The Duke of Edinburgh has died aged 99, Buckingham Palace has announced. Prince Phillip, husband and consort to Queen Elizabeth II, recently spent four weeks in hospital, his longest stay ever.

The Palace said in a statement: “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.”

The Palace said more announcements would be made and added: “The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”  A notice announcing the death was placed outside Buckingham Palace, and mourners came to place flowers at the gates.

The Royal Family website was updated to reflect the sad news, with a note adding: “The official website of the Royal Family is temporarily unavailable while appropriate changes are made.”

Read more: What happens next after Prince Philip’s death?

Tributes have poured in from around the world, led by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, who said he had “helped to steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life”.

He said: “He [Philip] was an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.

“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.

“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.

“And it is to Her Majesty, and her family, that our nation’s thoughts must turn today.

Source: Yahoo