Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, dies at 99 (Live update) cnn.com

Photo: CNN

Britain’s Prince Philip, the lifelong companion of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, has died, Buckingham Palace announced Friday. He was 99.

The Duke of Edinburgh died at Windsor Castle on Friday morning, following a recent stay in hospital.

Prince Philip’s funeral will be held at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The public has been asked to stay away from funeral events because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prince Philip was “an enormous support for the Queen to bring the monarchy into the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century as well,” Charles Anson, a former Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth, told CNN.

The Duke of Edinburgh was “constantly a man open to new ideas and themes,” he said.

Anson, who worked for the Queen in the 1990s, said Philip was “committed to supporting the Queen on every occasion, whether it’s a happy one or a more difficult task with members of the family or a sad occasion.”

Elizabeth and Philip make their way down the aisle of Westminster Abbey on their wedding day, November 20, 1947.  Photo: CNN

The Prince also pursued his own professional life in support of the monarchy through wide-ranging public duties, Anson explained, adding that he was a man of action and ideas.

“He also liked to see those ideas translated into action to make a better society,” he said. “His goal was to make a better world.”

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