Palace extends condolences to Queen Elizabeth

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang extended yesterday the condolences of the Filipino people to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the death of Prince Philip.

Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died at the age of 99 on Friday.

“On behalf of the Filipino people, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte extends his deep condolences to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the passing of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday.

“The Philippines and the United Kingdom have strong bilateral ties and we share the grief of the British people in this period of bereavement,” he added.

Malacañang joined other nations in praying for the Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving royal consort in British history. Prince Philip was at the Queen’s side for more than her six decades of reign.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Friday night expressed his condolences to the United Kingdom over the passing of Prince Philip.

“Deepest sympathies for the loss of the British people and the grief of Her Majesty,” Locsin said in a message to British ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said an official communication would be sent through diplomatic channels, either through the Philippine embassy in London or the British embassy in Manila.

On Twitter, Pruce tweeted a photo of the UK flag at half-mast.

He paid tribute to the Prince, citing his “remarkable lifetime of service.”