PM leads tributes to the Duke
BORIS Johnson led tributes to Prince Philip yesterday as Union flags were lowered to half mast across the UK.
Delivering a brief statement from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: “Prince Philip earned the affection of generations in the UK, across the Commonwealth and around the world.
“Like the expert carriage driver he was, he helped steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.”
He added that Britain would “remember the duke 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”. Former PMs joined the tributes. David Cameron remembered Philip’s “unstinting service – stretching back to his courageous naval duty in World War II”.
Gordon Brown said the Duke would be “mourned in every continent” while Labour leader Keir Starmer said the UK “has lost an extraordinary public servant”.
World leaders also offered their condolences.
US president Joe Biden said: “Over the course of his 99-year life, he saw our world change dramatically and repeatedly. From his service during World War II to his 73 years alongside the Queen and his entire life in the public eye, Prince Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the UK, the Commonwealth and to his family.”
German chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The death of Prince Philip fills me with great sorrow. His friendship to Germany, his straightforwardness and sense of duty won’t be forgotten.”
French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “Prince Philip lived an exemplary life defined by bravery, a sense of duty and commitment to youth and the environment.”
Russia’s president Vladimir Putin sent the Queen a telegram wishing her “courage and fortitude in the face of a grievous and irreparable loss”.
New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern said he “will be fondly remembered for the encouragement he gave to so many young New Zealanders through The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award”.