♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ tonight, celebrating a prince. queen elizabeth's husband and closest confident, dead at 99, now the life and legacy of prince philip, from a childhood marked by heart ache to a promising naval career. sacrificed for service to his queen. >> he has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years. >> how the duke of edinbough, guided a grieving nation and as the crown battles a new series of crisis, what the future now holds for the royal family. marching forward with you out their prince. this special edition of "nightline," celebrating a

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♪ ♪ good evening and thank you for joining us, i'm trevor ault, tonight a wave of sadness washing over buckingham palace. queen elizabeth and the united

kingdom mourning the loss of princes philip. he was a pillar of strength behind the british mondarchy,arh prince philip's 99 years of life, mourning the loss of queen elizabeth's beloved husband of 73 years. >> this is absolutely devastating nor the queen. this is the love of her life, this was the man by her side for decades. >> he fell in love with the queen and chose to a take on a life of not only being her husband, but also serving the crown. >> prince charles visited his mother this afternoon as the royal pafamily plans for a funeral, prince harry and meghan markle paying tribute from afar on their foundation's website and prince william and his wife catherine, honoring the duke on instagram. prince philip, a stallwart of

the british monarchy, handsome and full of full of full of they met in 1939, elizabeth visiting a naval college and meeting prince philip in the british royal navy. >> he been very dashing as a young man. and i think that is why the queen was so madly in love with him. >> even from the first encounter there was a spark between them. >> philip was born a prince but it was far from a fairytale childhood. his family fleeing war and revolution in greece when he was just a baby. spending his early years in exile and his mother suffering a mental break down and withdrawing to a religious order and his father absent. >> it was a nomadic that was difficult. >> his boarding school was his

one source of stability and after joining the royal navy he distinguished himself in world war ii. >> during the war, prince philip was serving with the british forces and elizabeth was writing to him and when he returned from the war, that is when their love blossomed and he started to visit buckingham palace and people around them could see that this was starting to turn in to something and this was quite significant. >> the day of the wedding and immense crowds. >> the two were married in november of 1947, and she was 21 years old. ♪ ♪ just five years later after the sudden death of her father king george vi, queen elizabeth ascending to the throne and philip kneeling at the knee of his young wife. >> my father had a successful career in the navy and he gave it up to do the job and support the queen. >> you have to remember, this is

a man who was a serving naval officer who was very accomplished, very mask lynn had, living in a world where most men went on out to work and were the bread winners and he was being asked to do the absolute opposite, it was a reversal of gender roles, especially for a man like philip. >> in 2011, he spoke to the bbc about the challenges of the early years. >> the problem was you had to recognize what the niche was and to try and grow in to it. and that was by trial and error, and there was no precedent. >> so your first duty was to support the queen? >> yes. >> what does that involve? >> well, helping her. and supporting her. and doing anything that is valuable to her h. >> it's tough to be in this figure-head position when there's individual journeys to be followed and goals to be reached and prince philip recognized that he to set aside

his own career to be the few steps behind the queen in her achievement for such a long reign. >> my work is not grinning like a ape while you cut ribbons. >> his acceptance of his duty, vividly portrayed in the network series, the crown. >> she is the job. she is thes essence of your duty. >> i understand, sir is. >> while famously walking two steps behind his queen in life, philip and elizabeth were in lockstep as equal partners, raising four children in a loving enduring marriage. >> behind the scenes philip was very much the head of the family and he was also a family man. family members turned had turned to him for advice. >> he was the only person that was able to tease her and help

her through the difficult times. >> prince philip supported more than 800 charities. he made more than 620 solo visits to 143 countries, traveling thousands of miles around the globe with the queen on tours and state visits, never grabbing the spotlight for himself. >> it must be difficult to be in the shadow and being the support. he does it well and never complained. >> it's obvious to all of us and everyone who sees it going on, without him, you know, she'd be slightly lost, i think. >> the duke of edinburgh carved out a new role for the monarchy. >> he changed the royal family for the better. someone that made things more modern, to be more in step with the society that the people live in. >> he was one of the first within the institution to see the monarchy as a brand and how had that brand looked on the world stage and so his advice to the queen in terms of thinking

of public perception really shaped the monarchy in to the modern institution. >> a keen sportsman full of energy and ideas. in the early days he was seen as a radical outsider and he a sense of human that are could sometimes land him in trouble. >> i think that the main lesson that we have learned that tolerance is the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage. and you can take it from me, that the queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance. >> my father's always capable of being able to manage interviews in a way and say things that the rest of us always dreamed we could say. >> he was very much a straight talker. he didn't like fuss on or pomp or pageantry, which is ironic given that he was a member of a family that celebrated all of those things. he was always the first to crack a joke and really be that sort o smiling face in the room. >> i read that he was, he sort of changed things up in that he

would answer his own phone. he would open the door for himself. and was he considered sort of the first prince of the people? >> he was a military man. so, he didn't like fuss. he was a man who did carry his own suitcase, and did want to open his own doors. this put a few noses on out of joint at the palace. but it was very relatable to people in britain. >> he retired from his public duties in 2017. final public appearance in july of last year, and ending over his role of colonol and chief of rifles to camilla, tributes to the prince pouring in. president biden offering condolenses before a meeting in the oval office. >> he was a heck of a guy. you know, his lifetime of service to the united kingdom and the common wealth was visible to everyone for a long, long time. and 99 years old, he never

slowed down at all which i admire the devil out of. >> and the obamas paying tribute on instagram, at the queen's side or trailing the customay two steps behind, prince philip showed the world what it meant to be a supportive husband to a powerful woman. he was on so many visits to presidents. he visited the reagans at their california get away in 1983, in the white house and on camden yard. to see the orioles play the oakland a's in 1991 and visits with the obamas too, and windsor castle in 2016. the loss comes in a time of great struggle already. more than a year in to this pandemic, there will be no crowds and flowers and cards have already made their way to the palace gates. prime minister boris johnson speaking for all of britain. >> we give thanks as a nation,

and a kingdom for the extraordinary life and work of prince philip. duke of edinburgh. >> hundreds descending on the palace offering tributes. >> sad, we brought the flowers out the pay our respects. > and tonight, thoughts are with the queen. >> i think i'm feeling what most british people will be. which is concern for the queen. she is always been a much loved monarch, but especially during covid when many people could not see their own grandparents she really has become grandmother to the nation. so, there will be absolute concern today that she has lost her strength and stay. >> she has quite simply been my strength and stay all these years. and i and his whole family owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall never know. >> coming up, where the british monarchy now stands as it faces new crisis.

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♪ ♪ from the moment prince philip married queen elizabeth, to his last breath this morning, duke of edinburgh devoted his heart to his queen and the monarchy, a future that as you know certain as it faces a series of new scandals. >> the duke of edinburgh's death, the longest serving briti british spouse in history comes in a turmoil period.

>> they were dropping bombshell after bombshell. >> five weeks after prince harry and meghan's explosive oprah interview. >> meghan shared that there was a conversation with you about archie's skin tone. what was that conversation? >> that conversation, i am never going to share. >> raising questions as to whether the monarchy could everyone survive. >> in the months when i was pregnant, all around the same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security. he is not going to be given a title and also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born. >> the comments sparked a guessing game as to which royal had expressed them. oprah chiming in the next day as to who had not. >> it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather that were a

part of those conversations. >> this central question of racism and the question about the color of the newborn baby, really raises major issues. see major that prince william himself has actually come out and felt the need to say, allbeit, in this clipped way, we are not a racist family. >> very much not a racist family. >> the interview laying bear the relationship between prince harry and his brother prince william. >> the relationship is space at the moment. and you know, time heals all things, hopefully. >> prince philip had often played the role of family peace maker. >> i think he always had sort of like the firm hand and sort of the ability to navigate through any kind of crisis is quite rationally and diplomatically,

and of course we have seen in other cases the emotions have run rife and that's where a lot of the time, tensions and issues arise. >> it was philip who apparently encouraged the queen to make the famous speech celebrating after having been accused of being too royal, or alouf. >> she never lost the capacity to sapphiinspire others. >> prince philip had an important role in diana's death. he was the one that protected them and who they turned to, mayber more than their dad at that particular time. he took them shooting in the high schools and walking in the hills to clear their head. he was a champion to them, he was someone to look up to and he will be sorely missed by the family. >> the 73 year long partnership now leaving a painful void. >> she is of an age where she

will understand that death is a part of life in every respect. and she will miss him like mad. >> and particularly recently they had spent quite a bit of time together through the pandemic and so they have been able to spend more time than they have in recent years in it's an incredibly difficult time for her. previously when she is appeared in public by herself, people have understood that prince philip is retired and he is still there behind the scenes. i think there will be something poignant seeing her on her own, that when she goes home she is still on her own. >> and it now renews the questions of the firm. >> he is effectively the head of the family and will a take a substantial role going forward. we will see this a bit of a transition. >> we are sort of watching before our eyes the institution cange. that smaller, slim down monarchy that prince charles spoke about is finally happening and without the sussexs, it ist is

pressure of keeping the leggingsy on of the monarchy alive and making surer that it can survive the next chapter. >> what do you think is the future within the monarchy andthe family? >> prince charles and prince william are very savvy. prince william especially. he is someone who knows how the read the room. and i think diana famously said, he may look like a spencer but he is a windsor. so they will know what they need to do to steady the ship. >> as the world begins to mourn the loss of prince philip, all eyes will turn to whether his passing will help heal the fractured family. >> will that improve relations between the brothers in the long run? for harry, it's going to be a difficult moment. flying back to the family where things are pretty strained between him and the other family members. it's going to believe a lot of on awkward conversations that may or may not happen. >> there's still significant hurt there between family members over the interview and

fall-out from that. however, like any family, the royal family will be coming together and mourning together in this time and wanting to support each other and of course that can help mend relationships. >> the royal family lives for duty. it's engrained and prince rs charles knows what he needs to do. and prince william does as well with. that's their duty and they will do all they can to maintain the monarchy. >> and as night falls on windsor castle, mourners still coming by to remember the prince who helped shape the monarchy. we will be right back with the final note. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme.

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♪ ♪ finally tonight, remembering the incomparable dmx. ♪ ♪ ♪ y'all going to the make me lose my mind ♪ up in here, up in here. >> born earl simmons in new york, the grammy nominated singer's career spanning three decades. and today, in white plains, new

york, the growing memorial, fans honmonday -- fans honoring the performer, dmx was 50. rest easy. that is "nightline," you can watch our full episodes on hulu, see you the same time next week, thank you for watching.