Queen shares touching photo tribute to ‘strength and stay’ Prince Philip day after husband of 73 years dies
THE Queen has shared a touching photo tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh - a day after her husband of 73 years died at the age of 99.
Her Majesty referred to Prince Philip as "my strength and stay all these years" in a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997.
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Now the royals have shared an image of the couple smiling for an official portrait on their official Instagram account.
And the caption includes parts of the toast the Queen made to her husband 24 years ago.
She had said: "He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know."
It comes as:
- Tower of London lead 40-minute global gun salute in honour of Philip
- Prince William pulls out of Bafta speech in sign of respect
- What to expect this weekend as the UK mourns Prince Philip
- Queen to sign off on funeral arrangements today but will be forced to choose 30 attendees
- Prince Andrew was the first royal to arrive at Windsor Castle to comfort Queen
- Duke's death announced to PM with 'Forth Bridge is down' coded message after Royal Family told
- Queen was 'by Philip's bedside' when he died after final days 'in good form reading in the sun'
The Queen spoke of her devastation at the death of her "beloved" husband yesterday.
She was at Philip's bedside when he died, it's thought.
The Duke of Edinburgh is believed to have spent his final days in "good form" reading and writing letters "in the sun" weeks before his 100th birthday.
Despite officials at the Palace declining to "go into any specifics" about the Duke's passing, it is understood that his condition worsened overnight on Thursday with insiders warning that he had become "gravely ill".
However, any talk of whisking Prince Philip back to the hospital was reportedly dismissed by the Queen.
True to form, in his final days, the Prince is said to have insisted on looking after himself.
He refused to wear a hearing aid - which led to his wife being overheard saying meant "we have to shout".
And the royal reportedly chastised staff who put a wheelchair in his private rooms and insisted on dressing himself in recent months.
One aide told the Daily Mail he insisted on bending to the floor and picking up his dropped reading glasses, saying "I'll do it" when a footman sprung forward.
The monarch's moving tribute to her husband was posted on the social networking site this morning.
The Instagram post reads: "At the Queen’s Coronation in 1953, The Duke of Edinburgh swore to be Her Majesty’s ‘liege man of life and limb.’
"The Duke was a devoted consort - or companion to the Sovereign - for almost 70 years, from Her Majesty’s Accession in 1952 until his death."
Philip was the Queen's support in public at the most significant national moments.
But he was also the person who knew her best.
A private secretary once said: "Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being.
"He's the only man who can."
And while he was known for being occasionally abrupt - and making the odd gaffe - the Duke was a deep thinker with a sensitive side.
Many photographs show him making his wife laugh, even during the most formal of occasions.
And his softer side was shown best in a beautiful prayer he composed about the environment for a children’s charity book.
He married Elizabeth in 1947 at Westminster Abbey after the pair met at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1934.
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The royal pair then went on to have four children together - Charles, Prince of Wales, born 1948; Anne, Princess Royal, born 1950; Andrew, Duke of York, born 1960; and Edward, Earl of Wessex, born 1964.
They have eight grandchildren: Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louse Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn.
They have another eight great-grandchildren including Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Prince George, Mia Tindall, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Lena Tindall, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and August Philip Brooksbank.
Their latest great-grandson August, the son of Princess Eugenie and husband Jack, was given the middle name Philip in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among the public figures to have paid tribute.
Speaking from a podium in Downing Street, Mr Johnson said: "He was an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.
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"With his Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.
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"We remember the duke for all of this and above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty the Queen.
"Not just as her consort, by her side every day of her reign, but as her husband, her 'strength and stay', of more than 70 years."