Queen Elizabeth’s Husband, Prince Philip, Dies At the Age of 99

LONDON, KOMPAS.com – Great Britain’s Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, has died at the age of 99 on Friday, April 9, two months before his 100th birthday on June 10.

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced 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. pic.twitter.com/XOIDQqlFPn

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2021

“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty the Queen has announced 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,” the Royal Family announced in a tweet on their Twitter page @RoyalFamily.

"The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss," the Royal Family said in an earlier tweet, as quoted by the AFP news agency.

"We give thanks, as a nation and a kingdom, for the extraordinary life and work of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said according to AFP.

Johnson added Philip had "earned the affection of generations" at home, in the Commonwealth and across the world.

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The Prince was hospitalized on February 16 for heart problems, an undisclosed infection and pre-existing conditions. He was discharged on March 16, less than a month before his death.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip marked their 73rd wedding anniversary on November 2020, making him the longest serving consort to the monarch in British history.

He has been by the Queen’s side for eight decades before he retired from his duties on May 4, 2017, at the age of 96.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born on June 10, 1921 in the island of Corfu. He was forced to flee Greece at the age of 18 months, after his uncle King Constantine I was overthrown as the country’s monarch.

STR/EPA-EFE Queen Elizabeth II (left) and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (right), during the opening of Parliament in Westminster, London (25/5/2021)

He served in the Royal Navy during World War Two, before marrying the-then Princess Elizabeth in November 1947, two years after the end of the war. He was given the title Duke of Edinburgh after he gave up his royal titles to Denmark and Greece.

After his wife was named Queen Elizabeth II on the death of her father George VI on February 6, 1952, the Duke of Edinburgh has to give up his naval career.

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His career of public service was marked by the founding of the Duke of Edinburgh Award for young people in February 1956, and the founding of the World Wildlife Fund or WWF in April 1961.

He has become the longest serving consort to the monarch in British history in April 2009, beating the old record of 60 years set by King George III’s wife Queen Charlotte from 1760 to 1820.