His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Christian Matheson Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

It is appropriate that I follow my friend the right hon. and gallant Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart), because I wish to start my tribute by paying tribute to His Royal Highness’s military service, as my friend the right hon. and gallant Gentleman has just done.

Like so many of his generation, His Royal Highness signed up to defend the cause of civilisation against fascism during what was this nation’s darkest hour, without knowing what the outcome would be. I will never pass over the chance to offer my thanks for that service to His Royal Highness and to the whole wartime generation, to which the right hon. and gallant Gentleman has just referred and of which he was such a wonderful personification. As that generation dwindle in number during their twilight years, they shall never dwindle in our memories or in our thanks.

We have heard today about the Duke’s humour—the non-beard on the chin of my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Peter Kyle) was one example—and we have heard about his directness from the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) and the hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat). Similar examples have been described from time to time as so-called “gaffes”. I would like to recount a story that my predecessor as MP for Chester, Gyles Brandreth, told the BBC on Friday in remembering the Duke, who was his friend. Gyles explained that the Duke often felt frustration, or indeed upset, at being described as making these supposed gaffes; as we have heard, he would enter a room solely with the intention of putting everyone at their ease with a joke and showing an interest in everyone, and sometimes he got it wrong. Well, sometimes I have got it wrong—I have said things and asked myself afterwards, “Why on earth did I say that?” Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. His intentions were good; that is what we need to remember.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme remains a triumph and gives young people the opportunity to experience aspects of life that they would never otherwise see. It teaches teamwork, discipline, perseverance and the importance of community service. It gives confidence, self-belief and a sense of achievement—all values that we should cherish and all values that make a difference. Long may that scheme flourish in his memory.

We have been discussing among ourselves over the weekend and in the Tea Room the contribution that His Royal Highness has made individually and collectively. My hon. Friend the Member for Feltham and Heston (Seema Malhotra), who cannot be in the Chamber today, asked me to mention the impact that the Duke of Edinburgh’s scheme has had on the confidence of young people from poorer backgrounds in her constituency and the sense of grief that is shared across the community for an exceptional man who gave so much and never sought credit for all the lives that he positively changed.

That is reflected in my constituency. The people of Chester have been remembering the Duke over the weekend. On Facebook, we saw fantastic photos from 1953 of when he came to open Coronation playing fields, not far from where I live. I know how grateful Chester zoo has been over the years for the duke’s support and his promotion of conservation and the work of the zoo on the global stage. The high-profile support that the duke gave to the zoo’s work added credibility and got it noticed. As we have heard, he was years ahead of his time and, frankly, years ahead of the rest of us in his dedication to preserving the natural world.

Finally, I wish to focus on the constancy that he has given to the Queen, the nation, the Commonwealth and the world. Seventy-three years of marriage is a lifetime, but it is hard to visualise what 73 years means, so consider this, Madam Deputy Speaker. Her Majesty married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne in 1952. In other words, they had already been married for 16 years by the time the Beatles released “Please Please Me” and for over 20 years when Armstrong and Aldrin first walked on the moon. Think of all the history that has flowed down the river of life in those 73 years, the massive cultural change and the political change across the globe and here in this Chamber—not only the representation of the people within it but its physical form—since the time of Attlee and Churchill. During all that change and during the entire lives of most of the population of the UK, there have been but two constants: our Queen on the throne, providing an anchor of certainty and a rock of dependability for the nation to rally around, and His Royal Highness Prince Philip by her side, offering the same foundation of certainty and reliability to her and to us all as everything around us changed, often at breakneck pace.

There is a phrase in English derived from cricket, which we know the Duke loved: “He had a good innings.” At 99 years old, he did have a good innings in the sense of a long life, but his innings was much more than that. We can be clear—and with each tribute made in this House and across the country, we learn more—that his was a life of quality, service, loyalty, dignity, humour and innovation. On behalf of my constituents in Chester, I send my condolences to Her Majesty and all the royal family for their personal loss, but I also send my thanks for Prince Philip and for a life of service well lived. It is an example we can all aspire to.