Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and lifelong companion of Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, has died aged 99.
Buckingham Palace announced this in a statement on Friday.
The statement said “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 be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
The duke was admitted into the King Edward VII Hospital in London hospital on February 17 after feeling unwell.
Prince Philip had previously been admitted to the hospital on multiple occasions for a variety of reasons, including for a hip replacement and for treatment of infections.
In December 2019, he was taken to hospital as a “precautionary measure” for what Buckingham Palace described as a “pre-existing” condition.
In his most recent trip to the hospital, the palace confirmed that he was being treated for an infection. On March 1, he was transferred to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, also in London, where doctors continued to treat the infection as well as undertake testing for a pre-existing heart condition.
The duke was discharged from the hospital in mid-March, following heart surgery.
Philip, also known by his official title of the Duke of Edinburgh, was the longest-serving British consort. The duke continued making public appearances well into his 90s, retiring only in August 2017.
The late Philip was born the Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark on the Greek island of Corfu in 1921. He left Greece aged 18 months with his family when King Constantine was forced to abdicate after a revolt by Greece’s war-stretched military forces and then moved to England in 1928.
