Just two months short of his 100th birthday, Prince Philip, husband of the British monarch Queen Elizabeth, breathed his last on Friday. Earlier, the Duke of Edinburgh had spent four weeks in hospital while undergoing treatment for an infection and a heart procedure.
In a statement the Buckingham Palace confirmed the news. "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh," the palace said in a statement. "His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss."
Prince Philip Memes Flood Social Media
Hours after his death was announced by the Palace, the social media was flooded with memes related to Prince Philips death. While several mocked the shock being expressed on his death, there were other who expressed resentment over the viral memes.
"The amount of mocking memes & horrible comments people have made over Prince Philip's death makes you realize how disgusting & disrespectful some people are. Fair enough if you don't like the monarchy but expressing it by making fun of the dead is quite frankly not funny," wrote a user.
The social media also targeted Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, who along with her husband Prince Harry, parted ways with the royal family.
According to The Guardian, the royal commentators believe that Meghan, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, might skip the funeral with the likelihood of Harry returning to UK to attend his grandfather's funeral.
However, the couple has not issued a public statement regarding their plans for attending the funeral.
Prince Philip's 'Racist Comments' Surface Online
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the former Suits actor had revealed that there were concerns among the members of the Royal Family regarding the skin color of her first born Archie, even before his birth.
Prince Philip was known for his remarks that did not go well with his public image and were termed as racist. According to CNN, during a royal visit to China in 1986, Philip described Beijing as "ghastly" and told British students: "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed." He also quipped: "If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
In 2002, the Duke told a Bangladeshi teenager at a London youth club that he "looks as if he is on drugs."
Refinery 29 reported that Prince Philip told the president of Nigeria, who was dressed in a traditional robe, that it looked he was "ready for bed."
Philip was once also accused of comparing Ethiopian art to "the kind of thing my daughter would bring back from school art lessons," the outlet reported.
