The Death of Prince Philip

Emily Shultz, Staff Writer|April 29, 2021

AP

FILE – In this file photo dated Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, Britain’s Prince Philip salutes during a special Armistice Day ceremony under the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium. The Duke of Edinburgh attended a special Armistice Day ceremony on Monday to oversee the handover of 70 sandbags of soil from Flanders fields. The sandbags, collected by Belgian and British schoolchildren from Commonwealth cemeteries in Belgium, were handed over to the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery and will be taken to London and placed in the Flanders Fields Memorial Garden at the Wellington Barracks. When Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25 in 1952, Philip gave up his naval career and dedicated himself to supporting her and the monarchy. Prince Philip who died Friday April 9, 2021, aged 99, lived through a tumultuous century of war and upheavals. (AP Photo/Paul Edwards, FILE)

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh passed peacefully on 9 April 2021, aged 99, two months before his 100th birthday. He was the longest-serving royal in British history. Last month, Philip had a 28-day stay at a hospital to treat an infection in addition to undergoing a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition. The cause of death has not been disclosed; however, Philip’s daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, described his death as “…so gentle. It was just like somebody took him by the hand and off he went”.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. (1953)

The queen is expected to take an 8-day mourning period to grieve the loss of her husband of over 73 years. During this time, all royal duties will be put to a halt. After those 8 days, the country will enter a 10-day mourning period, and after that, the royal family will enter their 30-day mourning period. 

The funeral was on 17 April 2021 at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Omid Scobie, a Journalist and author of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, clarified that it was a royal ceremonial funeral instead of a state funeral, meaning the public was not be involved, but the event was televised. 

The royal family attended, including Prince Harry. Meghan Markle, who is currently pregnant with her second child, has reported being unable to attend the funeral due to COVID-19 risks during travel. 

The public has been asked to consider donating to a charity instead of leaving floral tributes.