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C Royal Bencher and The Duke of Edinburgh Scholarship
His Royal Highness became a Royal Bencher of the Inn in 1954, and Royal Treasurer in 1961. He visited the Inn on numerous occasions, including for the Rededication of the Round in Temple Church in 1958, the 400th Anniversary of the Letters Patent granted to the Inns by James I in 2008 and more recently in 2013 for a special service following restoration of the Temple Church Harrison & Harrison organ.
TIMELINE
16 November 1954
His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh elected to the Bench
9 November 1955
Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visit The Inner Temple Hall for a Grand Day dinner
1958
Rededication of the Church Round attended by the Her Majesty the Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HM The Queen Mother
1961
Elected Royal Treasurer with The Right Honourable The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley as Deputy Treasurer
19 April 1961
Grand Day
December 1966
Amity Dinner attended by Her Majesty the Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh who also attended a service of thanksgiving in the church
1984
Scholarship Appeal Party in the garden attended by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh Scholars
During his tenure as Royal Treasurer, The Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Scholarships were founded to assist ten students with free entrance scholarships.
The Deputy Treasurer Walter Monckton, Viscount Monckton of Brenchley 1961 commented that “it is hoped that a number of young men who might otherwise be lost to the profession will be attracted by these scholarships.” The scholarships were intended to cover the cost of admission and Call and to attract students who might otherwise choose careers that did not impose fees. In 1971, the rules for the scholarship were amended to exclude from the terms the payment of education and lecture fees and that the number of scholarships be increased to 25. On 6 March 1972, the scholarships were further increased from 25 to 40 per year and, in 1985, this number was further increased to 50. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit and need.
The first Duke of Edinburgh Scholars, 1962
D R G Hands, C B Hertzog, C L Kelly, J A Swift, G L Tunnell, D A G Vaughan, H P D Bennett, M A Blythe, R A Henderson, A Irvine
June 1985
Service of Thanksgiving for the 800th Anniversary of the Consecration of the Round Church 1185-1985 in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh
3 July 1990
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Princess Royal dine in Hall
5 June 2008
Dinner for Past Treasurers
2008
The Duke of Edinburgh at dinner for Past Treasurers
24 June 2008
400th Anniversary of the Letters Patent granted to the Inns by James I and commemorated by a service of thanksgiving in the Temple Church attended by Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
Arriving at the Temple for the Quatercentary celebrations
7 May 2013
Service of Rededication for the completed restoration of the Temple Church Organ in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
Her Majesty The Queen signing a commorative document
Photos © Christopher Christodolou
In 1962 when I was hoping to be called to the Bar and joined the Inner Temple I applied for every scholarship or source of financial support going. The relatively new Duke of Edinburgh awards provided vital help at a time when the expense of Call to the Bar was looming. It was still necessary to pay one’s pupil-master one hundred guineas for a year’s pupillage in those days and the possibility of pupillage awards by chambers was not even a speck on the horizon. I remain grateful to this day for the assistance which the Inn provided to me and to many others in meeting the costs involved in getting to the Bar. Without that financial support a number of us would have fallen by the wayside or would not have attempted to come to the Bar. I was, and remain, very honoured to be one of the first 10 Duke of Edinburgh scholars – and looking at the list in 2021 thrilled to be in such distinguished company. As the Duke of Edinburgh recognised, in his pragmatic and innovative way, a scholarship especially with funds attached will indeed attract young people to pursue a career which might otherwise be closed or difficult to embark on. The fact that he chose to include the Bar and in particular the Inn of which he was the Royal Treasurer was a massive vote of confidence in us and an extraordinary contribution to the futures of so many people within the profession. There is a marvellous irony, at least for me, in recalling that when the then Deputy Treasurer, Walter Monckton, commented that “it is hoped that a number of young men who might otherwise be lost to the profession will be attracted by these scholarships” he did not know that one of the young men would be the Head of Chambers of the set that proudly bears his name or that the two most recent tenants were young women.
