Reflections on the life and legacy of HRH The Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh My heart skipped a beat or two when the notification that His Royal Highness The Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh has died reached me. It was less than 15 minutes of the notice being placed on the rails at Buckingham Palace. Could this be true? Was this a ghastly hoax? Alas, the sorrow-filled moment that we knew must come had arrived. My first thoughts went to Her Majesty who publicly stated on several occasions how his support, advice and counsel provided her such strength. During his long and relatively healthy life, The Duke of Edinburgh took on over 780 patronages, had a clear affection for the Royal Navy and a drive to help young people to find the best in themselves through skills, expeditions and voluntary service. Since 1996 HRH came to Bristol on 11 occasions, visiting nearly 25 organisations, community groups and businesses. On three of those occasions, I was in his presence. I was also privileged to meet him at Buckingham Palace on a further two occasions. Few people realise that a third of the patronages of The Duke of Edinburgh involved organisations in Commonwealth countries. Over his lifetime and through numerous visits to observe grassroots environmental or community projects, understand how the UK responded to requests to help build the institutions of government and national infrastructure, pose solutions to pressing issues of health, education and jobs, HRH embraced the diversity within the Commonwealth and breathed life into the free and equal status of countries therein. The transition from colony to independence to Commonwealth was as much crafted by The Duke of Edinburgh as Her Majesty and the Heads of State of the Commonwealth. The focus on climate change and the marine environment are but two of the strands of work pursued throughout the Commonwealth, both close to the heart of The Duke. Looking to the future, these are the ties that will continue to bind together 54 Commonwealth countries, spanning the Caribbean and North America to Australasia, and of which we all can be immensely proud. Less than a year ago, The Queen elevated me to Honorary Captain of the Royal Naval Reserves. My first thought was of my parents, my youth on their powerboat and the camping trips our family found so very enjoyable. Then I recalled the stellar naval career of The Duke of Edinburgh and his love of the sea. In 1970, when the SS Great Britain was returned from the Falkland Islands where she had been scuttled in 1937 to the dock where it was originally built in Bristol, The Duke of Edinburgh was onboard. As the first Patron of the SS Great Britain, his interest in engineering and the sea were united. He followed closely her preservation and the accumulation of archive materials. For nearly a decade the SS Great Britain has run a successful, five-year long education programme for pupils in Years
21
grouse-2021_text_a4_05_dec-21.indd 21
17/12/2021 16:18
