Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has died.
Buckingham Palace announced yesterday that Prince Philip had died peacefully in his sleep at Windsor Castle. He was 99 years old.
A statement from the Royal Family said: ‘It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.’
Philip is the longest-serving royal consort in British history, having been at Queen Elizabeth II’s side for 74 years.
He was born in Greece in June 1921 and was a member of both the Greek and Danish royal families. He was forced to flee Greece with his family as a baby, after members of the Greek royal family were banished.
In 1928 he began school in the United Kingdom and joined the Royal Navy at the age of 18 in 1939, subsequently serving with distinction in World War II.
Having met the future Queen Elizabeth II in 1939, the two were married in 1947, before her coronation in 1952.
Philip was known for his many gaffes but also did much charity work and was the patron of over 800 charity organisations. In 2017 he retired from public life, and suffered from a number of health problems since then.
He is survived by the Queen, four children, eight grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Image: NASA/Paul E. Alers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons