London CNN – Prince Philip, the lifelong companion of Queen Elizabeth II and the longest-serving consort in British history, died at the age of 99 on Friday.In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “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.The death of the duke comes after a period of poor health. Philip spent a month in two London hospitals, where he was treated for an infection and underwent heart surgery, before being discharged in mid-March.Philip’s funeral will be held at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, “in line with custom and with His Royal Highness’s wishes,” the College of Arms, which oversees many ceremonial aspects of the royal family’s work, said in a statement Friday.The statement added that the duke would not have a state funeral, and that the funeral would not be proceeded by a lying-in-state.”The funeral arrangements have been revised in view of the prevailing circumstances arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and it is regretfully requested that members of the public do not attempt to attend or participate in any of the events that make up the funeral,” the statement added.
The bells of London’s Westminster Abbey, where Prince Philip married Queen Elizabeth more than 70-years-ago, rang on Friday evening in honor of him.Gun salutes will be fired across the UK at noon on Saturday, the UK Ministry of Defence wrote in a statement. “Across the United Kingdom, in Gibraltar and on HM Ships at sea, saluting batteries will fire 41 rounds at one round every minute for 40 minutes,” it wrote.”The public are encouraged to observe the gun salutes from home, they will take place behind closed doors but broadcast online and on television,” the statement added.More details on funeral arrangements are expected to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace on Saturday, according to a royal source.The royal family joined the British government in asking the public to not gather at the royal residences, in light of coronavirus restrictions, and “make a donation to a charity instead of leaving floral tributes in memory of The Duke of Edinburgh.”An online condolences book has been launched on the family’s official website for those who wish to leave messages, Buckingham Palace said.The College of Arms also gave details for the period of mourning, stating that all “official flags, including the Union Flag, will be flown at half-mast from now until 08:00 on the day following the funeral.”British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to the duke, saying that he’d “earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth, and around the world.”US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden said in a statement: “Philip gladly dedicated himself to the people of the UK, the Commonwealth, and to his family. The impact of his decades of devoted public service is evident in the worthy causes he lifted up as patron, in the environmental efforts he championed, in the members of the Armed Forces that he supported, in the young people he inspired.”