On Friday April 9th, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, passed away. He was 99 years old. The Buckingham Palace said that he passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle. That evening, the bells from London’s Westminster Abbey rung 99 times to honor him, which was where him and the Queen said “I do”.

In February he was admitted to King Edward VII’s hospital in central London. He was treated for an infection and was later transferred to another hospital, St Bartholomew’s and had an operation done for an ongoing heart condition. They kept him there until mid March. 

Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort (spouse of a reigning monarch) in British history, which was a total of 73 years. Together they had 4 children, 8 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. The prince was a working member of the Royal Family up until May 2017 when he announced his retirement.

The funeral will be intimate due to COVID-19. The UK’s current rule is that 30 people at max can attend funerals. If it wasn’t for the restrictions, thousands of people would have lined up to view his coffin to pay their respects. Gun salutes have been happening across the nation in his tribute. The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, who took a step back from the royal family and now lives in Santa Barbara, California will be attending the funeral. Doctors advised Meghan Markle that traveling while pregnant during a pandemic is very risky. As a result, the Duchess will not be attending. 

All UK government buildings are flying their flags halfway in tribute to the duke until after his funeral. The funeral is taking place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Saturday April 17th. The ceremony will televised.