On the day of the Prince's one-year anniversary, the Queen took to her official social media account to share a moving poem written by the U.K.'s Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, along with a video montage that featured special moments of Philip's life and their life together.
Queen Elizabeth is marking one year of the demise of her husband, Prince Phillip, with an emotional tribute.
The Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99, from old age. Philip, who the Queen once called her "strength and stay," died "peacefully" at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace announced at the time. The monarch, who will turn 96 this month, and the rest of the family is spending the day privately, PEOPLE reported.
Just eight days after Philip's death, a funeral was held at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on April 17 with attendance limited to just 30 family members and close friends due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the day of the Prince's one-year anniversary, the Queen took to her official social media account to share a moving poem written by the U.K.'s Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. She also shared a video montage that featured special moments of Philip's life and their life together, their royal wedding day and the arrival of their four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"Remembering His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on the first anniversary of his death," read a message added to the post, which was also shared by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Remembering His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on the first anniversary of his death.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2022
Find out more about his life and legacy at: https://t.co/6tFq2vjyNk
Words: ‘The Patriarchs – An Elegy’ by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage pic.twitter.com/WpB2L6D75K
The poem, entitled "The Patriarchs – An Elegy," reads: "The weather in the window this morning is snow, unseasonal singular flakes, a slow winter's final shiver. On such an occasion to presume to eulogize 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."
"Husbands to duty, they unrolled their plans across billiard tables and vehicle bonnets regrouped at breakfast. What their secrets were were everyone's guess and nobody's business. Great-grandfathers from birth, in time they became both inner core and outer case in a family heirloom of nesting dolls."
"Like evidence of early man their boot-prints stand in the hardened earth of rose-beds and borders. They were sons of a zodiac out of sync with the solar year, but turned their minds to the day's big science and heavy questions."
"To study their hands at rest was to picture maps showing hachured valleys and indigo streams, schemes of old campaigns and reconnaissance missions. Last of the great avuncular magicians they kept their best tricks for the grand finale: Disproving Immortality and Disappearing Entirely."
"The major oaks in the wood start tuning up and skies to come will deliver their tributes. But for now, a cold April's closing moments parachute slowly home, so by mid-afternoon snow is recast as seed heads and thistledown."
References:
https://people.com/royals/queen-elizabeth-marks-first-anniversary-prince-philip-death/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Sean Gallup
