LONDON (Reuters) – Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth who played a prominent figure in the British royal family for nearly seven decades, has died at the age of 99, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
The Duke of Edinburgh, as he was officially known, had been with his wife throughout his reign of 69 years, the longest in British history, during which he gained a reputation for an attitude. hard and meaningless and prone to the occasion. gaffes.
“It is with great sorrow that Her Majesty the Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, Her Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” the palace said in a statement.
“His Royal Highness died peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Other opportunities will be made on time. The royal family joins people from all over the world in mourning their loss.
A Greek prince, he married Elizabeth in 1947 and played a key role in modernizing the monarchy in the post-World War II period, and behind the walls of Buckingham Palace was the only key figure to whom the queen could appeal and trust.
“It has simply been my strength and my stay all these years,” Elizabeth said in a rare personal tribute to Philip made in a speech commemorating her 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.
Philip spent four weeks in hospital earlier this year for an infection with a heart procedure, but returned to Windsor in early March.
His charm and inclination to tolerate those he considered foolish or psychophanic earned him a position of respect among some Britons. But for other people, his sometimes abrupt behavior made him seem rude, distanced, and a pleasure to newspaper editors, willing to pick up any lost comments at official events.
The former naval officer admitted that it was difficult for him to give up the military career he loved and take on the job of consort of the monarch for whom there was no clear constitutional role.
FAMILY HEAD
In private, he was considered the undisputed head of the family, but the protocol forced the baptized man as “the second handshake” to spend his public life literally a step away from his wife.
“It simply came to our notice then. If I asked someone ‘what do you expect me to do?’, They all seemed blank: they had no idea, no one had much idea, ”he said in an interview on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
After completing more than 22,000 solo appearances, Philip retired from public life in August 2017, although he occasionally appeared in official engagements afterwards.
His last appearance came last July at a military ceremony at Windsor Castle, the royal palace in west London, where he and the monarch have resided during the closures of COVID-19.
The 94-year-old queen came to the throne in 1952 and the couple, who were third cousins, were married at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. They had four children, Prince Charles. , heir to the throne, Princess Anne, and Princes Andrew and Edward.
They celebrated their 72nd birthday on the same day that Andrew resigned from public office over the controversy over his association with the unfortunate American-funded Jeffrey Epstein, one of the most recent crises the family has suffered.
The death of the queen’s husband and closest confidant will raise questions about whether she could consider abdication, but royal commentators say there is little or no chance of this happening.
In recent years, although he has reduced many official commitments and approved numerous royal duties and sponsorships to Prince Charles, his son William and other members of the royalty, he still performs the most symbolic of the state functions of the monarchy, such as now the opening of parliament.
While he officially performed his wife’s second violin, he was considered the private head of the family.
Some royal watchdogs have argued that his absence from this role in recent years with declining health has played a role in some of the monarchy’s recent difficulties, such as the crisis of Prince Harry, Charles ’young son and his wife Meghan, and the decision that saw them relinquish their royal roles.
“The main lesson we’ve learned is that tolerance is the essential ingredient of any happy marriage,” Philip said in a speech in 1997. “It may not be as important when things are going well, but it’s absolutely vital when things get tough. It can be taken away from me that the queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance. “
Reports by Michael Holden; edited by Guy Faulconbridge