The Navy will be forever grateful to one of its own

On the Duke of Edinburgh’s desk was a model of HMS Magpie, the only ship he commanded in a naval career which ended all too abruptly

On a royal visit to Dartmouth just before the Second World War, Prince Philip, then a young blond cadet, was assigned the duty of entertaining the then Princess Elizabeth. For our future Queen, it was reportedly love at first sight. Prince Philip famously rowed down the Dart following the Royal Yacht as it departed.

The Queen had always been surrounded by the Royal Navy. Her grandfather and father were both naval officers. Her father (later King George VI) was awarded a Mention in Despatches for his actions as a turret officer aboard HMS Collingwood at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

This was echoed in Midshipman Mountbatten receiving a similar award for his handling of searchlights at the Battle of Matapan in the Second World War.

Princess Elizabeth kept up a correspondence with Prince Philip throughout the war and kept a photograph of a bearded Lieutenant Mountbatten on her desk. He had taken to his career in the Navy like a duck to water. It gave him a clear structure after his turbulent childhood and he loved the life.

He was more than prepared for duty by his rigorous education at Gordonstoun. That generation of naval officers was cut from a similar cloth, calling each other by their surnames and reticent in showing their emotions.

This did not mean, of course, that they didn’t feel the pain and poignancy of wartime losses.

Prince Philip loved the song Tom Bowling about a sailor who had “gone aloft”. It must have reminded the prince of his many friends who had died during the war.

I saw that emotion on his face in Nelson’s cabin aboard HMS Victory at a dinner to celebrate the bicentennial of Trafalgar. The song was sung by Iestyn Edwards accompanied by, as it was meant to say on the menu, his “exotic harpist”. Afterwards, ever sharp-eyed, Prince Philip noted that she had been listed as an “erotic” harpist. It amused him greatly.

A strong and important link between the monarchy and the Royal Navy was the succession of Royal Yachts. Prince Philip had considerable impact on the design of HMY Britannia. It was striking that on the desk of the Duke of Edinburgh’s cabin was a model of HMS Magpie, the only ship he commanded in a naval career which ended all too abruptly. It reflected the sacrifice that he had made in giving up what would likely have been a stellar career to support the woman he loved.

Aboard the Royal Yacht for the annual family Western Isles cruise, after the Cowes regatta, Prince Philip was very much in charge. The Royal barge had to be immaculately kitted out with the necessities for a picnic on a deserted island. Woe betide a boats officer who failed to provide the requisite number of towels.

Prince Philip demanded professionalism and focus rather than flattery and flimflam, which was as much his training as a naval officer as his personality. He also seems to have been shaped by the ebullient repartee of the wardroom.

He had a “good war” and was present in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender as First Lieutenant of HMS Whelp. He told me how two emaciated men in ragged clothes had swum out to the ship and climbed the stern ladder onto the quarterdeck. They were Royal Marines who had broken out of Japanese captivity on seeing a white ensign flying from a ship in the harbour. They were welcomed onboard, fed and looked after.

Some years later, at an event in the north of England, the Prince recounted this story. A voice from the back of the crowd shouted “Ay oop, that was us Your Royal Highness!” It was the very same Royal Marines and the Duke was clearly moved by the memory.

Prince Philip was a pragmatist. The Arctic Star medal for those who had taken part in that bitter conflict in the freezing Arctic Ocean was not authorised until 2012. I was interviewing him for a series of programmes about the Royal Navy and noticed that he did not have the medal ribbon. I mentioned that he was eligible, but he replied: “I didn’t really fight up there and it is such a nuisance to move all my medal ribbons around.”

The Duke of Edinburgh’s life of service is an inspiration to generations of naval officers and the Royal Navy will be forever grateful for his strengthening of the bond between the Senior Service and the monarchy. One also cannot fail to be charmed by the part the Navy played in the love story between our monarch and her husband.