I've been thinking about this and I've decided I do want to say a word about His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Knight of the Order of Australia, Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, Extra Companion of the Queen’s Service Order, Royal Chief of the Order of Logohu, Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada, Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Lord of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Councillor of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom. As you probably know, he was the husband of HM The Queen and he died the other day, two months short of his hundredth birthday.
There is much flim and flam about the Royal Family in the media, all of which misses the point. A moment thinking about Prince Phillip will bring you back to the point.
How's this for a life.
- Born a Prince
- Rescued by the Royal Navy as a toddler, following a revolution. He was carried to safety in a fruit box.
- Mother diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed in an asylum
- From the age of about six he had very little contact with his family, and was sent to a variety of schools in different countries
- Graduated from the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1940, both top of his class and Best Cadet
- Mentioned in Dispatches for his contribution at the Battle of Cape Matapan (and also awarded the Greek War Cross)
- Served in combat areas throughout almost the whole of the Second World War
- Obtained remarkably high marks in promotion exams and became one of the youngest ship second-in-commands in the Navy
- Reached the rank of Commander .... (he was a very capabable officer and there is no dispute that he would have achieved very high rank in the Royal Navy on his own merit)
- ... before abandoning his very successful career for the sake of the woman he loved
- Upon being reunited with the Queen after the Coronation ceremony, he eyed her crown and remarked: “Where did you get that hat?”
- Joint-founded the Duke of Edinburgh Award, a programme for creating and recognising achievement by young people, which over 8 million people have completed
- Was talking publically about the environment in the 1950s, long before it was fashionable, and helped establish the World Wildlife Fund
- Eventually became Patron of over 800 organisations, particularly focused on the environment, industry, sport, and education
- Practically invented the sport of carriage driving and was a leading competitor
- On the island of Tanna in Vanuatu, through no fault of his own, he was revered as a god
- By all accounts, was happily married for 74 years.
- Had four children, eight grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren so far
- Was instrumental in modernising the monarchy
- Undertook over 22,000 public engagements on his own, along with tens of thousands of others in company with the Queen. Made 5,500 speeches (about two a week on average)
- Worked as Consort for 55 years, without actual pay, retiring at the age of 95
He could be unpardonably rude, and at times he did give offence. But that's the worst that anybody could say about him.