Matt Smith says life “won’t be the same” without Prince Philip.
Matt Smith
The 38-year-old actor played the husband of Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix drama series ‘The Crown’, and following the sad news of Philip’s passing on Friday (09.04.21) at the age of 99, Matt has paid tribute to the man he portrayed on screen.
In a statement, Matt said: “I’d like to offer my condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family. Prince Philip was the man. And he knew it. 99 and out, but what an innings. And what style. Thank you for your service old chap - it won’t be the same without you.”
Matt was replaced as Prince Philip by Tobias Menzies, 47, for the third and fourth seasons of ‘The Crown’ as the timeline jumped forward.
And Tobias also paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh on Friday.
He tweeted: “If I know anything about the Duke of Edinburgh I’m fairly sure he wouldn’t want an actor who portrayed him on TV giving their opinion on his life, so I’ll leave it to Shakespeare. ‘O good old man! How well in thee appears the constant service of the antique world’ … RIP. (sic)”
Following Philip’s death, Netflix themselves released a statement alongside the production companies involved in making ‘The Crown’, where they said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
Their statement read: “Netflix, Left Bank Pictures, Sony Pictures Television and the production team on The Crown are deeply saddened to hear of the death of The Duke of Edinburgh. Our thoughts are with the royal family at this sad time.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed the royal’s passing in a statement, with the announcement coming a few weeks after he was hospitalised with an infection and a heart condition.
The statement said: "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
"His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.
"Further announcements will made in due course.
"The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss."
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