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Katya Adler

9 Apr, 10 tweets, 2 min read

Across Europe, royal family members and heads of state have been expressing their condolences. Prince Philip‘s ‘Europe Connection’ dates from the very beginning #PrincePhilip /1

Born in 1921 on the Greek island of Corfu, his father was Prince Andrew of Greece and mother, the Princess Alice of Battenberg. That heritage made him a prince of Greece and Denmark BUT 1922 the family was banished from Greece after a coup.. /2

A British warship then carried them to safety in Italy, with baby Philip reportedly dozing in a makeshift fruit crate cot. Today the Italian President said Prince Philip “always showed sincere friendship towards the Italian people” during his visits to their country /3

Malta also held special significance for Prince Philip. Early on, through his passion for the Royal Navy. The island then regarded itself as ‘a carefree home from home’ for the Prince and his wife, then Princess Elizabeth, during their first years of marriage /4

In 1964, Prince Philip handed over the formal documents to Malta’s then prime minister, marking the island’s independence. Malta’s current PM said today he was “Truly saddened by the loss of Prince Philip, who made Malta his home and returned here so often.” /5

In Sweden today, the media director for the Swedish royal family spoke of a lifelong friendship between Prince Philip and Swedish King Carl Gustaf. It began, she said when they were teenagers, sailing together in England: “That was the start of a great friendship between them" /6

Among a multitude of other European tributes, France’s Europe Minister described Prince Philip as “a great figure of the century for the UK.” While Ireland’s president noted Prince Philip’s “distinctive presence and unique sense of humour” /7

The King and Queen of Spain sent a very personal telegram of condolence to the Queen, addressed to “Dear Aunt Lilibet,”and saying “We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing away of dear Uncle Philip” Adding: “We will never forget the moments we shared with him” /8

The Royal Family of the Netherlands released a statement of condolence remembering the Duke of Edinburgh with respect, they said. They noted Prince Philip’s “lively personality” which they said “never ceased to make an impression”. /9

And from Germany’s Angela Merkel: “I am deeply saddened by the death of Prince Philip. His friendship with Germany, his straightforwardness and his sense of duty will not be forgotten. Our thoughts are with HM Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family.” /10

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In an interview with a number of European papers she was asked about the slower approval by the European Medicines Agency of vaccines compared to countries eg U.K. but /1

The Commission says von der Leyen answered the question comparing two methods. Not singling out the U.K.
Journalists in the room report the same Eg elpais.com/sociedad/2021-… and repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/0… /2

Von der Leyen is quoted as saying “Some countries started to vaccinate a little before Europe, it is true,” “But they resorted to emergency, 24-hour marketing authorisation procedures. The commission and the member states agreed not to compromise with the safety and efficacy..“/3

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