Prince Philip: Queen will ‘carry on duty’ says Nicholas Witchell

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Vote in our poll and tell us more in the comments section. Buckingham Palace announced the Duke of Edinburgh’s death aged 99 just after midday.

The Palace said in a statement: “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.”

A petition has been launched by campaign group Save Our Statues calling for a monument of Philip, who carried out more than 22,000 public engagements before his retirement in 2017, in London.

The petition says: “The Duke of Edinburgh served our country for 78 years, serving 13 in the Royal Navy & then 65 as Britain’s longest-serving consort, including 22,000 engagements & supporting 780 organisations.

“We say there should be a prominent statue of the Duke in London to recognise the above, as well as his great personal dedication and support to Her Majesty the Queen.”

Within an hour the petition had been signed by hundreds of people.

In 2019, it was reported that a statue of Philip may be permanently placed on fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Tributes have poured in for the Duke, who recently spent a month in hospital before reuniting with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

Speaking from a podium in Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “He was an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.

“With his Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.

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“We remember the Duke for all of this and above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty The Queen.

“Not just as her consort, by her side every day of her reign, but as her husband, her ‘strength and stay’, of more than 70 years.

“And it is to Her Majesty, and her family, that our nation’s thoughts must turn today.

“Because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure, but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather and, in recent years, great-grandfather.”

Philip was just two months away from his 100th birthday in June.

He spent much of the lockdown with the monarch at Windsor with a reduced household of staff dubbed HMS Bubble.

In a speech in 1997 to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary, the Queen paid a touching tribute to her husband.

She said: “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments.

“But he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”

Philip, famous for his “gaffes”, had a profound effect on the development of the British monarchy and was a moderniser of The Firm.

He founded The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme in 1956 and before his retirement was patron or president of 785 organisations and charities.

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