TALL STORY FROM ROYAL MEETING

UNITED Synagogue chief executive Steven Wilson hasn’t always worked within the Jewish sphere, “though I have always been pretty tall. Back in 2004, when I was working in the science community, I had the honour of being presented to Prince Philip at a meeting on climate change in Berlin. He came up to me and said: ‘You’re tall, you must understand climate change.’ Now having read so much about his icebreaking comments, I realise he had great expertise at putting people at ease.”

However, Dr Wilson was a little nervous about his height when attending an orchestral concert during the same state visit. “I was sitting just in front of the royal box but fortunately it was well raised up. Otherwise who knows what Prince Philip might have said — people normally groan when I go to the cinema.”

Many years later, and now at the US, Dr Wilson participated in the Senior Faith in Leadership Programme, hosted in St George’s House in the Windsor Castle precincts. St George’s House was founded in 1966 by the Prince and the then Dean of Windsor, Robin Woods, and reflected a long-term commitment of the Prince to a place where people gathered to grapple with issues pertinent to the contemporary world.

And although Dr Wilson did not meet Prince Philip again after the climate change forum, “his role in expanding my horizons through St George’s House was pivotal to my career”.