When did Prince Philip die? Date of Duke of Edinburgh’s death as royal family gather for memorial service

The royal family will gather today to attend the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen, 95, made the decision to attend on Tuesday morning (29 March), having been determined to be at Westminster Abbey if her mobility allowed her.

The service is a poignant occasion for the Queen to remember her husband of 73 years among family and friends, after coronavirus rules imposed limitations on the duke’s funeral during the pandemic.

Relatives, friends, colleagues of the duke, along with his charities and patronages, are gathering to pay a more fulsome tribute to him, after his funeral in April last year was only attended by 30 of his loved ones.

How old was Prince Philip when he died?

Prince Philip was born on 10 June 1921 and died at the age of 99, just a few months before his 100th birthday.

He was born to parents Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg on the Greek Island of Corfu, and was a prince of Greece and Denmark.

He was exiled from Greece as a child and grew up in France, Germany and the UK.

The Duke was married to Queen Elizabeth II and was the longest-serving consort in British history.

What did Prince Philip die of?

Buckingham Palace announced that the Duke passed away peacefully in his sleep on 9 April at Windsor Castle.

The Palace said in a statement: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The 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 join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”

He had recently spent a month-long stay in hospital after receiving care for an infection, and later underwent heart surgery for a pre-existing condition, but was reunited with the Queen in mid-March following the successful procedure.

Philip suffered with a number of ailments over the years, including being treated for a blocked coronary artery at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire in December 2011.

Later in June 2012, he suffered from a bladder infection which forced him to miss the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. A year later in June 2013, he had exploratory surgery on his abdomen and began to use hearing aids in 2014, at the age of 93.

He spent much of the Covid-19 crisis staying with the Queen at Windsor in HMS Bubble – the nickname given to the couple’s reduced household of devoted staff during lockdown.

The Duke’s death came in the midst of the worst public health crisis for generations, with countries across the globe affected by the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

How long was he married to the Queen?

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II were distant cousins and both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.

The couple attended some of the same events in their youth but had their first publicised meeting in 1939 when Philip was aged 18 and Princess Elizabeth was 13.

The princess’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, had taken her and her sister, Princess Margaret, to visit the naval college in Dartmouth and cadet Philip was assigned to entertain the princesses.

Philip and Elizabeth’s engagement was announced in July 1947 and the royal wedding took place on 20 November 1947 in London’s Westminster Abbey.

Five years after they married, in 1952, George VI died and Elizabeth became the monarch.

Together they had four children, Prince Charles, now the Prince of Wales, Princess Anne, now the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, now the Duke of York, and Prince Edward, now the Earl of Wessex.

The couple would have been married 74 year this November.

What did he do for the royal family?

Philip dedicated decades of his life to royal duty and is known for supporting the Queen through her reign, serving the nation at her side and carrying out thousands of royal engagements.

For decades he was also involved with hundreds of charities, and set up The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award youth adventure scheme.

He officially retired from public engagements in the summer of 2017.

In April 2020, Philip released his first major statement since his retirement, praising key workers including refuse and postal staff, for keeping essential services running during the pandemic.

He was also pictured with the monarch at the Berkshire castle to mark his 99th birthday on 10 June, at the secret lockdown wedding of his granddaughter Princess Beatrice on 17 July and with the Queen to mark their 73rd wedding anniversary in November.