Royal staff place framed announcement plaque at palace
ROYAL household staff placed a framed plaque announcing the Duke of Edinburgh’s death on the front gates to Buckingham Palace.
People queued to read the sign, as four police officers on horses stopped small crowds from gathering.
The statement reads: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced 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 be made in due course.
“The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
Members of the public have also started laying flowers at the foot of the gates.
In his tribute to Philip, the Prime Minister said he had helped inspire millions through the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
And he highlighted the steadfast support the duke, who died aged 99, had offered the Queen during their long marriage.
He said we “give thanks, as a nation and a kingdom, for the extraordinary life and work of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh”.
Mr Johnson said: “Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world.
“He was the longest serving consort in history, one of the last surviving people in this country to have served in the Second World War at Cape Matapan, where he was mentioned in despatches for bravery and in the invasion of Sicily, where he saved his ship by his quick thinking, and from that conflict he took an ethic of service that he applied throughout the unprecedented changes of the post-war era.
“Like the expert carriage driver that he was, he helped to steer the royal family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.”