His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Neil Hudson Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Neil Hudson (Penrith and The Border) (Con) [V]]

It is a great honour and privilege to pay tribute today, on behalf of the constituents of Penrith and The Border, to His Royal Highness.

Prince Philip was a true public servant, serving the Queen, the country and the Commonwealth with humbling dedication. He had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy, including active service in world war two. In many ways, he was a trailblazer in raising the profile and importance of looking after our planet and all that is on it, with his pioneering work with organisations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Australian Conservation Foundation.

In setting up the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, he influenced the lives of literally millions of young people through a life-affirming programme that exists in over 130 countries. Cumbria is blessed with natural settings that allow people to enjoy nature through schemes such as the DofE and in outdoor education centres such as Blencathra and the Outward Bound Trust centres, which Prince Philip visited as the trust’s patron. Sadly, the pandemic has halted many of the activities for our young people that are encapsulated by the DofE and outdoor education. It is heartening that those sectors are set to re-open; I know that they will once again play a big part in our young people’s lives.

Sadly, I did not have the honour of meeting Prince Philip, but a constituent, Debbie Wicks, whose family knew him well in the world of carriage driving, shared this with me:

“Prince Philip, the Royal family and carriage driving were (and remain) an important part of our lives. Prince Philip was an exceptional horseman, a keen competitor and liked to be treated as other competitors at events. I remember when he was driving his Fell ponies at Lowther in Cumbria and they came to the water obstacle—now obstacles are meant to be driven in the fastest speed possible, but nobody had briefed the Prince’s Fell ponies, who naturally thought they would stop for a drink. Prince Philip didn’t agree—and needless to say with his honest and frank approach the language was ‘ripe’!”

We have heard much today about Prince Philip’s humour and humanity. That should remind us above all that the royal family are humans just like the rest of us, grieving the loss of a much-loved family member. Our prayers are with Her Majesty and her family at this time. Rest in peace, Prince Philip; in your own words, you’ve done your bit.