Prince Philip outsider who shaped role for stoic duty
Before the funeral of Princess Diana, the Duke of Edinburgh reportedly gave some advice to Prince William, who was concerned about walking behind his mother’s casket.
“If you don’t walk, I think you’ll regret it,” he told the prince, according to Channel Four. “If I walk, will you walk with me?”
His Royal Highness Prince Philip, who died on Friday just two months short of his 100th birthday, had decades of duty behind him. That made him a fixture of British life and a key link within the Commonwealth.
He visited New Zealand many times.
He was also known for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, established in 1956 to encourage young people. Its emphasis on the outdoors seems even more in tune with life today. Philip was an early advocate for the environment and conservation.
But he will also be remembered as a family man, the key pillar of support for the Queen throughout her reign. The couple had celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary.
He was a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
For the Queen, his death means the loss of her lifelong companion and source of support during the difficult times, including the death of Diana.
Part of the Queen’s ability to speak with moral authority stems from that joint legacy, as a couple, of longevity and resilience and being part of the generation with an understanding of World War II.
As former United States President Barack Obama wrote in his tribute:
“Prince Philip showed the world what it means to be a supportive husband to a powerful woman.
“Yet he also found a way to lead without demanding the spotlight — serving in combat in World War II, commanding a frigate in the Royal Navy, and tirelessly touring the world to champion British industry.
“Through his extraordinary example, he proved that true partnership has room for both ambition and selflessness — all in service of something greater.”
The prince’s steady and influential role as the longest-serving royal consort in British history is at odds with his early life.
Born in Greece, of a royal line, Danish heritage, and German connections, he was schooled in Britain in the 1930s, mentored by his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten.
During the war, his battleship escorted Australian and New Zealand troopships bound for Egypt.
Philip, like Diana and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was an outsider when he joined the royal family and went through a period of adjustment. He had to give up his naval ambitions once his wife ascended the throne. The TV series The Crown has brought that story to a new generation.
His death comes at an unstable time for both the family and Britain.
Prince Harry is set on a separate course, there is uncertainty over the royals’ longer-term place in the country and whether the kingdom can stay united after Brexit. Flames in Belfast over the past week are a reminder of the European border dispute and Scotland faces an election with independence in the background.
Despite all the change over his lifetime, Prince Philip at essence was authentically himself and able to be himself in public.
He liked to speak his mind and could be candid, blunt, funny, gaffe-prone, and sometimes offensive. Once asked about his reputation for not suffering fools gladly, he replied: “I have suffered fools with patience”.
He was a man of a remarkable era. That era is nearly gone as well.
— NZ Herald