His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB)]

My Lords, it is a great privilege to speak today in recognition of the enormous contribution to our country made by His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and in so doing to offer sincere and heartfelt condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and all his family. For our modern times, Her Majesty and His Royal Highness have represented stability, perseverance, family values and a deep commitment to a strong moral compass, in touch with the reality that has been the lives of others, even though they were living so differently from the rest.

In Wales, His Royal Highness’s actions in 1966 at the time of the Aberfan disaster are etched into the hearts of those who still grieve for the children who died, and who saw that he recognised the overwhelming tragedy that had struck, in particular for those parents—their sentence to live with to their dying day.

When I had the privilege of being seated next to His Royal Highness at lunch, there was nothing superficial or trivial about our conversation. He quizzed me about end-of-life care and pain control, recounting some deaths he knew of personally. It was a conversation that came about because of my work. It was an honour to be invited to the British embassy in Paris for the centenary of the entente cordiale celebrations with the director of the cancer centre Centre François Baclesse in Caen, who was establishing palliative care services in Normandy with education courses. When he was introduced to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness, Professor Heron was overwhelmingly impressed that, despite a day that had been packed with engagements, His Royal Highness showed knowledge of and interest in the new technology developments and computerisation innovations being spearheaded across France. Professor Heron called me this weekend with fond memories of how important His Royal Highness’s enthusiasm and humour were, treasuring mementos of that day. Those cordial links between Normandy and Wales have endured.

Today, in expressing thanks for an amazing life lived to the full and for the service given to the nation over decades by His Royal Highness, we are able to express to Her Majesty and all his family how aware we all are of that deep loss and gnawing emptiness of grief at the finality of life’s close. To them all, our deepest condolences are sincerely offered.