Prince Philip

Prince PhilipGetty: Images

Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband and father of Prince Charles, has sadly passed away aged 99.

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away peacefully on Friday morning (Apr 9) at Windsor Castle. The Royal Family made the announcement on its official Twitter account as tributes flood in for the late prince.

As we know, Queen Elizabeth II's husband had been in and out of hospital in recent months dealing with a myriad of health issues related to his old age.

The 99-year old's health had deteriorated of late and reports emerged recently that stated that Prince Philip was fighting an infection.

Buckingham Palace's announcement stated:

"It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family joins with people around the world in mourning his loss."

Born on the island of Corfu in 1921, Philip endured a difficult childhood in several different locations before settling in Britain and had a distinguished military career before meeting Queen Elizabeth.

Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became Queen, and was the longest-serving royal consort in British history. Together the couple had four children, 8 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

While Queen Elizabeth was Head of State, it was long recognized that Prince Philip played a large role as head of the family.

Touching on this, Princess Anne said "Lots of members of the family would always find him a good sounding board. But it was always done very quietly and he would never talk to anyone else about his conversations."

As tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh roll in, stay tuned to BHT for all of the latest news.

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