Prince Philip Dies at 99

Misbar learned that Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, has died at the age of 99, according to BBC News. In a statement shortly after midday on April 9, 2021, the palace said: "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle."According to CNN.com, the duke had been admitted to the hospital in February to be treated for an infection. He was discharged from the hospital and returned home in mid-March.

Philip was born June 10, 1921, on the Greek island of Corfu as the youngest child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Prince Andrew was a commander in the Greek army during the 1919-1922 war with Turkey. With Greece’s defeat, Andrew and the family were exiled in 1922, settling in France, according to CNBC.com. As a teenager, Philip joined the Royal Navy and went on to serve in World War II.

In 1947, the 26-year-old Philip married his third cousin, Princess Elizabeth, 21, and in doing so, renounced his Greek title to become a naturalized British subject. He was later made Duke of Edinburgh by Elizabeth’s father, King George VI. Elizabeth told her father, King George VI, that Philip was the only man she could ever love.

According to DW, when Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952, protocol dictated that Prince Philip must constantly walk a few steps behind her. A ruling queen’s husband is called a Prince Consort because the title of King is only given to a monarch who inherits the throne and can reign. Therefore, the title of King will go to Prince Charles, who will succeed Queen Elizabeth according to Time. 

According to the Daily Mail, the Duke of Edinburgh, a royal ceremonial funeral in a socially distanced service will occur in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. He will not lie in state, and there will be no state funeral because he had insisted that he did not want the 'fuss.'