His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

On behalf of everybody across the Buckingham constituency, I send my deepest condolences to Her Majesty and the whole royal family on the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip.

I cannot add to the personal stories so eloquently told by right hon. and hon. Members, as I never had the pleasure of meeting His Royal Highness, but I want to put on the record my deep admiration for all that he achieved and sacrificed throughout his life—a life of service, charity and family. First and foremost, he will rightly be remembered for the incredible manner in which he has supported Her Majesty the Queen. In his own right, His Royal Highness completed 22,000 solo royal engagements. It has been wonderful to look through the collection of images from his various visits to Buckinghamshire published by the Bucks Free Press over the weekend. Likewise, constituents have been in touch with memories of the Duke attending the opening of the Anthony de Rothschild building at the University of Buckingham in 1996 and of a visit to Stowe in 2008.

Over his life, the Duke was associated with some 992 charities and organisations—too many to mention, but I highlight just a couple that I do not think have been brought out over the course of this afternoon. For 42 years, he served as president-in-chief of the British Racing Drivers Club, while his love of conservation led to his being patron of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation for more than half a century. While there have rightly been many references this afternoon to the wonderful Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, my constituent and Buckinghamshire councillor Sir Beville Stanier informed me of another scheme that he competed in that Prince Philip pioneered—the Duke of Edinburgh’s Trophy, a worldwide competition for service units, once more demonstrating how His Royal Highness sought to promote excellence and to encourage people to be the absolute best that they can be.

His Royal Highness was indeed a remarkable man, dedicated to public service. His passing is rightly mourned across the whole of our United Kingdom, overseas territories, the Commonwealth and worldwide. May he rest in peace, and God save the Queen.