Queen to mark first anniversary of her husband’s death privately
THE FIRST anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh’s death is expected to be marked privately today by the Queen and her family.
Philip, famously described by the Queen as her “constant strength and guide”, died peacefully in his sleep on April 9 last year at his Windsor Castle home, just a few months short of his 100th birthday.
Buckingham Palace announced his death just after noon that day, issuing a statement that spoke about the Royal Family joining with people across the globe to grieve.
A man known as much for his keen interest in engineering and science as his outspoken comments and gaffes, the Duke was central to the monarch’s life.
Philip became an international figure when he married the Queen more than 70 years ago and his death was marked with tributes from world leaders, foreign royal families and charities he supported.
At the recent service of thanksgiving for Philip’s life, the Dean of Windsor the Right Rev David Conner paid tribute to his abilities and also highlighted his shortcomings – just as the Duke would have wanted. He described Philip as a man of “passionate commitment” who devoted his “intellectual and physical energy” to a “host of down-to-earth enterprises”, but he could also be “abrupt” in a “robust conversation, forgetting just how intimidating he could be”.
The Queen is believed to be at Windsor Castle and it is understood she will mark the first anniversary of the death of her husband privately.
In her Christmas Day broadcast last year, she reflected on a year of personal grief, saying there was “one familiar laugh missing” as she acknowledged the death of her husband.
She gave a tribute to her “beloved Philip” and remarked how his “mischievous, enquiring twinkle was as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him”.
The Royal Family marked what would have been the Duke’s 100th birthday – June 10 2021 – with pictures on social media.