Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has died
Steph Deschamps / April 9, 2021
Known for his strong character but also for his blunders, the Duke of Edinburgh had been hospitalized in February as a precautionary measure after feeling ill. On March 16, a month after his admission for an infection and then a heart problem, Prince Philip, 99, had left the hospital in London and was reunited with his wife Elizabeth II, in the midst of a storm for the British monarchy. The prince had returned to Windsor Castle, west of London, where he spent the lockdown with his wife of 94 years.
If his transfer for his cardiac problems had made fear a deterioration of his health, his close relations had wanted to reassure.
Prince Philip, born in Corfu on June 10, 1921 with the titles of Prince of Greece and Denmark, broke in 2009 the record for longevity of spouses of British monarchs held by Charlotte, wife of George III. He was sent to Scotland for his schooling, and from 1939 onwards he was trained in the British army at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth (southern England).
It was at this time that he met Princess Elizabeth for the first time. Their union was celebrated on November 20, 1947. They had four children (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward).
The Duke of Edinburgh retired in August 2017, having participated in more than 22,000 official public engagements since his wife's accession to the throne in 1952.
He had already undergone several hospitalizations since 2017, most recently in December 2019 for pre-existing health issues, but never for this long.
In January 2019, he had been in a spectacular car accident when his Land Rover crashed into another vehicle as it exited a driveway on the Sandringham estate and overturned. Unharmed, he had then given up driving
Prince Philip and Elizabeth II celebrated in November 2017 their platinum wedding anniversary at Windsor Castle. The bells of Westminster Abbey, where they were married on November 20, 1947, rang for more than three hours on this occasion to honor them.