Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, dies aged 99

London: The husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip - the Duke of Edinburgh and Britain's longest-serving royal consort passed away on Friday aged 99, Buckingham Palace announced.

In a statement issued on behalf of the 94-year-old monarch, the palace said that Prince Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle on Friday morning.

The Royal Family joins with people around the world in mourning his loss. Further announcements will be made in due course, the statement added.

The Duke, who was to mark his 100th birthday on June 10, was discharged from the hospital after a month since he had been admitted there and went on to have a successful heart procedure.

The 28-night stay had been his longest spell in hospital after he was first admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital on February 16 before moving to a National Health Service (NHS) specialist St. Bartholomew's Hospital two weeks later, where he underwent a procedure for a pre-existing heart condition.

The 28-night stay had been his longest spell in hospital where he was treated for a pre-existing heart condition.

In recent months, Prince Philip and the Queen had spent most of the lockdown at Windsor Castle in England with a small group of household staff, nicknamed HMS Bubble. The prince married Princess Elizabeth in 1947, five years before she became Queen, and was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.

The Duke retired from official royal duties in 2017 after years of service in the armed forces and then as a consort to the monarch, with several charity endeavours.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to the royal, whom he hailed as an environmentalist and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.

The Union flag at Buckingham Palace has been lowered to half-mast in his memory and Operation Forth Bridge has kicked in, the official name for the procedures related to the Duke of Edinburgh's death.

As a husband of Britain's Sovereign, the Duke is entitled to a full State funeral, but he had expressed his preference for a "less fussy", private, military-style funeral at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle and a burial at Frogmore Gardens, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are interred.

No official details have been released yet, but it is understood he will be given a royal ceremonial funeral rather than a State funeral, in line with his wishes. The Queen will sign off the final plans in the coming days.