In his active years, Philip helped set a new course for the monarchy under a young queen, championing Britain itself. LONDON — Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband and the longest-serving consort of any British monarch, has died at age 99.
A statement posted on the royal family’s website Friday morning said: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will make in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
His death was met with a flood of tributes from across Britain and the world. In accordance with tradition, a framed notice containing the news was also placed on the railings outside Buckingham Palace.
Philip spent 65 years supporting the queen, retiring from his public role in 2017 and staying largely out of the view since. In his active years, he helped set a new course for the monarchy, championing Britain itself, as well as environmental causes, science, and technology. His passing comes as the royal family confronts new challenges, most recently the intense publicity that followed the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, from both the United Kingdom and official royal duties.
Philip’s relationship with Elizabeth began as a story of young love.
“We behave as though we had belonged to each other for years,” then-Princess Elizabeth wrote in a letter to her parents shortly after they married.
Philip, whom the sovereign alluded to as “my steady strength,” was hospitalized in February in the wake of “feeling unwell,” and was treated for contamination and a previous heart condition, Buckingham Palace said. He was delivered a month later in the wake of going through a heart strategy.
Executive Boris Johnson said in a proclamation that “it was with incredible trouble” he had been educated regarding Philip’s passing, considering the duke’s “exceptional life and work” and giving his sympathies to the sovereign.