Prince Philip has sadly passed away aged 99. Flags were lowered to half-mast this morning. Prince Philip’s health had been gradually declining for a long time. He also had to step down from his royal engagements in 2017 and said that he could no longer stand up.
Since then he was never really seen in public and he spent most of his time in an estate in Norfolk.
He recently celebrated his 99th birthday in lockdown at Windsor Castle.
He also had hip surgery in 2018 and he attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle almost 1 month later.
Prince Philip was also involved in a car crash in 2018 and two women needed to go to hospital after the accident.
Interestingly enough Prince Philip was born on the island of Corfu. This actually played a key role in his development of the modern monarchy in Britain.
This was not Prince Philip’s first encounter with bad health problems. In 2012 he was in hospital during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a bad bladder infection.
And in 2013 he had an exploratory operation on his lower abdomen
Some other facts you may not have known about Prince Philip.
His surname was a bit of a mouthful. He’s actual original surname was Mountbatten. And if you’d gone by his father’s full name it would be Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
Prince Philip was a very good student. He was educated in schools at France Germany and also in the United Kingdom. One of his teachers actually described Philip as a know-it-all smarter kind of person.
None of Prince Philip’s sisters attended his wedding. It’s his sister’s had married German nobility and therefore were not permitted to attend his wedding
Prince Philip is only the fourth Duke of Edinburgh in history.
Prince Philip was also one of the youngest lieutenants in the history of the navy.
The Duke of Edinburgh played a key role in the restoration of Windsor Castle after the great fire of 1992
Prince Philip was also related to Kings of Prussia and Emperors of Russia
Prince Philip had accompanied The Queen all of her 251 visits overseas. He was very loyal.
He also lived for seven years in France as a boy, and almost spoke fluent French. Not an easy task.
Both Philip and The Queen are both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
The Duke was a direct descendant of Princess Alice
He was the first member of the Royal Family to be interviewed on television, in May 1961.
Prince Philip was also a qualified pilot and had a full pilot’s license.
At the age of 99 he was the third longest living royal in history and the longest living of all the male royals.
Prince Philip got married to Queen Elizabeth on November 20, 1947.
The royal castle did not announced help Prince Philip died but they released this statement this morning.
The full statement reads: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.
“Further announcements will made in due course.
“The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
It is understood however he passed away from long-term illness and health problems.
Above is one of the youngest pictures taken of Prince Philip. May he Rest In Peace.
