PRINCE Philip has died, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

The Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, had been unwell for sometime before today's announcement, confirmed by the Palace just after midday today.

A statement issued by Buckingham Palace said that he had died peacefully in his sleep.

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

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

Philip, 99, who was married to the Queen for more than 70 years, was just weeks from his milestone 100th birthday on June 10, and the Queen is approaching her platinum jubilee next year.

Philip concluded his decades of royal duty in 2017, with his decision to retire coming in a surprise announcement from Buckingham Palace.

He carried out his final official royal engagement in August of that year, stepping down from a lifetime of public service at the age of 96 – although he was seen at the occasional engagement in the years that followed.

The duke, who dedicated the majority of his life to supporting the Queen and appearing at official engagements, withdrew from public duties but still remained active and busy.

The royal family, like the rest of the country, spent months separated from one another, with the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge contracting coronavirus.

Now the royal family is grieving, having had to say goodbye to their much-loved patriarch Philip – at a time when the monarchy had already been plunged into crisis.

The Windsors had been experiencing one of their most challenging periods in the modern era with the bitter fallout from the Megxit crisis, the rift between two royal brothers, and the scandal surrounding the Duke of York.

Who was the Duke of Edinburgh?

The Duke of Edinburgh – also known as Prince Philip – was married to Queen Elizabeth II.

He was the longest-serving consort in British history.

When was he born?

The duke was born on June 10 1921 on the Greek island of Corfu.

He was a prince of Greece and Denmark and his parents were Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg.

He was exiled from Greece as a child and grew up in France, Germany and Britain.

How did he meet the Queen?

They were distant cousins and both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.

They attended some of the same events in their youth – a wedding in 1934 and King George VI’s coronation in 1937.

But they had their first publicised meeting in 1939 when Philip was 18 and Princess Elizabeth was 13.

The princess’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, had taken her and her sister, Princess Margaret, to visit the naval college in Dartmouth and cadet Philip was assigned to entertain the princesses.

When did they fall in love?

Elizabeth first fell for tall, blond, athletic Philip during their Dartmouth encounter when he amused her by jumping over tennis nets.

The pair wrote regular letters to one another and later met on numerous occasions, with Philip even spending Christmas with the royal family during the Second World War.

What did Philip do in the Second World War?

He fought for Britain in the Royal Navy.

He saw active service from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, and by 1945 was in Tokyo Bay as the Japanese surrendered.

He was mentioned in despatches for his service on battleship HMS Valiant in 1941.

When did he marry Princess Elizabeth?

Philip and Elizabeth’s engagement was announced in July 1947 and the royal wedding took place on November 20 1947 in London’s Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth was 21 and not yet Queen.

Five years after they married – in 1952 – George VI died and Elizabeth became the monarch.

What was the duke’s surname?

Philip renounced his Greek title and became a naturalised Briton in 1947. He became Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.

He chose his new surname Mountbatten – an Anglicised form of his mother’s maiden name Battenberg – rather than Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg – the family name of the Danish royal house from which his father was descended.

He was made the Duke of Edinburgh by Princess Elizabeth’s father, George VI, just before the wedding. The Queen later made him a prince of the UK.

How did the Queen and the duke manage to stay married for so long?

They shared interests – a love of horses and outdoor life – and had the same dutiful royal training.

What did he do for the royal family?

He is known for supporting the Queen through her long reign, and carrying out thousands of royal engagements.

He also was involved for decades with hundreds of charities, and set up The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award youth adventure scheme.