His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Baroness Benjamin Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Benjamin (LD)]

My Lords, first, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and her family. It is beyond doubt that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has taken his place in the ranks of great and outstanding individuals who have made a gigantic contribution to Britain and the Commonwealth. His dedication to duty has been, and always will be, inspirational to millions across the world.

I met His Royal Highness on a number of occasions, and all of them were unforgettable and are etched warmly on my memory. The first time I met him, 25 years ago, set the tone of our association. I was seated next to him at a luncheon for a young people’s environmental charity of which he was the patron. I was told by the organiser that the Duke was going to stay only for half an hour and that he could be a little impatient. I sat on his left, and to his right sat the organiser’s wife, to whom he spoke for over 25 minutes, until, finally, he turned to me and said, “So, who are you and what do you do?” I responded with a smile: “Well, sir, first, you tell me who you are and what you do, and I will tell you all about myself.” His eyes lit up with laughter and we immediately launched into a 30-minute, wide-ranging conversation. It was like opening an encyclopaedia. We even chatted about the quality of the fish we had been served at lunch. He told me that he had been the Prime Warden of the Fishmongers and that he would extend an invitation to me to visit Billingsgate Fish Market. To my amazement, the next day an official letter arrived from the Duke’s private secretary, who he had commanded to invite me to a very early morning tour of Billingsgate market followed by breakfast—an adventure that my daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed.

I soon realised that the Duke took great delight in introducing people to new adventures. He also relished giving young people opportunities to shine, to follow their passion and to excel. He did so magnificently through his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, not just here in Britain but across the Commonwealth. David Clarke from Barbados was one young man who benefited from this. When the Duke presented him with his gold medal in Barbados, in the late 1970s, David told him that the awards in the Caribbean could be better organised to reach more young people. So the Duke told him, “Very well, you organise the awards.” David did this very successfully for 32 years across the Americas, with lots of adventures. David said that the Duke helped him to achieve beyond all his expectations.

Over the years, the Duke and I have corresponded on many occasions. He was the first to congratulate me on receiving my OBE in 2001, which my family adored. When I got my damehood last year, he wrote to me congratulating me again. When I ran the London Marathon, he sent me a note. He presented my daughter with her Duke of Edinburgh’s Award medal for climbing the Himalayas. His letters, which I will treasure for ever, were always full of humour and warmth, especially the one after his car accident, when he wrote, “I was hardly even on the road. I was just crossing from one side of the estate to the other side when it happened.”

However, the most empathetic letter told me about him coming to England as a child, going to a small school in Cheam and, as an outsider, being embraced by the British people, which meant a lot to him. As we know, to show his gratitude in turn, he was not afraid to press the reset button to do things differently so that the nation would benefit.

Prince Philip has shown us that it is not where you begin in life that is important but the legacy you leave behind and the difference you have made to society that really matters. As we celebrate his life, may he and Her Majesty the Queen rest assured that his legacy will live on in our history books for ever.