Prince Philip honored by charity in a touching nod to his lifetime duty to the Queen

Prince Philip is being remembered in a touching tribute to his maritime service, as well as his lifetime service to his wife the Queen. The tribute comes from a charity, the RNLI, that was very close to the Duke's heart.

• Prince Philip was in the navy as well as a keen sailor.
• The RNLI are calling one of their boats after him.
• In other royal news, Prince George and Princess Charlotte's strict private school uniform rules revealed

Prince Philip, who died aged 99 at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2021, is remembered not only for his unwavering support of the Queen but also for his dedication to charitable interests. 

One particularly important charity which he wholeheartedly backed was the RNLI. Needless to say, he would be proud as punch to have one of their lifesaving vessels named after him. Even his funeral celebrated his love of the sea with these touching details.

The RNLI, or Royal National Lifeboat Institution, is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. 

The charity has been in existence for nearly 200 years and proudly is a "charity that saves lives at sea."

A statement from the charity reads, "The RNLI is delighted to honor Prince Philip’s longstanding commitment to maritime services and lifetime of support to Her Majesty The Queen."

Describing the years of service that the royal couple provided to the vital charity was followed by explaining the poignant reasoning behind the date that they announced the news.

"The announcement is being made 71 years to the day that The Duke of Edinburgh assumed command of HMS Magpie in 1950," they explain. "His very first sea-going command in the Royal Navy."

More emotional still is the fact that the Prince of Wales, his eldest son, was involved in placing an extra special tribute to his father's work.

The statement continues, "And in a further nod to that proud moment in his naval career, earlier this summer, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales attached a magpie engraved plate to the new lifeboat which will bear The Duke of Edinburgh’s name and which is currently being built at the RNLI’s All-weather Lifeboat Centre, in Poole, Dorset."

Heartbreakingly, however, the boat had originally been intended as a celebration of the Duke's 100th birthday—which he missed by merely months.

RNLI chief executive Mark Dowie said, "We had hoped to mark The Duke of Edinburgh’s long service and support for the maritime sector by naming a lifeboat in his honor in his 100th year."

The lifeboat will go into service in late 2022 at Wells-next-the-Sea. The location is a short distance from Sandringham, the Royal Estate in Norfolk, where Prince Philip stayed frequently following his decision to step back from public duties in August 2017.