His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con) [V]]

Along with the British public, I felt real sadness at the passing of Prince Philip, and on behalf of my Harlow and village constituents, I send my heartfelt wishes and condolences to Her Majesty. He has been such a part of our nation’s history for so long that it is hard to imagine our national life without him. I know he has been spoken about as a father, but I see him more as a grandfather of the nation. I remember watching and talking about him and the Queen with my grandparents when I was growing up, and with my father and my own generation. With Prince Philip’s passing, the history of Britain is changing as well. It was good to read over the past few days not just about his heroic service in the second world war but about his defence of Jewish children who were being victimised by the Nazis when he attended a German school, and about how his late mother protected Jewish families.

As has been said many times during these tributes, one of the most remarkable things that Prince Philip did was to establish the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. The charity has transformed the lives of millions of individuals, and the skills that these youngsters have developed have also increased their educational attainment and job prospects, so perhaps the very best memorial we can give to Prince Philip is to rocket-boost support for the Duke of Edinburgh’s charity and do everything possible to support it.

I am proud that Prince Philip visited my constituency of Harlow in both 1952 and 1957. His first visit, in 1952, came after the post-war New Towns Act 1946, which established a number of new towns including Harlow. Following his visit, a road that runs from Harlow Mill to Harlow Town railway station was named Edinburgh Way in his honour, and I am pleased to say that it has just been widened. Further to this, in October 1957, Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made a tour around Harlow, including a visit to the market square and a factory. His early modernising spirit symbolised the modernising spirit of Harlow new town.

We now know that the funeral of Prince Philip will take place on Saturday, and I understand that the specially adapted Land Rover that his coffin with be travelling in was bought from Foley’s in Roydon, near Harlow. It seems that both early on in his time as Duke of Edinburgh and now at the very end of his life, he has maintained a proud link to our town of Harlow. May he rest in peace.