Prince Philip: On camera - His visits to the Midlands during a life of service

His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh has died aged 99.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has died, Buckingham Palace has announced. He was 99.

The Palace say he passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

During a public life that lasted more than sixty years, Prince Philip completed thousands of public engagements in Britain and across the world.  

He visited the Midlands many times, at the side of the Queen, for celebrations and to show support in darker times. 


  • Prince Philip's visits to the East Midlands


  • Prince Philip's visits to the West Midlands



One of the first filmed official visits to the West Midlands after the Royal Wedding of 1947 was to the Shrewsbury agricultural show in 1949.


Shrewsbury Agricultural Show Credit: Pathe

He visited Nottingham in the same year, and returned in 1984 to unveil ITV News Central's new headquarters, making a joke about his “Spitting Image” lookalike. 

The Duke of Edinburgh took a strong interest in Midlands’ manufacturing industries, visiting the Fort Dunlop, Rolls Royce and Jaguar plants over the years. 


Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh in 2014 during a tour of the new Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton Credit: PA

He spent five and a half hours examining tyres at Fort Dunlop, as well as enjoying a drink in Burton-on-Trent in 2002.

He was clearly moved when he visited a hospital and spoke to those injured in the Birmingham Pub Bombings in 1974.

But was on hand to grab the elbow of a man who slipped in the mud during a visit to Walsall in 1981!


Prince Philip was on hand to help a man who slipped in the mud during a visit to Walsall in 1981. Credit: ITV Central

In the last few years of his public life he made several visits to Leicester, including for the first stop on the Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012, and to attend the Royal Maundy Service at Leicester Cathedral in 2017.


Queen Elizabeth ll and the Duke of Edinburgh attend the Royal Maundy Service at Leicester Cathedral on April 13, 2017 Credit: PA

The Royal couple had visited Birmingham to enact the same tradition decades before, where the Queen hands out symbolic ‘Maundy Money’ to nominated recipients.


The Queen arriving at St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham, to hand out Maundy Money in the centuries-old tradition. Credit: PA

His most recent visit to the city was for the opening of Grand Central - and he had previously opened the Bull Ring Centre in 1964.


The Duke of Edinburgh talks to Network Rail employees during the official opening of the refurbished Birmingham New Street Station. Credit: PA

The tributes and condolences from the Midlands have been quick to pour in.


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