LONDON (Reuters) – Queen Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth and a leading figure in the British royal family for almost seven decades, has died at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
The Duke of Edinburgh, as he was officially known, was on the side of his wife during his 69-year reign, the longest in British history. During that time, he gained a reputation for a harsh, non-nonsense attitude and a tendency to make occasional gaffes.
“It is with deep sadness that Her Majesty the Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the palace said in a statement.
“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle this morning. Further announcements will be made in due course. The royal family joins people around the world over his loss. ”
A Greek prince, Philip, married Elizabeth in 1947. He played a key role in the modernization of the monarchy in the period after World War II, and behind the walls of Buckingham Palace was the one important figure the queen could turn to and trust. .
“He was simply my strength and has remained all these years,” Elizabeth said in a rare personal tribute to Philip, in a speech commemorating their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.
Philip spent four weeks in hospital earlier this year for treatment for an infection to get a heart procedure, but returned to Windsor in early March.
His fascination and inability to tolerate those he regarded as foolish or sycophant earned him a position of respect among some Britons. But to others, her sometimes brutal behavior made him look rude and aloof. He was a pleasure for the newspaper editors to detect any erroneous remark at official events.
The former naval officer admitted that he found it difficult to give up the military career he loved and to take up the post as the royal company for which there was no clear constitutional role.
“Like the expert coachman he was, he helped manage the royal family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution that is indisputably essential to the balance and happiness of our national life,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
HEAD OF THE FAMILY
In privacy, the prince is considered the undisputed head of his family, but according to the protocol, the man had to be called ‘the second handshake’ to spend his public life literally one step behind his wife.
“There was no precedent. “When I ask someone ‘what do you expect me to do?’, They all seemed empty – they had no idea, and no one had much idea, ‘he said during his 90th birthday.
After completing more than 22,000 solo appearances, Philip retired from public life in August 2017, although he occasionally appeared on official occasions.
His last appearance was last July during a military ceremony at Windsor Castle, the royal palace in west London, where he and the monarch lived during the COVID-19 locks.
The queen, who is 94, came to the throne in 1952 and the couple, who were third cousins, married on November 20, 1947 in Westminster Abbey.
They had four children, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, Princess Anne, and Princess Andrew and Edward.
They celebrated their 72nd anniversary on the same day that Andrew stepped down from public duty over the controversy surrounding his association with the disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, one of a number of recent crises the family has experienced.
THE QUEEN WITHOUT PHILIP
The death of the man and the queen’s closest confidant will raise questions about whether she can consider abdication, but royal commentators say there is little or no chance.
In recent years, the Queen has reduced the number of official engagements she performs and passed on many royal duties and protections to Prince Charles, his son William and other senior royals. But she still performs the most symbolic state duties of the monarchy, such as the opening of parliament.
While officially playing his wife a second violin, Prince Philip is considered the private head of the family.
Some royal viewers have said that his absence from this role over the past few years with deteriorating health has played a role in some of the monarchy’s recent problems, such as the crisis of Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan , and the decision they relinquish their royal roles.
“The most important lesson we have learned is that tolerance is the most important ingredient of any happy marriage,” Philip said in a 1997 speech.
‘It may not be as important when it’s going well, but it’s extremely important when it’s going hard. You can take from me that the queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance. ‘
Reporting by Michael Holden, William James and Andy Bruce Edited by Guy Faulconbridge and Frances Kerry