoyed the hospitality of posh Sydney families and a welter of dances, parties and outdoor sports.

In early April, the ship made its way to Melbourne, and Philip took advantage of another brief furlough to spend a week at a sheep station, which he described years later as the best holiday he’d ever…