Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon officially open the Border Railway at the Scottish Borders town of Tweedbank in 2015. Picture: EPA
Members of the royal family have paid tribute to Prince Philip to mark the first anniversary of his death.
The Duke of Edinburgh died on 9 April, last year, at the age of 99 and a video montage was shared on social media to mark the first anniversary of his passing, on Saturday.
The footage is accompanied by a reading of ‘The Patriarchs – An Elegy’ by the poet Simon Armitage and shows Philip at various points of his life, including when he was a child, his wedding to Queen Elizabeth and the births of the couple’s four children.
The poem was originally published on the day of the duke's funeral last year and pays tribute to his distinguished career in the Royal Navy.
It says: “On such an occasion to presume to eulogise one man is to pipe up for a whole generation – that crew whose survival was always the stuff of minor miracle, who came ashore in orange-crate coracles, fought ingenious wars, finagled triumphs at sea with flaming decoy boats, and side-stepped torpedoes."
Philip’s generation is described in the poem as “husbands to duty”, “great-grandfathers from birth” and “last of the great avuncular magicians”.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall also paid tribute to the duke on social media with some family photos.
A post on the Clarence House Twitter page read: “Remembering The Duke of Edinburgh today, one year after his passing.”
Queen Elizabeth is said to have marked the first anniversary of her husband’s death privately at Windsor Castle.
Philip was remembered at a memorial service at Westminster Abbey last month and his friend David Conner, the Dean of Windsor, described the late royal as a “remarkable man” who was committed to “down-to-earth” causes.
He said: “Certainly, he could show great sympathy and kindness. There is no doubt that he had a delightfully engaging, and often self-deprecating, sense of humour.
“It is quite clear that his mind held together both speculation and common sense. Moreover, nobody would ever doubt his loyalty and deep devotion to our Queen and to their family.”
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