Buckingham Palace today confirmed the death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 99, after a large number of people turned up at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to pay their respects. The British mainstream media, each with its own partisan stance, today took a rare stand to mourn the death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, calling him a pillar of the Queen and the backbone of the royal family. Harry, the second son of Prince Philip’s eldest son Prince Charles, who was interviewed not long ago to complain about life in the royal family, also announced that he will go to London to mourn.
According to an AFP report today, Prince Philip passed away and the British public went to Buckingham Palace to mourn with flags and flowers. Individuals and groups of people gathered at Buckingham Palace, the 94-year-old Queen’s official residence in central London, to see the official announcement of the Prince’s death posted on the front door, many of them families with young children travelling with them. The bright spring sunshine turned to a pall of gloom as folk placed a single yellow daffodil on the black front fence of Buckingham Palace and placed bouquets and British flags on the sidewalk in front of the fence. Although authorities urged people not to gather at the site under epidemic prevention regulations, people continued to stream to Windsor Castle to pay their respects, especially elderly couples and families traveling in pairs.
As the news spread, the atmosphere was mournful, with the sound of people talking in hushed tones, broken only by the sound of cars driving past the site.
There was a similar scene outside Windsor Castle, the castle west of London where the Queen and her wife lived during the epidemic blockade, and where the Prince took his last breath. The lawn outside Windsor Castle was filled with bouquets of flowers, paintings, tributes and balloons to show the public’s support for the royal family. One of the cards, in children’s handwriting, read “Dear Queen, I’m sorry for the loss of the Prince,” with hearts painted around the words.
According to Christine Playle, 75, Prince Philip has represented “stability” to generations of Britons. I’m very old and I’ve had the Prince all my life so far,” she said. He was a devoted husband to the Queen, always there for her, always one step behind her, and it is very sad to see him go.”
Outside Buckingham Palace, uniformed mounted police moved between the crowds, whispering reminders to mourners to keep a social distance to prevent the spread of the epidemic. With epidemic restrictions in place, fewer people than usual showed up for such major royal events, but many still felt obliged to go and mourn in person. One woman, who identified herself as Sandra, said, “It’s an honor to come here to pay my respects to Prince Philip.”
AFP said the British mainstream media, each with its own partisan stance, was on the same page today in a rare show of mourning for the death of Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, describing him as a pillar of the Queen and the backbone of the royal family.
Most media outlets cited the importance of the Queen’s 73-year marriage to Prince Philip to the royal family, with The Times and The Guardian calling him the Queen’s “The Daily Star called Prince Philip a “pillar of strength” for the Queen, “a man who can make fun of Lilibet (Prince Philip’s nickname for the Queen) is the man who can make her laugh”.
The Scottish Press and Journal also said goodbye to the “royal patron”, including a photo of the two men in a kilt with their children when they were young; the Times The Scottish edition of “The Times” quoted the Queen as saying, “My strength and my home”.
According to AFP, the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail, gossip papers located at opposite ends of the political spectrum, respectively, ran a rare front page on the same topic, with a full-page photo of the Queen and The headlines read “Goodbye, my love” and “Goodbye, beloved” respectively.
“The Daily Mirror reports that the Duke of Edinburgh has died at the age of 99. “The (royal) family is in mourning” and Prince Harry has put aside recent tensions and “rushed home to mourn. “The Daily Mail
“A special edition of the Daily Mail published the condition of the Duke of Edinburgh’s last days, mentioning “sunshine on his face, blanket on his lap…with his Lilibet by his side”.
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