Prince Philip flew to JFK funeral after murder and helped comfort mourning son

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Prince Philip comforted assassinated president John F Kennedy's son in the wake of his death, according to reports.

US politics columnist and author Paul Brandaus has shared the story on Twitter of how the Duke of Edinburgh responded to the American tragedy in 1963.

Following the announcement of Philip's death on Friday, West Wing Reports told how the duke took time to entertain John Jr. in the absence of his murdered father.

Re-telling the account on Friday, West Wing Reports tweeted: "A story about Prince Philip, who died today at 99. The weekend of the Kennedy assassination, he flew to Washington for the funeral.

"At the White House on Sunday, Nov. 24, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy was looking for John Jr. and opened the door to his playroom. There she found the Prince sprawled on the floor, playing and laughing with the murdered president's son.

"Days from his 3rd birthday, John had said earlier that he 'didn't have anybody to play with' (also: "where's Daddy?") and her Majesty's husband decided that he would entertain the boy. RIP."

The social media thread continued to add that as a father himself Philip extended his relationship with John Jr. a couple years later on the other side of the Atlantic.

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Captioning a black and white photo of the pair holding hands, West Wing Reports wrote: "…in May 1965, the British government gave an acre of land to the United States for a memorial to the murdered president at Runnymede – site, 750 years earlier, of King John signing the Magna Carta. Here, John Jr. holds hands with his Mom and the Prince."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. grew up to become a lawyer, journalist, and magazine publisher before his tragic death in a plane crash, aged just 38 in 1999.

Someone commented on the post: "Never knew that! Goes to show, that far from the given perspective of a gruff and gaffe prone persona, who didn’t suffer fools, he was also kind, thoughtful and good with children, during an era when children were seen but not heard!"

Another said: "That is a nice story. Incredible history. I'm sorta struck by the fact that Prince Philip lived to 99 while John Jr., the little boy he once tried to comfort, passed so early."

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