His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, as I stand, I can hear Prince Philip in my ear saying, “West, it fills me with despair that I will have to listen to another eulogy from you”, so I intend to keep it very short.

His Royal Highness Prince Philip came from a generation of naval officers who were very reticent in showing their emotions. For someone like the Duke of Edinburgh, a sense of duty was paramount. That did not mean that he did not feel the pain and poignancy of wartime and other losses; he just came from a generation that did not emote madly over them.

He was a fine seaman. He was highly professional. He despised flattery and flim-flam. He enjoyed the ebullient repartee of the wardroom; from some of the examples from noble Lords, one can see how that led on to how he spoke and acted in life. He had a good war and was decorated for bravery. For nearly 100 years he remained connected with the sea, starting of course in an orange box on board the cruiser “Calypso”, when he was rescued from Greece.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s life of service has been an inspiration to generations of naval officers and Royal Marine officers, and the Royal Navy will be forever grateful for the strengthening of the bond between the senior service and the monarchy. We as a nation owe him a huge debt, and he will be dreadfully missed.