The nation for lifetime
Not just Duke we’ve lost but a way of life
ITWASN’T just the longest serving escort to a British monarch – who also happens to be the longest reigning queen and the oldest reigning queen – who was laid to rest yesterday.
Nor was it only a distinguished war hero, devoted family man and clearly a sage who saw the importance of committing to new technology to help move a nation that was resolutely stuck in the slow lane. But also a man who embraced environmentalism long before it became even remotely fashionable.
It was actually the British way of life from many years back we mourned.
A time when respect and duty counted for everything and a grateful nation would happily settle down to watchthe Dambusters rather than some dim bimbos.
Because the Duke of Edinburgh was the quintessential type of person who represented those values to whom we said a mournful farewell.
Surely each and every one of us has learnt something about this truly remarkable man’s even more remarkable life from the huge amount of coverage that has, quite rightly, been filling much of the news agenda these past nine days.
Whether it was that he had to flee Greece in an orange box as a toddler, that his mother became a nun, that he once presented an episode of Tomorrow’sworld or that he was the first royal to fly a helicopter out of the grounds of Buckingham Palace, it’s been a stunning series of insights into this multi-faceted man.
But it was his reaction to going to war, while still a teenager, that I think speaks volumes.
Aged just 19 and as a young naval officer, he was put in control of the searchlights aboard Hmsvaliant off the southern coast of Greece. In what became known as the Battle of Matapan in 1941, the Navy fought the Italian navy and Philip survived unscathed as the lights were shattered and a shell tore into his position. He was subsequently mentioned in dispatches, but years later when he was asked how he coped with seeing his shipmates being killed or injured he replied: “It was part of the fortunes of war.
“We didn’t have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun, you know, asking, ‘Are you all right, are you sure you don’t have a ghastly problem?’
“You just got on with it.”
He was similarly dismissive of his bravery in rescuing British airmen from a sinking bomber two years later.
“It was routine. If you found somebody in the sea, you go and pick them up. End of story, so to speak.” Except in today’s world it would be anything but the end of the story. Nearly 70 years on from the bravery he regularly displayed in war – although he’d term it as “just getting on with it” of course – he gave what was to be the last interview for a landmark birthday, and he was still on the same blistering, tell-it-the-way-it-is form.
As the BBC’S Fiona Bruce opened by saying: “You’re 90 this year,” there was a mildly derisive snort from her interviewee accompanied by the response, “Well done.” It didn’t get much better.when asked if there was anything he was particularly proud of he answered simply, “No.”
YOU HAVE to love a trier, but when the persistent Bruce asked how he’d reflect on his life, Philip said: “Who cares what I think?”
Gloriously robust, utterly selfeffacing, and as straight down the line as he was when competing in carriage driving – which he did into his 90s.
As the Duke specifically asked for a bugler to play Action Stations yesterday – which is used to signify battle stations on warships – here’s a suitably nautical farewell: “May you have fair winds and following seas, Sir.we shall not see your like again.”
GUNS sounded across the nation yesterday to start and end a minute’s silence for Prince Philip before his funeral.
Royal regiments performed gun salutes at 3pm and 3.01pm at sites including Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland, Cardiff Castle and Edinburgh Castle, as well as on Royal Navy warships deployed in Portsmouth, Devonport and overseas.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has said his “thoughts are with Her Majesty and her family”, was pictured with his head bowed and wearing a black suit and tie as he fell silent outside his country residence of Chequers where he watched the funeral as it was broadcast live.
The Prime Minister was unable to attend in person due to coronavirus restrictions limiting the guest list to just 30 people.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster took part in the silence from Enniskillen Castle, in County Fermanagh, while her Scottish counterpart, Nicola Sturgeon, paused on the steps of Bute House, in Edinburgh. Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, who sent a wreath to the funeral on behalf of the people of Wales, also marked the silence.
At Philip’s former school – Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland – pupils fell silent outside the main building after laying a wreath off nearby Hopeman Harbour where Philip learned to sail.
Meanwhile, pubs and social clubs named after the nation’s longest serving consort also fell silent, including the Duke of Edinburgh pub in Hull, and the Prince Philip Community Centre in Leeds.
Football players observed the silence before the Sky Bet Championship match at the City Ground in Nottingham
between Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest.a huge graphic of the Duke was shown ahead of the Sky Bet League One match between Charlton and Ipswich at The Valley in London.
Snooker players and spectators at the World Championships at the Crucible in Sheffield also paused at 3pm. Further afield, Lewis Hamilton and his team also marked the moment ahead of the
F1 Italian Grand Prix in Imola. And that silence was observed at military outposts across the globe.
In Mali, 300 soldiers took part in a sunset salute at the French memorial, while others joined Commonwealth comrades in a small church service in Bahrain.
The Duke held the most senior ranks in all services and it was at Windsor Castle, most of all, where his dedication to the military was
repaid, as 730 soldiers, sailors and aviators paraded in No1 Dress in perfect tribute.
The sombre eight-minute procession was punctuated by the firing of 13-pounder field guns, one every minute, by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
Before the funeral yesterday, Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, said: “I think there won’t be a serviceman
or servicewoman on parade today who won’t have their chest swelling with pride.
“We all have a huge regard for him.we have a huge regard for his wartime record and the care that he showed for veterans and for those still serving, and it’ll be a sombre moment for us. But it will also be a celebratory moment, I think, because it was a special life and a life that was well lived.”