Prince Philip, the husband of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away at the age of 99, the Royal Family announced on Friday.

"It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh", the Buckingham Palace statement read.

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss, the statement read.

Prince Philip, whose official title was of the Duke of Edinburgh, supported Queen Elizabeth II for 65 years before retiring from his public role in 2017.  The Queen described him as his "strength and stay" in a speech on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.

The couple got married at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947, after which Philip renounced his Greek royal title in order to become a British citizen.

He and Elizabeth - who at the time had not yet ascended to the throne - then moved to Malta, where Philip assumed command of a battleship - the last active command of his military career.

His life spanned nearly a century of European history, starting with his birth as a member of the Greek royal family and ending as Britain's longest serving consort during a turbulent reign in which the thousand-year-old monarchy was forced to reinvent itself for the 21st century.

He was known for his occasionally racist and sexist remarks - and for gamely fulfilling more than 20,000 royal engagements to boost British interests at home and abroad. He headed hundreds of charities, founded programs that helped British schoolchildren participate in challenging outdoor adventures, and played a prominent part in raising his four children, including his eldest son, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne.

Philip, who was given the title Duke of Edinburgh on his wedding day, saw his sole role as providing support for his wife, who began her reign as Britain retreated from empire and steered the monarchy through decades of declining social deference and U.K. power into a modern world where people demand intimacy from their icons.

In the 1970s, Michael Parker, an old navy friend and former private secretary of the prince, said of him: "He told me the first day he offered me my job, that his job - first, second and last - was never to let her down."

The queen, a very private person not given to extravagant displays of affection, once called him "her rock" in public.

In private, Philip called his wife Lilibet; but he referred to her in conversation with others as "The Queen."

The popular Netflix series "The Crown" gave Philip a central role, with a slightly racy, swashbuckling image. He never commented on it in public, but the portrayal struck a chord with many Britons, including younger viewers who had only known him as an elderly man.

Philip spent a month in hospital earlier this year before being released on March 16 to return to Windsor Castle.

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