Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pay tribute to Prince Philip: 'You will be greatly missed'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle paid their tribute to Prince Philip. The patriarch of Britain's royal family and husband to Queen Elizabeth II died on Friday at 99, the Buckingham Palace had said.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared the note on their website Archewell. The message read, "In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921-2021. Thank you for your service... you will be greatly missed."

On Saturday, gun salutes will be fired across Britain to mark the death of Prince Philip, who was a pillar of strength for Queen Elizabeth through her 69-year reign. The armed forces will mark Philip's death at noon (1100 GMT) with a Death Gun Salute. Artillery units in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Gibraltar, and some navy warships, will fire their guns.

Buckingham Palace is expected to announce details of the funeral during the day. It will likely be a small, private affair, without the grandeur of traditional royal occasions due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Despite the royal family's request for the public to obey pandemic social distancing rules and avoid visits to their residences, people laid cards and bouquets outside Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace through the night.

The Duke of Edinburgh, as Philip was officially known, was credited with helping to modernise the institution and supporting his wife as the monarchy faced repeated crises. The tenor bell at London's Westminster Abbey tolled 99 times, a traditional marking of the death of a royal family member.

Flags at Buckingham Palace and at government buildings across Britain were lowered to half-mast and billboard operators replaced adverts with a photo and tribute to the prince.

A Greek prince, Philip married Elizabeth in 1947 and broke the news of her father's death five years later while they were in Kenya, meaning that she was queen at the age of 25. He went on to play a key role helping the monarchy adapt to a changing world in the post-World War Two period.

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Philip's charm and disinclination to tolerate those he regarded as foolish or sycophantic earned him respect from some but others found his sometimes brusque demeanour rude and aloof.

with inputs from Reuters