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   <p>19th November 1947: Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, later HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. </p> 
   
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</figure><p>Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband and<strong> </strong>the longest serving consort in history, died at age 99, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday.</p><div></div><p>&#34;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.</p><p>&#34;His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle,&#34; the announcement reads.</p><p>Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, @theroyalfamily one of the last of his generation to have fought in World War II, overcame a difficult family life, lack of money, nationality and surname to marry Princess Elizabeth and stay by her side for 73 years. His job, as explained by <em>The Guardian</em>, was “first, second and last, never let the Queen down.”</p><div></div><p>Her “strength and stay,” the Queen called him.</p><p>At the thousands of engagements that the couple presided over during their seven decades together, Prince Philip would be seen, as protocol dictated, at the queen’s side or a few paces behind.</p><figure> 
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   <p>Philip Mountbatten, prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth, batting at the nets during cricket <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> practice while in the Royal Navy, July 31, 1947. Photo by Douglas Mille</span></p> 
   
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</figure><div><div id="recirc-unit"><div>MORE FOR YOU</div><div><div>Netflix’s ‘Seaspiracy’ Is A Powerful Appetite Suppressant</div><div>Will.i.am Sees A Future In Fashion For The XUPERMASK Designed​ With Jose Fernandez And Honeywell</div><div>New York Botanical Garden Offers Once-In-A-Lifetime Yayoi Kusama Exhibition</div></div></div></div><h2>The most experienced plaque unveiler</h2><p>Characterized through the years as brusque and easily exasperated, his disinclination to suffer fools became more familiar to the public at large thanks to his depiction in the popular television series, <em>The Crown</em>.</p><p>Self-described as “the world’s most experienced plaque unveiler,” he was recognized as a hard-working royal with one of the busiest programs of daily events. He stepped back in 2017 after undertaking 22,191 solo engagements and giving 5,493 speeches.</p><p>His last official engagement was July, 2020, when he passed his role of colonel-in-chief of The Rifles over to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in a ceremony at Windsor.</p><p>Before the most recent spats between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the British press, Prince Philip had maintained a difficult relationship with the press, which he described as “bloody reptiles.” </p><figure> 
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   <p>The day of the official announcement of the engagement of Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Mountbatten at Buckingham Palace. </span></p> 
   
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</figure><h2><strong>A lifetime of service</strong></h2><p>Philip and the queen met for the first time in 1939 when the then-13-year-old Princess Elizabeth made a royal visit to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth where he was a cadet. </p><p>The 18-year-old Philip was among the officers charged with entertaining Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret.</p><figure> 
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   <p>Princess Elizabeth with her fiance, Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, and her sister, Margaret, in the <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace in September 1947. Photo by Hulton Archive</span></p> 
   
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</figure><p>Prince Philip was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, who was a younger son of King George I of the Hellenes. </p><p>Philip’s mother, Princess Alice, was a daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.</p><figure> 
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   <p>Princess Elizabeth (later, Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip receiving the blessing of the <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster Abbey during their wedding ceremony on November 20, 1947. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh on their wedding <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> day. She became queen on her father King George VI's death in 1952. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, wave to the crowd, June 2, 1953 after being crowned at <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Westminter Abbey in London. Her coronation was the first worldwide televised event. </span></p> 
   
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</figure><p>Philip once described himself as “a discredited Balkan prince of no particular merit or distinction.”</p><p>The royal marriage of Princess Elizabeth and the Greek Prince who became Duke of Edinburgh took place in 1947. She became queen five years later on the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. </p><figure> 
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   <p>Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, pose during their honeymoon in Malta, where <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> he was stationed with the Royal Navy, in 1947. Photo by Anwar Hussein</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Picture released November 18, 2007, showing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> of Edinburgh marking their diamond wedding anniversary in Malta. Queen Elizabeth, then 81, was known to cherish the time they spent on the Mediterranean island as a young couple, out of Britain and out of the spotlight in the years before she inherited the throne aged 25 in 1952. </span></p> 
   
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</figure><p>Prince Philip and the queen had four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.</p><p>Their first son, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was born in 1948, followed by his sister, the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, in 1950, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, in 1960 and the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, in 1964.</p><figure> 
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   <p>The royal couple at a square dance held in their honor in Ottawa, by Governor General Viscount <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Alexander, October 17, 1951. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>Chatting with Frank Sinatra and his wife, the actress Ava Gardner, at London's Empress Club in <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> December 1951. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>At Buckingham Palace during a banquet held in honor of President John F. Kennedy and his wife, First <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on June 15, 1961. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>With American film star Grace Kelly, who became Princess Grace of Monaco, and Prince Rainier in <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> 1960.</span></p> 
   
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</figure><h2><strong>His role in the monarchy</strong></h2><p>Generally found several steps behind the queen, he — who was never officially given the title of prince consort — lived a life of royal duty and played a key role in the development of the modern monarchy in Britain. </p><p>&#34;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,&#34; said Primer Minister Boris Johnson.</p><p>In March 2021, the Duke of Edinburgh had been released from hospital after a month-long stay for treatment. He had gone through a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition at another London hospital, St Bartholomew's.</p><figure> 
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   <p>28th September 1952: Queen Elizabeth with her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and her <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> children, Charles and Anne at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Photo by Lisa Sheridan</span></p> 
   
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   <p>The Royal family at Balmoral Castle during visit, October 1960. Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Prince Andrew, Prince Phillip, and Princess Anne.</span></p> 
   
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   <p>The royal family</p> 
   
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   <p>Queen Elizabeth II, the Maharani of Jaipur, and tprince Philip pose with the tiger killed by <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Prince Philip, 26 January 1961 in India. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>During an official visit to Germany on May 22 1965 </p> 
   
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   <p>Earl Mountbatten, Admiral of the Fleet, and the Duke of Edinburgh, wearing formal military uniform <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> in 1965. Photo by Dennis Oulds</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Wearing pantsuits for protection from the blackflies; Queen Elizabeth Princess Anne, Prince Philip <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> (his arm in a sling from a polo injury) and Prince Charles, completing the Arctic portion of their Canadian tour. Photo by Doug Griffin</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Charles and his father Prince Philip wearing RAF uniform in September 1971 </p> 
   
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   <p>With Prince Charles And Princess Diana at the Balcony Of Buckingham Palace, after their wedding. </p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during an official visit to the Bahamas on 11th October 1985. <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Photo by John Shelley </span></p> 
   
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   <p>Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh during the Gulf Parade in London on <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> June 1, 1991. Photo by Anwar Hussein</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip, Prince William, Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles walk <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> behind the carriage carrying the casket of Princess Diana in London on its way to the funeral at Westminster Abbey.</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip with Queen Rania Of Jordan In a Carriage Procession At Windsor Castle during her State <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Visit in 2005. Photo by Tim Graham</span></p> 
   
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   <p>At Prince Harry's Passing Out Ceremony at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. with Prince <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> William &amp; The Duke Of Edinburgh. Photo by Mark Cuthbert</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall break into <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> laughter as they watch Balmoral compete in the tug-of-war during the Braemar Gathering on September 2, 2006 in Scotland. Photo by Chris Jackson</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was the Chancellor of Cambridge University, attends a service <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> at King's College to mark the 800th anniversary of the University on November 19, 2009. Photo by Stefan Rousseau/</span></p> 
   
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   <p>The Duke of Edinburgh leaves the London Clinic in central London, 11 days after he was admitted for <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> exploratory abdominal surgery in 2013. Photo by Dominic Lipinski</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip and Princess Anne, attend the Sunday service at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> on December 27, 2015. Photo by Max Mumby</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Prince Philip followed by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, US actress and fiancee of Britain's <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Prince Harry Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arriving to attend the Royal Family's traditional Christmas Day church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, eastern England, on December 25, 2017. Photo by Adrian Dennis. </span></p> 
   
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   <p>At the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> 2018 in Windsor, England. Photo by Jonathan Brady </span></p> 
   
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   <p>Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh pictured 1/6/2020 in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> ahead of his 99th birthday. Photo by Steve Parsons</span></p> 
   
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   <p>Britain's Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh arrives for the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of The <span class="plus">... [+]</span><span class="expanded-caption"> Rifles ceremony at Windsor castle in Windsor on July 22, 2020. - Prince Philip, stepped down from his role as Colonel-in-Chief for the Rifles after 67 years of service.</span></p> 
   
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<p>Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, @theroyalfamily one of the last of his generation to have fought in World War II, overcame a difficult family life, lack of money, nationality and surname to marry Princess Elizabeth and stay by her side for 73 years ... Getty Images Prince Philip was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, who was a younger son of King George I of the Hellenes ... Their first son, the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, was born in 1948, followed by his sister, the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, in 1950, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, in 1960 and the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, in 1964.</p>

Prince Philip Dies At 99: A Long Royal Life In Photos