The Crown stars pay touching tribute to Queen's husband Prince Philip

Two British actors Tobias Menzies and Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip in different periods of his life in the Netflix hit "The Crown", have shared touching tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh following his death at 99 on Friday.

"If I know anything about the Duke of Edinburgh, I'm fairly sure he wouldn't want an actor who has portrayed him on television giving their opinion on his life, so I'll leave it to Shakespeare," Menzies said in a statement .

Matt Smith, 38, who portrayed Philip in the first two seasons of the show and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the role in 2018, also paid tribute to the duke on Friday.

He 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. Thank you for your service old chap - it won’t be the same without you."

Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip was reportedly known for crass jokes and bluster behind the scenes.