Tribute to Prince Philip

The demise of His Royal Highness Prince Philip is not one to mourn about, but a chance to honour his work and pledge to keep up his legacy (“Prince Philip’s death: End of an era in British royalty”, Gulf News, April 11). As a recipient of the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award through the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Programme, I am privileged to have experienced a tiny ounce of the level and the kind of work Prince Philip had undertaken in the past many years until he retired from public life. The combination of voluntary service, physical recreation, skills, and adventure all challenged and engaged me physically and mentally in overall development as a young woman to serve the world and be a global citizen of tomorrow. The very ideals that Prince Philip stood for were embodied in the award programme, and I am happy to have experienced and put those ideals to practise in my life. I wish I got an opportunity to let the late Duke of Edinburgh know of my sincere gratitude to him for instituting this programme on behalf of all young people who have benefited from it. Prince Philip’s vision to motivate the youth to engage themselves in various life spheres outside academics and jobs has been quite crucial to many of us. Besides just the institution of this award more than 50 years ago, Prince Philip proved to be the epitome of a royal figure who was fully occupied in the matters of his kingdom and in working with nations that have close relations with his country.

■ MARIA VINCENT

Dubai