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Royal family remembers ‘grandpa’ Philip on his 100th birthday

Princess Eugenie, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall marked what would have been the duke’s centenary.

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The royal family has paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh on the day he would have turned 100.

Philip, the nation’s longest serving consort, died on April 9, just nine weeks before his milestone centenary.

Princess Eugenie wrote on Instagram: “Thinking of Grandpa on what would have been his 100th birthday.”

Clarence House posted a black and white archive photograph of a two-year-old Charles holding his father’s hand as Philip, wearing a dapper double-breasted suit and sunglasses, greeted him after returning home from a trip to Malta in 1951.

The young Charles, who had gone to London Airport to meet his father, led Philip by the hand as they walked away from the Viking Aircraft of the King’s Flight.

“Remembering The Duke of Edinburgh, on what would have been his 100th birthday,” the post on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s official Instagram account said.

It also included an image of Philip at Windsor in July 2020 after the ceremony to transfer his role as colonel-in-chief of The Rifles to Camilla.

The Earl of Wessex, however, told CNN that his father was “incredibly self-effacing” and probably would not have wanted the hassle of celebrating turning 100.

Edward said: “I don’t think he ever really necessarily wanted to reach his centenary because I just think he thought there would be too much fuss and that wasn’t him, that was just not him at all.”

US First Lady Jill Biden said she and husband President Joe Biden were “holding the entire Royal Family in our hearts”.

The Bidens are preparing to visit the Queen at Windsor Castle on Sunday.

The First Lady tweeted: “We are holding the entire Royal Family in our hearts today, and wishing them peace and comfort on what would have been Prince Philip’s 100th birthday.”

The Queen poignantly marked the occasion with the planting of a newly-bred rose named after her beloved late husband.

Queen Elizabeth II plants Duke of Edinburgh rose
The Queen accepting the Duke of Edinburgh Rose (Steve Parsons/PA)

She described the Duke of Edinburgh Rose, which is deep pink, dappled with white lines and double-flowered, as “lovely” and the tribute as “very kind”.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also commemorated the anniversary, with their Twitter account posting: “Today we remember His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, on what would have been his 100th birthday.”

The Princess Royal reminisced about her father’s life-long passion for engineering in an interview with ITV News and mentioned the special barbecue kit, transported in a Land Rover trailer, he had built for family holidays at Balmoral.

She said: “The trailer was designed specifically for that role. It was actually made by the engineer at Sandringham but it was designed entirely for that purpose and everything had a place, and you needed to know where that was … and then it worked, really well!”

Duke of Edinburgh death
The Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh watch the dressage stage of the eventing at Greenwich Park during the London 2012 Olympics. Andrew Milligan

And she reflected on how his background had made him an inquisitive person: “I think your life experience makes a huge impact. He’d seen a lot of it and across a really wide area of both work and industry and in academia so, yes… He probably asked more questions than he gave opinions. He was always good at that.”

The Duchess of Cornwall paid tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh and her father when she was presented with a bouquet, which included rosemary, symbolic of remembrance, during a visit to the Garden Museum on London’s South Bank.

The duchess said: “I’m thrilled to be here today.

“It would have been the birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh and tomorrow would be the day of the death of my father and I’m very honoured to be here today, doing something I know they would have appreciated.”

Camilla’s father, Major Bruce Shand, was a wine merchant who served with the 12th Lancers during the Second World War.

He was awarded the Military Cross in 1940 and again in 1942 for his efforts in France and was later wounded and taken prisoner while fighting in North Africa.

He died died on June 11 2006 aged 89.

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