His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Stephen Farry Excerpts

Monday 12th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance) [V]]

On behalf of people right across the community in Northern Ireland, my constituents in North Down and the Alliance party, I join in paying tribute to His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and in passing on our deepest sympathies and condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the wider royal family.

The Duke lived an exceptionally full life, with many interests and achievements—too many to mention, but which touched so many people in all corners of the UK, the Commonwealth and the wider world. It can be said that Prince Philip was an early product of European integration and reflected the complex intermingling of royal dynasties at that time, yet his initial years were marked with many deep challenges and uncertainties. He was a man of great ingenuity, resilience and foresight, as demonstrated by his distinguished naval career during and after the second world war and his early grasp of and deep commitment to science and engineering and to the environment and conservation issues. This powerful, agenda-setting example left a lasting legacy.

The Duke will of course be remembered in particular for his deep commitment to young people, most clearly through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. There will be many people in Northern Ireland, across many generations, who remember fondly the annual award ceremonies at Hillsborough castle, where they had the opportunity to meet the Duke and to be inspired. It is also worth referencing the joint award initiative, the Gaisce, the President of Ireland’s award, which His Royal Highness was instrumental in establishing. Young people in Northern Ireland have a choice of certification when they complete their award: the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award certificate; the Gaisce, the President’s Award certificate; or the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award certificate.

Beyond the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Prince Philip was a regular visitor to Northern Ireland, going back to the late 1940s. I am pleased to recall a number of very welcome visits to my constituency. He had a particular affinity to the Royal Ulster Yacht Club and enjoyed racing in Belfast lough. In more recent years, alongside Her Majesty the Queen, he played an instrumental role in building Anglo-Irish relations, including, notably, the historic visit to Dublin in May 2011, and then hosting the first state visit of the President of Ireland at Windsor in April 2014, almost exactly seven years ago today. With events in Ireland having brought his own close family loss, his personal leadership on reconciliation has been widely acknowledged.

The Duke’s most telling contribution was, of course, as a dutiful companion and rock for Her Majesty the Queen. In impact and duration, theirs was a partnership that had never been seen before, and one that we are unlikely to ever see again.