The magnificent man in his flying machine, the horse whisperer and a keen sportsman to the end: Royal Family celebrates Prince Philip’s love of life by issuing these heartwarming pictures
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The Royal Family has shared heartwarming pictures of the Duke of Edinburgh flying, playing sports and spending time with horses.
Their official Twitter and Instagram accounts published the recent and old pictures of Prince Philip enjoying the things he loved most in life.
Some showed the Queen’s husband, who died last Friday aged 99, posing in the cockpit of a plane as well as him mid-flight after he got his licence in 1953.
It was captioned: ‘The Duke learned to fly with @RoyalAirForce at White Waltham and gained his RAF Wings in 1953, his helicopter wings with the Royal Navy in 1956, and his Private Pilots Licence in 1959. He gave up flying in 1997 after accumulating 5,986 hours as a pilot in 59 types of aircraft.’
Others featured the Prince at sporting events including at his beloved cricket – where he shared a joke with bowling legends James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff.
A comment with the pictures said: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh had a passion for sports, and played an influential part in the administration of many sporting and recreation charities in the role of President or Patron.’
The final set depict the Duke with horses – a passion he shared with his daughter Princess Anne – mostly during Olympic equestrian events.
A statement added: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh was President of @BritAthletics for 59 years, and @thecgf between 1955 and 1990.
‘In his role as President of @FEI_Global, The Duke was responsible for the organisation of all equestrian sporting events at five @Olympics Games between 1968 and 1984.’
The Prince is pictured at sporting events including at his beloved cricket – where he shared a joke here with bowling legends James Anderson, Andrew Flintoff and Graeme Swann. He met them before the start of the second Test of the 2009 Ashes series at Lord’s, where they went on to secure a 115-run victory over Australia
Some showed the Queen’s husband, who died last Friday aged 99, posing in the cockpit of a plane as well as him mid-flight after he got his licence in 1953. He is pictured in the cockpit of an aircraft at RAF White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire in 1953
The final set depict the Duke with horses – a passion he shared with his daughter Princess Anne – mostly during Olympic equestrian events
The Duke is pictured flying solo in a plane above the magnificent Windsor Castle in Berkshire after he got his wings in 1953. This pictured was taken on May 4, 1953. It is of a Harvard Trainer flown by the Duke over the iconic castle. It was taken from a plane piloted by Flight Lieutenant CR Gordon, Prince Philip’s instructor
His flying pictures were captioned: ‘The Duke learned to fly with @RoyalAirForce at White Waltham and gained his RAF Wings in 1953, his helicopter wings with the Royal Navy in 1956, and his Private Pilots Licence in 1959. He gave up flying in 1997 after accumulating 5,986 hours as a pilot in 59 types of aircraft’
The Duke of Edinburgh is pictured with Her Majesty the Queen sharing a joke at what appears to be an Olympic event
Prince Philip smiles as he talks to young England crickets during an event at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London
The Duke of Edinburgh was also a keen cricketer and in 1950 he became Patron – or Twelfth Man – of the Lord’s Taverners, a cricketing charity which helps young disadvantaged and disabled people through sport and was twice elected to be President of the Marylebone Cricket Club
Prince Philip has a chat to Jamaican Olympic athletes during the London 2012 games as others crowd around him and take pictures. He is pictured here with sprinter Asafa Powell during a tour of the Athletes Village dining hall on day one of the London games