Prince Philip II and Queen Elizabeth II Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
In memoriam. Queen ElizabethOn the first anniversary since his death, Princess Philip was remembered.
“Remembering His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on the first anniversary of his death,” a tweet on the 95-year-old monarch’s official Royal Family Twitter account read on Saturday, April 9, alongside an audio recording of “The Patriarchs – An Elegy” by U.K. Poet Laureate Simon Armitage.
“The weather in the window this morning is snow / unseasonal singular flakes / a slow winter’s final shiver,” Armitage began reading the poem in the clip. “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.”
He continued, “Husbands to duty, they unrolled their plans / across billiard tables and vehicle bonnets, / regrouped at breakfast. What their secrets were / was everyone’s guess and nobody’s business. / Great grand-grandfathers, from birth, became / both inner core & outer case / in an heirloom family of nesting dolls. / Like evidence of early man their boot-prints stand / in the hardened earth of rose-beds and borders. ”
He added with his third stanza: “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 the hands of their rest was to make maps / showing hachured and indigo streams and schemes / from old campaigns and reconnaissance mission. / Last of the great avuncular magicians / they kept their best tricks for the grand finale: / Disproving Immortality and Disappearing Entirely.”
He concluded, “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.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed the death of the Duke of Edinburgh in April 2021.
“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,” a statement read at the time. “The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss. Further announcements will be made in due course.”
Following the Greece native’s death, the long-reigning sovereign — who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year — was “overwhelmed” by the “outpouring of love and support” she received from well-wishers.
“Elizabeth has found it cathartic to soak up all the well-wishes and tributes to the man she loved unconditionally for countless decades,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly upon Philip’s death. “Seeing how many lives he touched has been nothing short of extraordinary.”
The regent — who wed Philip in November 1947 — attended a memorial service for the late consort last month at London’s Westminster Abbey alongside their children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew Prince Edward. Grandchildren Prince William, Princess BeatricePrincess EugenieAssisting was also possible Duchess KateGreat-grandchildren Prince George, 8 and Princess Charlotte, 6, respectively
