Prince Philip.Photo: Matt Dunham/Getty
Even as he approached age 100,Prince Philipremained a magnetic presence.
Former palace spokeswoman Ailsa Anderson tells PEOPLE that many of the Duke of Edinburgh’s qualities stayed with him “right to the end.”
“Oh gosh, he was charming! He still had a twinkle in his eye right to the end,” Anderson says in this week’s cover story. “When he spoke to you, you thought you were the only person who mattered in the world. It was like a lighthouse beacon shining onto you, and you feel like the only person he wanted to talk to.”
A former senior aide adds that the royal, who died Friday at the age of 99, was also humble and engaging: “He would always ask people what they were reading. He never talked about his life. You had to prompt the stories out of him.”
“She fell in love, and she never looked at anyone else,“biographer Sally Bedell Smith says in PEOPLE’s cover story.
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth.Tim Graham/Getty Images
Princess Eugenierecalled her grandfather’s universal magnetism in a heartfelt tribute shared to her Instagram page on Wednesday.
Prince Philip’sfuneralwill be at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle at 3 p.m. U.K. time (10 a.m. ET) and will be broadcast live.
It will be known as a ceremonial royal funeral and not a state funeral, which are generally reserved for monarchs. The funeral plans take into account the country’s COVID guidelines and is “much reduced in scale with no public access,” a palace spokesman said.
source: people.com
