The Prime Minister leads our nation in sad tribute
Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the nation in mourning the death of Prince Philip just weeks before his 100th birthday. He said the whole country would mourn the passing of a “much-loved and highly respected public figure”.
Paying tribute to the Duke outside No 10, he said: “It was with great sadness that a short time ago I received word from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the age of 99.
“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.
“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 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.
“He was an environmentalist and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.
“With his Duke of Edinburgh award scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered
their hopes and encouraged their ambitions. We remember the Duke for all of this and above all 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.
“And it’s to Her Majesty and her family that our nation’s thoughts must turn today, because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather, and great grandfather.”