Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband and confidant of the U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth II since 1947, has died. He was 99.
The prince "passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle," according to an emailed statement Friday (April 9) from the queen's officials.
Philip's death comes at a moment of profound change for the U.K. Five years after the vote to leave the European Union, Britain is trying to heal the wounds from the Brexit process, while recovering from the pandemic that pushed the economy into its deepest recession for 300 years.
The royal family itself has been buffeted by a succession of controversies, most recently over Prince Harry's departure from royal duties. Harry's wife, Meghan Markle, said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March that an unnamed senior royal had asked "how dark" her unborn son's skin color would be. That prompted a rare public response from the queen.
As he led the tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Philip had "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."
(Source: Bloomberg)
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