YOURS FAITHFULLY
ISTARTED writing this column on Saturday April 10, a significant date. It’s the morning after the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen’s husband.
So my first thought was about the Queen waking up as a widow and her deep sadness. His passing will be a huge void in her life after 73 years of marriage. All those years with her faithful love by her side.
I can’t imagine being bereaved and seeing my loved one’s life played out from birth to death time and time again over the next 24 hours.
Then again I can’t imagine the responsibility and duty it takes to be in visible public service as shown by The Queen and her consort.
How must it feel to have your whole life laid out, recorded, reported and judged, all the while knowing you are being the history of your nation in real time?
I have been surprised by how sad I have felt for someone I personally never knew.
Yet through the Prince’s death we have learned so much of what we didn’t know, the hidden and the cost. The cost of duty, of service, of the essence of his innovative ideas and passions now on full view.
I kept thinking about The Queen. Her husband has just died and he is on two BBC channels as the only news of the day.
As I heard tributes from many sources, I noticed themes emerging.
The prince would speak his mind, he was a prophetic voice around climate change, the planet, art, design and engineering, technology and much more.
Here was a man who embraced the art of the curious and the skill of asking the right questions to further his knowledge on all fronts.
The Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme of bronze, silver and gold gave opportunities for young people of all backgrounds the chance to come together and to be curious, to work together and challenge themselves and to broaden their thinking.
He turned his ideas and passions into charities and practical action.
The prince has died at the time in the Christian calendar when we are following the story of Jesus’s resurrection.
A time of great rejoicing, the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
Without the death and resurrection of Jesus there would be no Christianity. At his moment of passing from cross, to tomb and then resurrection, his friends and followers didn’t have the immediate media replay of his life or the forward knowledge of what would come next.
Yet as all the prophesies continued to come true, as the disciples took each day at a time, living out what they had been taught by him, a new order arrived.
People came together to share their money and land, the poor were supported because of this generosity. The church was birthed at this time, not as an organisation but a way of
I kept thinking about The Queen. Her husband has just died and he is on two BBC channels as the only news of the day.
offering hope and practical support to everyone. Prince Philip thought deeply about human character and purpose and one of his less widely known legacies is St George’s House in Windsor, a place of resource, debate and inquiry. His relationship with the Dean of St George’s deepened his faith, and from this perspective he understood that as humanity we are called to live life to the full and die in hope. This is the message of the cross. Jesus died that we might know life, and life to the full.
As we emerge out of lockdown this week Prince Philip would encourage us to take all that life offers and live it to the full.
To be curious, to challenge, to help others, and to serve without counting the cost. My prayers are with the Queen and her family this week as they grieve and mourn.
May they be surrounded and comforted by the love and peace of God.