I am not a big fan of royalty and monarchical institutions, but he was a WW2 combat veteran, was devoted to carrying out his role, and continued in public duties in to his mid-90s, and I respect him for that.
Many of us grew up knowing people of that generation. With the death of my grandmother two weeks ago, all the people I knew personally who lived through the Depression and WW2 times are gone, so maybe I am more sensitive that usual, but I was really sorry to hear about the death Philip.