Flags fly at half-mast at British High Commission
FLAGS at the British High Commission in South Nicosia were lowered to half-mast following the death last Friday of Prince Philip at 99.
High Commissioner Stephen Lillie, writing on
Twitter, said: “We have lowered the flags at the British High Commission in Cyprus as we mourn the death of HRH [His Royal Highness] The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His dedication to public service across the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond will long be remembered.”
He later shared a picture of the visitors’ book at the High Commission Residence, dated October 19, 1993, which recorded the Duke’s visit to South Cyprus for a Commonwealth summit when he accompanied Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth.
“During a lifetime of service to Britain and the Commonwealth, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited Cyprus several times,” Mr Lillie added.
Flags were also lowered to half-mast on the British Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) on the island “in tribute to the life and service of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh” SBA Administrator and British Forces Cyprus Commander MajorGeneral Rob Thomson tweeted.
“The thoughts and prayers of all here in British Forces Cyprus are with Her Majesty and our royal family,” he added.
A statement from the British High Commission said a Book of Condolence had not been made available for the public in Cyprus to sign due to Covid-19 restrictions, but that a “virtual Book of Condolence” had been set up on the website royal.uk.
A statement from Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades said: “It is with great sadness that I received the news of the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, a close friend of Cyprus. My deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy to Her Majesty The Queen, the Royal Family and the people of the UK for their loss.”
The British ambassadors to Greece and Turkey, Kate Smith and Dominick Chilcott, issued messages about Prince Philip’s death in Greek and Turkish respectively.