Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, passed away in April 2021 at the age of 99, after more than 70 years by Queen Elizabeth II’s side as her husband and closest confidant. Behind the formality of royal duty, Philip had quietly made his final wishes known to his wife years before. And when the time came, she made sure they were honored exactly as he had asked.
“He Wanted to Do Things His Way Until the End”
The first wish was deeply personal: he wanted to die at home, not in a hospital.
“It was the Duke’s fervent wish to die peacefully at home,” a royal source said. “We knew that when he was taken home it was to die on his own terms — not in a hospital bed, but in his own bed. Philip didn’t want any fuss. He wanted to do things his way until the end.”
The Land Rover He Designed Himself
His second wish was about his final journey — something only Philip himself could have come up with. He had helped design the Land Rover that would be used at his funeral years earlier, and he told the Queen exactly how he wanted it used.
“Just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor,” he had told her, according to the Daily Mail.
Both wishes were honored exactly as he’d asked.
“My Strength and Stay”
The Queen had already made clear just how much he meant to her. At their golden wedding anniversary years earlier, she described him in a speech as someone who rarely accepted praise easily.
“He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments,” she said. “But he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
A Grandson’s Tribute
Prince William, his grandson, echoed that same sentiment after his passing.
“My grandfather’s century of life was defined by service — to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family,” William said.
A Love Measured in Devotion
Some marriages are measured in years. Theirs was measured in quiet devotion — right down to the very last promise she kept for him. 🕊️
