His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I invite the House to rise and observe a minute’s silence in memory of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The House observed a minute’s silence.

[Mr Speaker]

We meet today to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, who has been at the side of Her Majesty the Queen for more than seven decades, giving his unwavering support both as a husband and as a consort.

Described by Her Majesty as “my strength and stay”, for most of us Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, has always been there, providing this nation with a reassuring presence. Whether he was attending with such dignity the formal occasions when the Queen attended Parliament for the state opening, or visiting different places within the UK or in an overseas country, his support and loyalty were always clearly displayed. He was the longest serving consort in history and the oldest partner of a serving monarch. He never let the Queen down.

His passing also marks the end of an era. He was one of the last surviving heroes of the second world war, serving as an officer in the Royal Navy with distinction, and was heavily decorated for his bravery and long service. A qualified pilot, he gained his helicopter wings, became admiral of the fleet for over 50 years and helped to design the royal yacht Britannia. He visited troops in Iraq, travelled with the Queen throughout the Commonwealth and overseas territories, and stepped down from official royal duties only at the age of 96.

Outspoken, with a great sense of humour, he was not afraid of talking openly about issues that were close to him. He will be remembered for his loyal devotion to service and his leadership of hundreds of causes close to his heart. Perhaps his finest achievement was the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which has helped millions of young people around the world to achieve their full potential as team members and future leaders in their chosen fields. As a moderniser and public reformer, he promoted the latest in engineering and design. As a pioneer in the World Wildlife Fund, he travelled widely to secure public interest in nature and its protection.

His sporting interests were wide-ranging. As a sailor, he regularly attended Cowes week for the regatta. He was a cricket enthusiast and player. He also took part in horse riding and performed as a top polo player. He was a winner for Britain, too, at carriage driving, which he took up later in life.

In March 2011, the Duke accompanied the Queen to Parliament for the diamond jubilee celebrations. I had the pleasure of introducing him to groups of Members waiting to greet him. I remember his interest in ties that Members were wearing, particularly if they showed a connection with the armed forces. He also had a special ability to put people at ease.

As we reflect on a life well lived, we should not forget the wide-ranging achievements of Prince Philip: the ambassador, serviceman, scientist, artist, naturalist, committee chairman, traveller and loyal supporter of the United Kingdom, the overseas territories and the Commonwealth. But we should always remember him as a family man: a devoted husband, a father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather. He was, without doubt, the father of the nation. He will surely be missed and impossible to replace.

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[Keir Starmer (Holborn and St Pancras) (Lab)]

In supporting the Humble Address, I would like to echo the remarks made by the Prime Minister and, on behalf of my party, to come together today in appreciation of a life well lived, a life of service and of duty, and a life that shaped modern Britain and provided much needed stability to our national story.

My thoughts, first and foremost, are with Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family. Prince Philip was a man of many titles—Duke of Edinburgh, Lord High Admiral, a royal Commander, Baron of Greenwich—but above all he was a much loved father, grandfather and great- grandfather. To Her Majesty the Queen he was not only her beloved husband, but, in her words, her “strength and stay” for seven decades, so it is right that, today, this House and the country come together to pay tribute not just to a man, but to the virtues he personified, and to his ceaseless optimism about the country Britain can be and what the British people can achieve.

The life of Prince Philip was extraordinary, lived in a century on fast-forward and a time that saw world war, a cold war, the fall of empire, 20 Prime Ministers, and the invention of the television, the internet, artificial intelligence and technology so extraordinary it might have seemed to a lesser person as if from another world. Throughout that time, the monarchy has been the one institution in which the faith of the British people has never faltered. As we have seen once again in recent days, the royal family has a connection with the British people that runs as deep today as it did when Philip Mountbatten married the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947. That is not by chance; it reflects the quiet virtues, the discipline and the sacrifices we commemorate today.

My own connection to the Duke of Edinburgh began long before I entered this place. Like millions of other children, I—aged 14—started the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, or the DofE, as we called it. My first activity was to volunteer at a local mental health hospital where, unbeknown to me at the time, my late grandad would later be admitted. My final activity was wandering around Dartmoor in a small team, with a compass and a map in the pouring rain, frantically trying to find our way. Mr Speaker, if that doesn’t prepare you for coming into politics, nothing will.

In recent days, I have been struck by the countless stories of lives turned around by the DofE Award—young people who found their confidence and found their way. This was summed up by a 14-year-old girl who said, on passing her bronze award, that she felt:

“I can do anything now.”

The DofE Award now covers 130 countries and has helped millions of people around the world. It is perhaps the best symbol of the Duke’s global legacy. He was also patron to more than 800 charities and organisations. He was the first president of the World Wildlife Fund. He was the patron of the British Heart Foundation. He was president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and he was chancellor of the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Salford and Wales. He carried out, as has been said, a staggering total of more than 22,000 solo engagements, and countless others alongside Her Majesty the Queen.

The Duke will also be remembered for his unstinting support of our armed forces. It was in Dartmouth in 1940 that he graduated as a naval cadet. As the Prime Minister has described, he went on to a distinguished naval career. Today, the British armed forces mourn one of their greatest champions.

The Duke was a funny, engaging, warm and loving man. He loved to paint. His work has been described, characteristically, as

“totally direct, no hanging about. Strong colours, vigorous brushstrokes.”

He was also a great lover of political cartoons—not something the Prime Minister and I can say often, although I saw a cartoon this weekend that I think captured this moment of national and personal loss perfectly. It depicted Her Majesty dressed in black, looking back at her shadow and seeing the Duke standing there, as ever at her side, attentive and holding her hand.

Britain will not be the same in the Duke’s absence. For most of us, there has never been a time when the Duke of Edinburgh was not present. At every stage of our national story for the last seven decades, he has been there, a symbol of the nation we hope to be at our best, a source of stability, a rock.

Her Majesty once said:

“Grief is the price we pay for love.”

The Duke loved this country and Britain loved him in return. That is why we grieve today. But we must also celebrate him: a life lived in vigorous brushstrokes, like his painting, and we offer up this tribute, “To the Duke of Edinburgh, for a lifetime of public service, the gold award.”

[Mr Speaker]

I now call the Father of the House.

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[Mrs Theresa May (Maidenhead) (Con)]

I join with the Prime Minister and everyone across this House in sending my heartfelt condolences to Her Majesty the Queen on the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip. Our thoughts and prayers are with Her Majesty and the whole royal family.

In recent days, there have been many tributes to Prince Philip: some from those who knew him well, some from those who had barely met him, and some from those who had never met him, but whose lives he had touched. I had the privilege of meeting him and having a number of conversations with him. He was a truly remarkable man; a man of so many talents. We have heard some of them referred to already today: a distinguished naval officer, an inventor, an innovator, a designer, a painter, a sportsman, and so much else.

What always struck me when he spoke, when I was having those conversations with him, was not just the incredible breadth and wide range of interests that he had, but the depth of knowledge that he had about each of those interests. He did not just dip into a subject; he did not pick something up because it was fashionable. He was deeply interested, he cared, and he understood the importance of getting to know the issues that he was involved in. He was indeed a man ahead of his time, particularly in the areas of the environment and conservation, but that was not a passing whim. He deeply loved the natural world; he understood nature; and he was passionate about wanting future generations to be able to enjoy and benefit from the natural world, too.

I remember, on my first visit to Balmoral as Prime Minister, Prince Philip driving me and my husband around the estate and talking to us about it. It was as if he knew every single inch of it. He talked about the ancient Caledonian forest, about the birds, many of which were protected, about the animals and plants on the estate, about the changes he had seen over the years, and about what was needed to ensure that the environment could be protected and enjoyed by future generations. He was indeed a man ahead of his time. He showed his deep knowledge, but he was also an immensely practical person.

He was also a man of high standards. That did indeed come through in his attention to detail in the cooking of the meat at the Balmoral barbecues. But I also remember a black tie event, hosted by the then mayor of the royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, which Prince Philip was coming down from Windsor castle to attend, but probably for no more than half an hour. Now, some people might have said, “You’ll have to take me as you find me, so I’ll just turn up and that will be it,” but he dressed immaculately in black tie. He took the time and trouble because he had high standards, but also because he respected the event and the people attending, and he wanted them to be at their ease.

I remember my last day at Balmoral. My husband and I, as everybody knows, enjoy walking. Prince Philip had very kindly suggested a particular walk, so we were grateful for the suggestion and set off. When we got back to the castle, several hours later, we were told that Prince Philip did indeed enjoy this walk, but normally he drove around it in a car. I am not sure whether it was a test—and, if it was, whether we passed it. On that last visit, when we went to say our farewells, initially we could not find Prince Philip. When I eventually caught up with him, he was watching the cricket. How I would have loved to have stayed and watched the cricket with him.

I am a Berkshire MP, and in Berkshire we feel a particular connection with the royal family. Prince Philip set up the Prince Philip Trust Fund, which provides grants to individuals and causes in the royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, and many of my constituents will have benefited from that trust fund. Among the causes it focuses on are young people, and this is reflected, as others have said, in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. It is one of his particular legacies that he had this passion for enabling young people to find themselves, challenge themselves, broaden their horizons and develop what are, for some, life-changing skills.

Millions across the world have much to be grateful to him for, but perhaps the most important aspect of his life was his absolute commitment to supporting Her Majesty the Queen. It is in no way comparable, but I do know how important it is to have a husband—a partner—who is a source of strength and a rock in times of trouble. As a hugely talented person, Prince Philip could have been enormously successful in his own right, but he put his life to ensuring the success of his wife. It was that willingness to put himself second and to serve, to understand the importance of duty and to exercise it day in, day out, that will be his true lasting legacy, and that should be an inspiration to us all.

All of us here in the UK and across the Commonwealth have so much to be grateful to him for, and we say thank you. He understood the requirements of responsibility, the demands of duty and the sacrifices of service. We will never see his like again. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

[Mr Speaker]

We will now hear from the Mother of the House, the right hon. and learned Harriet Harman.

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[James Daly (Bury North) (Con)]

On 21 October 1954, it was a rainy cold day in Bury, but thousands lined the streets of the town to welcome Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their visit. There is a wonderful Pathé newsreel recording the event, but the day lives on in the minds of those who were there. Iona was a young pupil who, with her classmates, stood open-mouthed, watching through the railings on Knowsley Street, as Her Majesty and His Royal Highness emerged on to the balcony to open the brand-new Bury town hall. She told me today of the

“complete and utter excitement to see the Queen and the Duke.”

Pat was 10 years of age, and remembers to this day where she stood with her friends, facing the town hall, with rain pouring down. She said that

“no one had televisions, the Queen and Duke seemed like distant figures, so to be able actually to see them in our town was an indescribable thrill and something I will never forget.”

From the smiles and excitement at those days 67 years ago, the people of Bury, Ramsbottom and Tottington have had the Queen and the Duke as constants in their lives. They have seen Prince Philip live a life of duty to our country and every part of it—a man who was a loving consort and everlasting support to Her Majesty the Queen, but who was also determined to make a positive difference. He was a naval hero, a founder member of the World Wildlife Fund, and a champion of science and technology.

There are many other achievements too numerous to mention, but Prince Philip’s legacy continues to inspire young people through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. In Greater Manchester, 11,000 young people are currently taking part in the DofE, and it was the Duke’s passion for education that brought him to Bury again, in 1976, to visit pupils at Bury Grammar School. It was reported that

“he talked and joked easily with a surprisingly large number of boys, who were astounded and gratified that even the fortunes of Bury FC had not entirely escaped royal notice.”

He was a truly great man, famous for a wonderful sense of humour, as comfortable running international organisations as talking with young people about their local football team. Together with my constituents in Bury, Ramsbottom and Tottington, we give our very sincere condolences to Her Majesty the Queen, and may His Royal Highness Prince Philip rest in peace—a life well lived.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Can I make an appeal to everyone? If you want to get people in, you have to try to help one another.

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[Mr Speaker]

Final speech—Bob Seely.

[Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

I am very happy to limit myself to five seconds, Mr Speaker, if you want to get somebody else in.

On behalf of Islanders, I pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh’s remarkable life and send my condolences to Her Majesty. The Duke visited the Isle of Wight on many occasions, and what brought him back again and again was his love of sailing. He was a regular at Cowes Week and helped to redesign the event in the 1960s. He had many friends on the Island, including my cousin David, who served with him in the Navy and on HMS Chequers, and was stationed in Malta with him in 1949, when the Duke was kind enough to be godfather to David’s son. In much of what he did, the Duke had the desire to make things better, always to look ahead and always to look over the horizon.

Finally, one of the most remarkable things about the Duke for me was that he combined an intense masculinity and manhood—leading men, being able to sail, shoot, hunt, philosophise and write—with an extraordinary respect for his wife and for women. I thought he was a remarkable man, for all of that.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. As we end the contributions to this motion for a Humble Address, it is a sign of the high regard in which the Duke of Edinburgh was held that so many Members have made such moving tributes. Today has brought the House together, and it is at its best when it is together. May The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, rest in peace.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved, nemine contradicente,

That an Humble Address be presented to Her Majesty expressing the deepest sympathies of this House on the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the heartfelt thanks of this House and this nation for his unfailing dedication to this Country and the Commonwealth exemplified in his distinguished service in the Royal Navy in the Second World War; his commitment to young people in setting up The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a scheme which has touched the lives of millions across the globe; his early, passionate commitment to the environment; and his unstinting support to Your Majesty throughout his life.

Adjournment

Resolved, That this House do now adjourn.—(David Duguid.)