Loyal and devoted prince will be hugely missed

I AM so terribly, dreadfully sad that the Duke of Edinburgh has died. He has been a constant, extremely loyal and devoted husband for very many years to Her Majesty the Queen.

It is such a very great shame that he did not live quite long enough to celebrate his 100th birthday, which he really wanted to do.

The Queen and the Royal Family will be absolutely devastated, as will millions of people worldwide. He had such a strong personality and a great sense of humour.

He will be hugely missed by the Royal Family and the nation as a whole. Her Majesty must be extremely upset at losing “her strength and stay”, I cannot even imagine how very deep her sense of loss will be after 73 years of marriage.

Prince Philip has always been our Queen’s most loyal supporter and has helped her making difficult decisions and got her through trying times.

The prince’s outspoken comments and opinions have often made the headlines.

It is very shortly Her Majesty’s natural birthday but I doubt very much that she will want any kind of celebration. I imagine she would have had plans in her mind to give her husband a really special 100th birthday.

His death is such a tragic loss and I wonder if our Queen will every really get over it, she has loved him so deeply for so many years.

Hopefully her very deep faith will help her through what is going to be an incredibly difficult time. It may bring her some peace and enable her to carry on as she will wish to and ease her pain a little.

May Prince Philip rest in peace after a lifetime of dedication, loyally and support.

Sandra Bond, Wilmorton