Prince Philip and the Middle East: A look back – in pictures

The late prince met leaders from across the region over decades of service and visited Iraq as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles Regiment

King Hussein of Jordan, second left, and his wife Queen Dina, right, on honeymoon in Britain, pose with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh second right, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, in 1955 at Windsor Castle. AFP

Crown Prince Abdul Illah of Iraq, Queen Elizabeth II, King Faisal of Iraq and Prince Philip, in 1956. Getty Images

The Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said, with Prince Philip, the Queen Mother and the Queen, before a banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, in 1982. Getty Images

The Queen and Prince Philip exchange gifts with the Amir of Bahrain in Bahrain, during a visit to the Gulf states, in 1979. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive in Algeria to meet victims of the El Asnam earthquake, in October 1980. Getty Images

Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, in November, 2010. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II stands with King Abdullah of Jordan, Prince Philip and Queen Rania of Jordan, upon their arrival in Windsor, England, in November 2001. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip sit with Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, during a visit to Oman, in February 1979. Getty Images

Prince Philip meets well-wishers during a visit to Kuwait, in February 1979. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and King Hassan ll of Morocco attend a feast in the Moroccan desert, in October 1980. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, Sheikh Abdullah Jabir and Prince Philip watch a dancing display, in Kuwait, in February 1979.. Getty Images

Prince Philip meets local residents on a visit to Morocco, in December 1964. Getty Images

Prince Philip pilots a flight to El Asnam, Algeria, in 1980. Getty Images

Prince Philip visits a souk in Muscat during a 1979 state visit to Oman. Getty Images

Prince Philip, pictured with Massimo Rissi, group director of Tofas industrial group, visits the Tofas car factory in Bursa, Turkey, in 2008. AFP

Prince Philip, in his role as colonel-in-chief, visits The Queen's Royal Hussars in Basra, Iraq, in October 2006. Reuters

Prince Philip with the Amir of Bahrain, in Bahrain, during a tour of the Gulf states, in February 1979. Getty Images

Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, seated before lunch at the Hilton Hotel in Abu Dhabi, during a tour of the Gulf states in February 1979. Getty Images

King Hassan II of Morocco and his family with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the royal palace in Rabat, Morocco, in October 1980. Getty Images

Prince Philip is taken on a tour of a dhow building yard in Kuwait, in February 1979. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his wife Hayrunnisa Gul pose before their meeting at the presidential office, in Ankara, Turkey,in May 2008. AFP

Queen Noor of Jordan, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and King Hussein of Jordan on the bank of the Dead Sea, during a state visit to Jordan. Reuters

Prince Philip attends a reception at the ambassador's residence in Muscat, Oman, during a state visit to the Middle East. Getty Images

Prince Philip enjoys a joke with Second World War veterans after a wreath-laying ceremony at the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Ramle, Israel, in October 1994. AFP

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, during a state visit to Tunisia in October 1980. Getty Images

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and Prince Philip sign a memorandum of understanding between University of Cambridge Judge Business School and the University of the UAE for Teaching and Research in the Further Development of Abu Dhabi, at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, in November 2010. Getty Images

As the world mourned the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, many of the royal family’s old friends in the Arab region sent their condolences to the queen. The leaders of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman relayed their sadness on the Prince’s death, as the royal couple were not strangers to the Middle East region. During her 69-year reign, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attached a special importance to maintaining Britain’s special relationship with the monarchies of the Gulf.

On one of the few occasions when the Duke of Edinburgh ventured out to the region on his own, Prince Philip made a surprise visit to British troops stationed in Iraq's Basra in 2006, where he with met soldiers from The Queen's Royal Hussars, in his role as the regiment's colonel-in-chief.

In honour of Prince’s Philip’s death, a former naval officer, batteries in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – the capitals of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom – as well as the Mediterranean outpost of Gibraltar fired the volleys at one-minute intervals beginning at midday. Ships including the HMS Montrose, a frigate patrolling the Arabian Gulf, offered their own salutes.

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UAE leaders send condolences to Queen Elizabeth II after the death of her husband Prince Philip

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