Memories of Prince Philip
The duke used to speak to me in German as he didn’t have much chance to use it. Rene Schoop
AN Ashbourne businessman who supplied carriage-driving equipment to the sport’s founder, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, has recalled fond memories of meeting him at various equestrian events.
Professional carriage driver Rene Schoop, of Sandybrook Hall, had been providing Prince Philip, who died on Friday, with equipment for the sport since 1991 and he last met him in person at Catton Hall, in South Derbyshire, in 2017, on the day the prince retired from official duties.
Swiss-born Mr Schoop says he first met Prince Philip at a competition in Scotland, and he was introduced to him by George Bowman, the man who helped the prince to develop the sport and eventually see it included in three-day-eventing in the 1970s.
He said: “I was introduced to Prince Philip by fellow competitor George Bowman. The prince responded to me in German. He told me that he did not have many chances to exercise his German.
“If I spoke to him on his own we would speak in German, right up until the last time I spoke to him at Catton Park.”
Mr Schoop recalls that his last encounter with the prince was unusual, because he would normally have flown to carriage-driving events by helicopter, but high winds on the day meant the pilot refused to fly and he took a train to Lichfield and arrived at the park by car.
He told Mr Schoop he had enjoyed the train ride because “nobody recognised him.”
Mr Schoop said: “I have been lucky enough to be able to supply Prince Philip with my carriage driving equipment since 1991.
“He helped me a lot and my fellow competitors, with advice in the sport of carriage driving.
“The sport will miss him. He was an amazing man.”
Prince Philip reportedly turned to competitive carriage driving at the age of 50, when he chose to give up polo. He said he was looking around to see what sport might suit him at that time of life, realised he had horses and carriages, and thought he would give it a go.
He continued driving carriages and attending events well into his 90s, and he was even pictured driving a carriage around Windsor a few years ago, at the age of 97.
On Friday evening the Ashbourne branch of the Royal British Legion lowered the Union Flag in Ashbourne’s Memorial Gardens to half mast.
The branch’s president, Brell Ewart, who first met Prince Philip when he was awarded a gold Duke of Edinburgh Award in the grounds of Buckingham Palace in 1966, paid tribute to him.
He said: “His Royal Highness defined dignity, grace, and what we uphold as high standards in the United Kingdom.
“He was a decorated veteran of WW2, the longest serving consort to the monarch, and someone who championed all that is best in Britain throughout his life.
“We may never see his like again. Thank you sir. Duty is now done.”
Mr Ewart, the chairman of the Ashbourne civil engineering firm Whitehouse Construction, met the prince a second time in 2002 when he took on the task of preparing a special steam train, the Duchess of Sutherland, for a leg of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Tour.
The royal train travelled from Holyhead to Crewe, arriving at its stops exactly on time, and Mr Ewart and his team were invited to a private reception at Buckingham Palace to thank them for arranging the special journey.
Within hours of Buckingham Palace announcing the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, JCB’S chairman Lord Bamford, who has met the prince on several occasions, ordered the flag at his Rocester factory to be flown at half mast.
Leading the firm’s tribute, he said: “I am enormously saddened to learn of the death of HRH Prince Philip and I extend my deepest condolences to The Queen and the Royal Family.
“We had the pleasure of welcoming Prince Philip to JCB on three occasions over the past 40 years, most recently in 1998 when he officially opened the new JCB Transmissions factory in Wrexham. He has been a tremendous ambassador for this country, for business and for engineering in particular.”
The prince visited Ashbourne in 1985, accompanying Her Majesty The Queen to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School’s 400th anniversary.