Her Majesty announced that the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh passed away peacefully at Windsor Castle this morning.

Buckingham Palace released a statement which said: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

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

The Duke of Edinburgh had dedicated his life to the Royal Family and his wife the Queen, who once described him as her “strength and stay”.

Prince Philip was hospitalized on February 16 as “precautionary measure” because he had been feeling sick. After a two-week stay in hospital, the Duke of Edinburgh was transferred to another facility on March 1 to treat an infection, as well as undergo a procedure for his heart, NBC News reported.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that doctors “will continue to treat him for an infection, as well as undertake testing and observation for a pre-existing heart condition.”

“The Duke remains comfortable and is responding to treatment but is expected to remain in hospital until at least the end of the week,” the statement said.

His Royal Highness returned to Windsor Castle in late March. He had previously been hospitalized in December of 2019 for four days, and returned to Windsor Castle on Christmas Eve.

The Duke retired from his royal duties in August of 2017 at age 96. He was the longest-serving royal consort in British history. HRH’s last public appearance was in July of 2020, when he transferred his ceremonial role as Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles to his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince Philip Mourned: Britain Honors Queen’s ‘Loyal Consort’ of 73 Years https://t.co/rFthS5TaEJ

— Variety (@Variety) April 9, 2021

Prince Philip was born on June 10, 1921 in Corfu, Greece. His father was Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, who was a younger son of King George I of the Hellenes. His mother was Princess Alice, a daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

Prince Philip’s family had been exiled from the country when he was a child. On completing his education in France and Germany, HRH joined the British Royal Navy in 1939. Before marrying Queen Elizabeth, the Duke abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, and became a naturalized British subject. He was invested with the titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich before the 1947 wedding day in Westminster Abbey.