His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Lord Kirkham Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kirkham (Con)]

My Lords, this is certainly the end of an era, and I welcome this opportunity to extend my most heartfelt sympathy and deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen, Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and all members of the Royal Family impacted by the sad death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh.

For around 30 years I was privileged to experience a very close association with His Royal Highness through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. This included 15 years in a unique post involving both the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and the UK award. Most recently, I spent 10 years as UK chairman of the trustees, handing over to the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, who spoke so eloquently earlier. In these capacities I enjoyed the immense honour and great pleasure of working directly with Prince Philip, a very hands-on patron, travelling around the world with His Royal Highness and experiencing his unwavering high standards and expectations; his attention to detail, mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, and several other noble Lords; his unfailing punctuality; and his instant grasp and command of recorded minutes and complex briefings. I saw his incredible work rate and his direct and unambiguous approach first hand and close up, marvelling at his easy manner, talent and expertise as he won friends, cemented relationships and interacted with participants, volunteers and supporters of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and others in his own inimitable way.

Over 20 very active years, we had the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the United States together on several occasions, from New York to Miami, Washington to Los Angeles, throughout the Midwest and many points in between. Africa, Asia and much of Europe featured among those travels too. For me, this was a unique front row seat and a privileged education in the world of the charity that Prince Philip created and nurtured right from scratch and which has changed for the better the lives of so many millions of young people all around the world. This exposure to what I can describe only as the magic of Prince Philip changed my life most positively too.

In the USA, Prince Philip’s working day frequently started with an early morning breakfast meeting with maybe 60 attendees, often ending that day with a black-tie dinner perhaps 1,000 miles away, with half a dozen talks and lectures in between. He made speeches on behalf of other organisations to which he was committed as well as for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award itself. It was an endless call for his attention, direction, help, advice, support and non-stop handshakes, and he never flagged at all. His work ethic was tremendous, his stamina prodigious. He simply never let up, and in addition to his very full planned programme he was always able to deal with the unexpected, spontaneously, on the hoof and unscripted. He was resolute and determined and he enjoyed a unique combination of qualities and a focus that enabled him to overcome all opposition and to get things done on behalf of people less privileged than himself. Fortunately, many of those rare qualities are in the DNA of Prince Edward, who today has dedicated himself to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award most ably, capably and passionately. I think we can be assured that it is in good hands.

I am conscious that Prince Philip absolutely hated compliments and never wanted to be the cause of any fuss. Nevertheless, I will personally remember His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh as a hands-on, high-energy, hard-working boss—a charming, strong and vigorous man with a wicked sense of humour. He was multilayered, multifaceted and selfless. He was charismatic, caring and possessed of so much down-to-earth common sense, combined with real sensitivity, empathy and passion.

Close up, I witnessed a kind-hearted man at work. Even well into his 90s, His Royal Highness walked for miles and spent hours meeting Duke of Edinburgh’s Award participants. I shall cherish for ever my memories of his kindness and compassion, whether in presenting gold awards to the parents of award achievers who had died after attaining their award but before the presentation date, or in speaking to prisoners and many others from difficult and impossibly challenging backgrounds who were taking part in the award programme.

He was a very special man who literally made the days of so many young people and their families through his awards. He did so every day of his life for decades. His was a unique achievement and a truly outstanding contribution to our country and the wider world. He will be sorely missed, and I have no doubts that, as the noble Lord, Lord Janvrin, wisely commented, history will judge him kindly.