Prince Philip got through a traumatic childhood by making a joke of everything. Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Back in the heyday of nineties lad culture, Prince Philip epitomised a certain ironically-but-not-ironically loveable member of the older generation. Lauded in Loaded magazine on at least one occasion as the Greatest Living Englishman, to many young men Phil was something of a “Legend!!!”
He had fought with great courage in the war; he was regularly rude to foreigners, which was obviously a bonus; he liked to ride and sail and shoot things and he was unsentimental and uncompassionate almost to a comic degree, which felt reassuring at a time when a new-found emotional incontinence made many feel uncomfortable.
This cult status was only heightened by his legendary gaffes, of which there are enough to fill a book (indeed there is a book). There was the time that Philip accepted a gift from a local in Kenya, telling her she was a kind woman, and then adding: “You are a woman, aren’t you?” Or the occasion he remarked “You managed not to get eaten, then?” to a student trekking in Papua New Guinea. Then there was his World Wildlife Fund speech in 1986, when he said: “If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.” Well, he wasn’t wrong.
Outrageous to some but endearing to others, he was the sort of man you’d want to go for a pint with, perhaps the ultimate compliment that an Englishman can pay to another Englishman. Yet of course, Prince Philip wasn’t an Englishman in any real sense. He was born in Corfu but grew up outside Paris speaking French; ethnically he was mostly German although he considered himself Danish, his family originating from the Schleswig border region.
He was also, despite his demeanour of Royal Navy officer briskness, a citizen of nowhere in an age of movement. From a very young age he was a stateless person, nationally homeless. Indeed, Philip was an outsider in a way that even Meghan Markle wasn’t; at his wedding in 1947, his three surviving sisters and two brothers-in-law were not permitted to attend because they were literally Britain’s enemies, having fought for the Germans. A third brother-in-law had even been in the SS, working directly for Himmler, but had been killed in the conflict.
That he was able to transform himself into the quintessential “Greatest Living Englishman” is testimony not just to his personal determination but also to the powerful cultural pull of Britishness. That the Prince of Nowhere became its figurehead was more than fitting for a great age of migration and transition in which the Royal Family survived and even flourished.
Even his religion was slightly exotic. He was Greek Orthodox until he converted to Anglicanism on marrying Elizabeth — what with his wife due to become supreme head of the Church and everything — but his ties with eastern Christianity remained. His great-aunts Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine and Tsarina Alexandra are both martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, having been murdered by the Bolsheviks; Philip’s mother went on to become an Orthodox nun and a “Righteous Among the Nations” for saving a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation of Greece, spending much of her time in squalid poverty. More well known is that Philip himself is considered a god in some parts of the world.
Due to his great longevity, Philip’s life came to span a period of social change that is almost unprecedented, and almost no one in history viewed such a transformation from the front row.
His parents were part of the largely German extended aristocracy who ruled almost all of Europe before it all came crashing down in 1918. When he died on Friday morning, aged 99, it marked a near-century in which all the great ideological struggles had been and gone; he had been born before the Soviet Union but outlived the Cold War, the War on Terror and — almost — Covid-19.
The world that Philip was born into was a far more violent and dangerous place than ours. In the year he was born, Irish rebels were still fighting Black and Tans; over the course of 12 months the Spanish and Japanese prime ministers were assassinated, there was a coup in Portugal and race riots in the United States. Germany was rocked by violence from the far-Left and far-Right, while in Italy a brutal new political movement, the Fascists, secured 30 seats in parliament, led by a trashy journalist called Benito Mussolini.
The worst violence, however, took place in Greece and Turkey. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, what remained of Turkey was marked for permanent enfeeblement by the Allies. But much to everyone’s surprise the country’s force were roused by the brilliant officer Mustafa Kemal, who led the Turks to victory. Constantinople was lost to Christendom for good and thousands of years of Hellenic culture was put to the flames in Smyrna.
The Greek royal family, north German imports shipped in during the 19th century, bore much of the popular anger for this disaster. King Constantine fled to Italy, and his brother Andrew was arrested and only escaped execution through the intervention of his relative Britain’s George V. Andrew’s wife Alice, their four daughters and infant son Philip fled to France, completely impoverished but with the one possession that ensures that aristocrats are never truly poor: connections.
Philip had a traumatic childhood. The family had no money, his parents’s marriage was falling apart, and his four sisters were all much older, and were soon all married to German aristocrats (the second youngest would soon die in an aeroplane crash, along with her husband and children). He got through it by making a joke of everything, and by being practical.
This is where, I think, his “Legend!!!” status came from; in the 1990s there was a great divergence in how we dealt with mental anguish. We were now supposed to open up and show our feelings, even if we didn’t want to. Nothing better illustrated this great emotional divide than the tragic death of Prince Philip’s daughter-in-law Diana, after which the Queen and Duke’s emotional restraint felt dangerously out-of-touch; the tabloids demanded they cry publicly, to join the wailing crowds outside.
Yet many of us felt that this was not emotional liberation but emotional tyranny; some people get through hardship and trauma by a very public display of emotion; others do it by focussing on the practical. It doesn’t mean they’re not hurting, necessarily. From an early age, Prince Philip endured his fair share of grief — he just got through it by making plans and doing something useful.
The future Greatest Living Englishman had first attended school in England when he was seven, but two years later his mother, who went deaf and suffered from schizophrenia, was sectioned. His father had gone off to the south of France to live with his mistress in true aristo-bounder style.
And so, through a connection via one of his sister’s husbands, the poor, lonely boy was sent off to a new school — in Nazi Germany. Which was as fun as can be imagined.
Schloss Salem had been co-founded by stern educator called Kurt Hahn, a tough, discipline-obsessed conservative nationalist who saw civilisation in inexorable decline. But by this stage Hahn, who was Jewish, had fled to Britain, and Philip did not spend long at the school either, where pressure from the authorities was already making things difficult for the teachers. He laughed at the Nazis at first, because their salute was the same gesture the boys at his previous school had to make when they wanted to go to the toilet, but within a year he was back in England, a refugee once again.
Here he attended Hahn’s new school, Gordonstoun, which the strict disciplinarian had set up in the Scottish Highlands. Inspired by Ancient Sparta, the boys had to run around barefoot and endure cold showers, even in winter, the whole aim of which was to drive away the inevitable civilisational decay Hahn saw all around him. To 21st century ears it sounds like hell on earth, yet Philip enjoyed it, illustrating just what a totally alien world he came from.
But what really set his world apart from ours is the idea of duty. Philip was a talented naval officer, and fought with great courage at the battle of Cape Matapan in 1941 when British and Australian forces had decisively beaten the Italians. He ended the war one of the Navy’s youngest first lieutenants. Some say he could have risen to the top; but he had fallen in love with Princess Elizabeth in the meantime, and the rest is history – and TV.
Towards the end of his time on earth Philip came to have that rare, cursed honour of having his life dramatised in his own lifetime. The Crown covered the great social change of the period, but also reflected it. The modern monarchy had been established by George V, who with his radio broadcasts kept the House of Windsor on the throne by making them celebrities. Yet it relied on a culture of gentleman’s agreements and shame among editors and journalists.
By the 1970s that was collapsing, and the sense of restraint Philip had grown up with had disappeared. In season one of The Crown, Philip’s sister-in-law cannot marry for love because divorce was impermissible in the Church of England and their feelings did not come before ancient, sacred rules. By the end of season four almost all of the royal marriages have collapsed.
Indeed, the House of Windsor seemed stuck with the worst of both worlds, with an old-fashioned lack of emotional development and empathy, and a modern lack of duty.
Yet of all the institutions that have lost the faith of the public in this period — the Church, Parliament, the media, the police — the Crown itself has done better than most at surviving, curiously well-adapted to a period of moral change, even moral anarchy. The House of Hanover/Windsor, since their arrival in this country in 1714, have been noted above all for their ability to adapt. And just as they survived the Victorian age by transforming themselves into the bourgeoise, domestic ideal, so they have survived the new Elizabethan era, even if it is ending on another downward note with the estrangement of his grandson Prince Harry.
There was once a time when the Royal’s German blood was a punchline for comedians. Now it is the royals who are deeply British while the country itself is cosmopolitan and globalised. The census results next year will show a society that has seen greater demographic change than the preceding four or five thousand years combined, the second Elizabethan age being characterised more than anything by a transformational movement of people. Prince Philip, the Greek-born, Danish-German wanderer who came to become the Greatest Living Englishman, perhaps epitomised that era better than anyone else.
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SubscribeMuch to my great surprise I find I am moved to sadness by the passing of Prince Phillip.
When trying to understand where these feelings have come from I have realised he was one of a very few constant figures throughout my life.
Though I have never met him nor spoke to him and I don’t have any crockery with his or the Queens pictures on it seems his constant background presence in the world has left an indelible emotional mark on me.
Perhaps in a continually changing world where everything is becoming ephemeral those people and maybe places that persist and remain constant become like subtle cardinal points for us which we map the journey of our own lives against.
Yes, I was a little surprised to find myself shedding a few tears for him. That constancy, the always being there and being himself was surely the essence of his understated greatness.
Steve’s comment mirrors my thoughts
I rather think you echo the sentiments of many people.
Very well said, Steve, and I find that I agree. What makes it even sadder was that Prince Philip was tantalisingly close to his 100th birthday too.
Couldn’t have put it better.
How beautifully put. I too am surprised by my sadness upon hearing he has gone. Just like you, I also felt that I’d lost someone who was always ‘there’ in my life, a constant among all the change. He epitomised his generation with his loyalty, stoicism and patriotism plus his amusing naughtiness.
Totally agree. The days since the announcement I have felt very sad. It really is the passing of an era. But more it is the passing of a certain type of person. My dad was like this. As we’re probably many of that era. The milktoasts of this era have none of the backbone nor admirable characteristics of that generation. Prince Philip’s passing has brought that home to me. Really sad.RIP a great man. Thank you sir.
I think you mean milquetoasts.
Well said.
Probably like many others of my generation, I never really knew a lot about Philip. To me, he seemed out of touch and I found the off-hand/rude comments embarrassing. Now I’m older, the comments are still off-colour but rather the product of a good man who simply spoke his mind rather than one who did not have respect. I now think that the choice to be more open with our emotions and ditch the stiff upper lip that we made back in 1997 was a wrong turn. The values that Philip (and the Queen of course) represent (duty, discipline, loyalty, stoicism) now seem far more admirable and like something we should be striving towards – not emotional incontinence and faux victimhood. He might have had his moments, but Prince Philip really was the best of men.
Entirely agree, Katharine, and well said. I think I know who you are referring to by “faux victimhood” but shan’t mention any names!
I will…the foolish Markles.
“the product of a good man who simply spoke his mind rather than one who did not have respect.”
Alternatively the comments could be the product of an arrogant, rude bully who knew that no-one would or could respond in kind. Just like Andrew..
And then again, not.
There are (at least two) alternatives. If you make remarks which are likely to cause offence or hurt (and after the first few incidents were reported in the press that would have been clear) then either you are so dim and insensitive (or so mistakenly convinced of your own wit) that you plod on regardless, or you take positive delight in other people’s discomfiture (which is bullying behaviour) especially if those other people cannot respond in kind.
Of course, if people were able to give as good as they got, I would be all for him being able to make such remarks. But then, it’s a bit like him driving well past the age when it was clear that he was a danger on the roads (without his police officer in the passenger seat), adding insult to injury in picking up a brand new death machine the next day, and only handing over his licence when coerced into it. That is not the action of a humble, considerate person.
Obituary is one thing : forced hagiography is quite another.
The thing is, Fred, it was seldom the person he spoke to who was offended, it was usually the professional offender class being offended on their behalf.
If only we’d realised, this was simply another example of the Duke being ahead of his time.
You make an excellent and very reasonable point. Unfortunately a public figure does not have the luxury of expecting his comments in the context of a public engagement to remain unreported. Personally I am not a professional offendee – but I thought that some of his comments were well beyond acceptable (e.g. the ‘slitty-eyed’ remark.) Clearly I did not find him as witty or amusing as he did.
How do you know they weren’t offended?
Do you ‘know’ that they were offended?
That’s my point no one can assume what they thought. Some might have been offended and some not. So when commentators say how do you know they were offended you can equally say how do you know they weren’t offended. Simple. You just don’t like the fact that I’m suggesting some people might have been offended. Get over yourself.
“If you make remarks which are likely to cause offence or hurt” ….pot calling the kettle black?
There have been some comments by some of the recipients of his “dontopedalogy” and it seems they took the comments for an attempt to break the ice.
Quite so. I shall be using ‘…a new-found emotional incontinence’ whenever appropriate; it sums up in so few words the current pernicious climate of wokery.
A endlessly entertaining man who said not only what he thought, but what we thought.
He didn’t speak for me!
Perhaps you are not one of Fraser’s “we”? I certainly am … as are the hundreds of voices; courtesy of BBC broadcasting over the past 48 hours. For once, the usually unspeakably ‘globalist’ BBC, remembered their original Charter.
Perhaps FB was using the Royal ‘we’. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for that sweeping statement.
neither me or mine
‘Or the occasion he remarked “You managed not to get eaten, then?” to a student trekking in Papua New Guinea.’
Why is this a gaffe? It seems to be a perfectly reasonable query. It’s rather like saying to someone who has been to London “You managed not to get stabbed/robbed/shot then”?
I was thinking exactly the same thing. The remark might be more blunt, and slightly humorous, than many others would say but it’s certainly not a gaffe.
Or perhaps even better, if that is possible. When asked about reincarnation said :
“In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, to contribute something to solving overpopulation.”
How very apposite!
Well it would be quicker than picking off the plebs one at a time with a Range Rover……….
FredI’m so sorry but you come across like a rather bitter and miserable person.
He’s entitled to his opinion. But it seems to me that on this ironically named forum unless you agree with the herd you have no right to voice a different view without being subject to personal comments. Very strange.
Those have sadly been my thoughts for a long time, Claire. I get the feeling that life hasn’t turned out well for the majority of people who comment on this site and it is reflected in their views.
Couldn’t agree more with you. This platform is not one that encourages discussion. If you put across a view that isn’t one of the herd then you get shot down. I’m finding it quite funny tbh. I didn’t at first but now it’s mildly entertaining.
True. Gaining entry to this strange club demands derogatory inclusion of incredibly over-used and misunderstood words like “snowflake” and “woke” at least once per session.
Actually this forum was my introduction to the word woke. I’m still not entirely sure what it means.
The word has very deep roots, going way back in history. Sadly, as often happens, it’s been appropriated by the alt-right and by those who don’t understand it’s true meaning, as a term of abuse.
I must look it up. Thank you.
<<The word has very deep roots, going way back in history.>>
As in he woke up in the morning? If not please explain.
That wasn’t an opinion on anything, unless you believe there was some conspiracy to reduces the population with a Range Rover. It was just a pointless snide remark that seems to pass as humour in some circles and of no value to this discussion.
Your last sentence is a very good description of many of Phillip’s merry quips.
I’m sorry if you got that impression. I am afraid though that Phillip was as irrelevant to my life as I was to his. My irritation is actually directed towards the oupouring of sycophancy and servility which has been evident over the last few days. People make comments which are either grossly exaggerated or not borne out by the facts, and it astounds me that they do this.
Phillip came top of Dartmouth, was in combat from early 1940 and at the age of 21 years was First Officer of a destroyer. It was considered he had the potential to the reach the top of the RN. From the age of 19 years of age he was leading men in combat.Those who saw combat with him said he saved their lives by demonstrating competence and courage.
The Mediterranean in 1941 and 1942 had high death rate for sailors.
It was those who like him who saved the World from the Nazis. Stalin said the British bought time. By fighting in N Africa and the Mediterranean it kept Rommel and his forces out of Russia. If Nazi German had captured the S Russian oilfields they could have won the war.
The Duke of Edinburgh no doubt though of the better people who never surived the war.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s relevance is our freedom. As Geoffrey Wellum DFC, Battle of Britain pilot said ” We do not want to be thanked but remembered.”
Actually if you want to read real sycophancy, type ‘Jeremy Corbyn’ into Twitter search and strap yourself in for the ride. Have a bucket handy.
Corbyn isn’t the one who wanted to depopulate the earth.
Yes finally someone else who gets it. It is truly nauseating to watch people faun over this guy.
He was constantly demonizing ordinary people with his overpopulation rhetoric while he lived in a palace and flew around in private jets.
He was the perfect symbol of establishment narcisssism and hypocrisy, the face of evil.
Why should ordinary people be sorry that he is gone?
The face of evil? How so?
Let’s start with the fact that he wanted to depopulate the earth.
Or perhaps he was an eco-warrior on a rewilding kick ?
Such venom in your writing, and why do you consider yourself ordinary? Perhaps your issue is simple envy? Envy,wrath,lust,.gluttony,greed,sloth,and good old pride. After you have scored Phillip perhaps try benchmarking yourself?
Why do you and so many others feel compelled to defend this guy?
You do realize he would have thought of you as just another useless eater right?
In case you haven’t noticed, the global elite are not on our side.
The establishment do nothing but screw over the vast majority of humanity day in and day out.
I will not mince my words and refrain from telling it like it is.
He was the generation which saved the World from the Nazis. From June 1940 to June 1941 only the British Empire was fighting the Nazis and losses , especially naval in 1942 were very bad. In 1942 Malta was 6 weeks away from surrender.
What sad bitterness of speech!
I agree about the sycophancy, obviously pulled out of the prepared “death of a Royal” box, being extremely annoying.
When Phillip was alive the media could barely wait to criticise him for what they alleged was a “gaffe”.
No doubt some were, many were totally trivial and I can’t imagine that the Chinese really cared at all about what he did, or indeed didn’t, say. Had it been said by the Queen, the matter would be different; it wasn’t.
truth is he met little to many and the many meant little to him
Not to those whose lives he saved through leadership in combat !
I don‘t think Fred is the bitter one on this site…
Fred, someone said you were entitled to your opinion, yes you are but sometimes it is best to reflect before spouting off. Unfortunately you have come over as a bit of a troll. I was not this mans greatest fan but he wasn`t all bad, far from it,and he did remind me of my old Gran. who lived to the age of 97, one of a generation tough as old boots! Also, if nothing else the man had a distinguished service record during WW11 something, at least, that deserves some measure of respect in the immediate pall of his death.
Did Prince Phillip “reflect before spouting off” or is that advice only applicable to the common folk?
By the way, there is absolutely no doubt about his war service, which does merit respect – but that was just one aspect of his life. Perhaps you think that it is enough to make us turn a blind eye to the Thursday Club, the rather suspect tour of Australia (on his own), the quality of parenting carried out by a man who pronounced on how many children other people should have. Actually over the last few days I have learned a lot about him from the BBC that I did not know before, and much of it is not attractive – and selectively not reflected in many of the comments on this forum!
You are right, of course, that he wasn’t all bad – but he wasn’t all good either. Let’s not get carried away : time will give a more accurate judgement – a bit like his uncle Louis (war hero, adulterer, bisexual, plotter and schemer. Or should that be tactfully covered up and never mentioned?)
you make my very point…. a little respect in the immediate aftermath of a death, if not for him then for his wife…then let time expose the fault lines as I am sure many quills are twitching
How are you going to mock the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme? Or his early focus on conservation? His steadfast support of the Queen?
Don’t need to : there are plenty of better subjects for mockery.
If only you had the opportunity to speak to the late Prince Phillip; face to face instead of from the privacy of your smart phone, you could mock him with all your bravery. Every human has his faults, flaws, strengths and virtues; resulting in the legacy he leaves behind. A life with little privacy is a life exposed for all its faults; like a wart under a microscope. I believe Prince Phillip is one of bravery, loyalty, tolerane, resolve, disappointment, love, insensitivity, distasteful humor, imperfection, strength, patience,etc. Fred, you should throw the first stone; I just wish Prince Phillip was here to throw the second.
Actually, I lived in London for nearly 40 years and was never stabbed/robbed/shot.
Ditto
Yet
I lived in New York city for 30 years from birth, inthe So Bronx, the upper East Side, and the Up[er West Side. Never once locked my door, nor was I ever stabbed or threatened. Urban crime is exaggerated.
This is the kind of remark many of my relatives, inclusding my parents, would have said. And we all would have laughed. I suspect a tribesman from Papua would have laughed too. We have become fart more earnest than the Victorians. And remember that one of the Rockefellers was eaten there in modern times.
We have had hours of both BBC TV channels and much of its radio coverage devoted to the passing of the Duke Edinburgh and not one bit of it has come close to the way this article captures the essence of the man. When you consider his upbringing he must have passed his last days utterly perplexed by the emotional drivel issuing from the mouths of his grandson Harry and his wife.
More silly is the emotional tabloid derived drivel aimed at Harry and his wife.
I met Prince Philip once. I will set the scene. T’was the Queens Silver Jubilee and we were at the height of the Sex Pistols phenomenon and ‘God Save the Queen’ malarkey. I was an Art student at Epsom Art College, and the Epsom Derby was taking place. Our Queen does love a bit of horse racing so apparently was doing a Royal Visit. For us 16 year old Art Student Punk plebs it was a chance to drink all day due to the Derby Bars having all day alcohol licences. No ID required. It was really hot, and there was a lot of traipsing about. By early evening I had collapsed behind a bush and vomited, due to being in the sun and lots of cheap cider, so my mate decided we should get the next train. I had blisters all over my feet from the obligatory 5inch stilettos so borrowed his striped orange and turquois towelling socks pulled up over my ‘sewed-in’ drainpipe jeans. As we legged it towards the station to get the next train there was a barrier with people cheering and waving flags and a brass band marching along. The train station was the other side, so we climbed over and drunkenly weaved our way through the marching band, dodging the cymbals and trombones. As we emerged we were each grabbed by a couple of coppers whereupon I heard a very recognisable ‘1940’s film’ posh woman’s voice say to them, “it’s alright.”
As I turned there was the Queen and Prince Philip who was holding out his hand. My mate who had his shirt tied round his waist undid it hastily and held it up over his nipples in a desperate attempt at some kind of appropriate dress code. Prince Philip looked me up and down smiling in amusement at my hacked henna dyed orange hair and said,” I must say those are very fashionable socks.” The Queen also patiently and dutifully shook our hands without smiling, before we were man handled roughly by the police over the barrier on the other side. We were photographed by the local paper and on the front page the next day with the caption ‘God Save the Queen’ and obligatory safety pin graphics.
My Welsh miner’s wife and passionate Royalist Grandmother was distraught.
“How could you dress like that, and especially in front of her majesty? You should be ashamed of yourself. I am so embarrassed – you have let your family down but most of all, you have let yourself down.”
Can’t find any archive record of the front cover of the local paper, and funnily enough my Gran never kept the press cutting.
Brilliant anecdote! Thanks.
I was disappointed not to have been wheeled onto the BBC studio sofa to share it yesterday… 😉
That’s a great story!
You could dine out on that one for years!
Indeed. But don’t leave it too long, because people will be asking “Who was Prince Phillip?” before many years have passed.
Nicely written piece:
‘The census results next year will show a society that has seen greater demographic change than the preceding four or five thousand years combined……….’ Oh yes: the world of Philip and Elizabeth has all but disappeared, and personally, I can’t say what we have now is an improvement, nor dare I speculate too long about the future.
A good read and an excellent and informative tribute. Thank you.
There were not many authentic people left in the public eye. Now there are event fewer. Personally, sad. Universally, a tragedy.
A lovely article. A point though, the Windsors are male line descendants of the House of Saxe Coburg Gotha. Not Hanover.
As Prince Philip, in times of great trial. went on pilgrimage to Greek Orthodox monasteries, I suspect that in his heart he remained Greek Orthodox. However, it is a private matter.
Whenever a 99 year old person dies, I always suspect foul play.
My father only made it to 96, but was born the same year as Prince Phillip, his life shortened by being dropped wile in the NHS and getting a head injury, not foul play, but improvidence. My father was from a successful farming family who still were using the massive horses to work the modern kind of plows and harvesters when he was born. He did STEM at university and entered the army in WWII, got up to all kinds of wild adventures all over the world from then on till settling down at 89 when he finally stopped his, continent spanning, huge road trips, and gave up his driving license. He saw the world change as very few have.
Two days ago my mother (who now lives with me) at 96 broke her arm at the shoulder wile walking through my woods to paint at my pond as she likes to do. The next day, in her cast, she resumed her several daily, 1/4 mile walks, morning, noon, and evening, and sits on her garden swing several times between, because she knows at her age ‘the bed is the killer’. She picked up a string of university degrees here and there, and would live camping around the odd places in the world for half a year at a time, going about with my father, and dragging us children along.
They met after the War when my father was a lecturer at a university and hitch-hiked to and from his classes, and my mother, a student, was driving her first car, an old Model A Ford she had bought for ten Pounds, and she stopped and gave him a ride.
The world changed an unbelievable amount in those 99 years, and the people as well, we are not like them.
“The world changed an unbelievable amount in those 99 years, and the people as well, we are not like them.”
Interesting story, Sanford. My father was also born about the same time as Prince Philip. He didn’t lead a particularly exciting life but he worked hard, put up with a lot, and rarely complained. His pleasures were simple and his outlook on life uncomplicated. His religion meant a lot to him and his siblings.
As you say, most of us are not like that generation. We have lost some sort of physical and spiritual hardiness. I wonder if future generations will reclaim it.
Oh, and you obviously have longevity genes running in your family. Prepare yourself for a long final act to your life. Perhaps buy an old Triumph motorbike and see the world. 🙂
I can attest that old Triumph motorcycles keep life interesting , but I doubt that I’d trust it to see me around the world (Ted Simon , you are a legend)
Thanks for the very interesting family history! I very much enjoyed it.
Also just as we are influenced by our parents , they of course were once someone’s little son or daughter. I didn’t know Prince Philip was Greek Orthodox -interesting that Russian tribute describe him as great great grandson of Tsar Nicholas 1, so he was also a Romanov -any hope communists have that Russians are pining for a return to that particular creed can be seen to be futile as Russians seem to be both religious and keen on their royal heritage.
His mother‘s side was the morganatic branch of the Princes of Hesse(n) and they adopted the name Battenberg(Mountbatten). As the Russian Romanov family married several Princesses of Hesse(n), he was closely related to them. When they found bones buried in Yekaterinburg, Prince Philip provided the DNA, which proved that they were the Russian Royal Family. Also the Romanovs inherited Hemophilia through the princely family of Hesse(n).
I had firsrt cousins by marriage who also provided DNA for Romanov authentication. They gew up in relative poverty in London’s old East End. Education made him middle class and a member of the Royal Society of Engineers. Mariage made her a member of the midle class. They never used their excess of noble titles. They recognized how weird that would be when one did not have excess money. I am sure there are many like them in Europe.
That is an excellent response to the main article. I have a 95 years old aunt, still mentally alert but no longer able to go outdoors without help. Excepting covid-19 it is great to sit with her and hear her talk about this age and the many years through which she lived. And she has much to tell about her life and raising a family. She is the last of my parents’ generation on either side to be alive. And her wisdom is wonderful. Prince Philip was not perfect, but then who is? He made the best of the circumstances in which he found himself. How many of us will be considered old fashioned and out of touch when we die? That is just part of the cycle of life. In an age when divorce is widespread, he and Queen Elizabeth have endured. And there is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth will miss him. May he rest in peace of Christ.
Had he recently had the vaccine?
Afraid so, though contributing factors were more likely heart problems together with worry over some troublesome relatives
Or maybe simply old age, like a lot of deaths that have happened over the last year.
I have seen some linkage with elderly ( not well ) people getting the vaccine , then dying soon after-so obviously don’t know. It seems in Prince Philip’s case he was ‘sent home to die’ which is what he wished and you know god bless him.
On 9 January.
The dire pall cast over the English by too much Agatha Christie, no doubt . . . 😉
No such thing as too much Agatha Christie!
Or even Midsomer Murders perhaps.
We don’t get that much actual Agatha Christie. For that you have to read the books. The picture of her evoked by current TV treaments makes her come over like a right-on liberal, which she most assuredly was not.
I’m reading most of the comments on here and there are inevitably using this platform as an opportunity to denigrate Philip, express their dislike and so on.
I really find this mindset so difficult to understand. It is something quite common on the left but not exclusive to it.
Nobody is forcing you to like Philip, nobody is forcing you to approve of his every utterance, and nobody is forcing you to make a comment about him. Maybe my view is an outdated relic from a bygone age, but when his body is still warm and his wife – who is known by all of us and revered by most – of 73 years is grieving, I tend to think that if you’ve nothing positive to say, don’t say anything at all.
In this age where free speech is still just about in place, the likes of Fred are quite entitled to ignore this and carry on posting. Just don’t be surprised if most people think you to be a bit of a tasteless and warped plonker as a result.
They are proxies for the loyalties of ordinary people whom “the left” scorn. Monarchs generally function as a kind of ‘scapegoat’ or unifying principle before whom our internal rivalries dissolve. That’s what the mass of people intuitively recognise, especially in our case where they are not poltically aligned. ‘Iintellectuals’ or “left” tacitly acknowledge it in their reflexive antagonism to all symbols of national identity.
I agree with your points, especially regarding the ‘time and place’ aspect of piling on when a family is grieving which is common human decency.
It’s impossible to write an obituary, opinion piece or comment about a man’s near century-long life without context, especially an event-filled one like Philip’s.
The dodgy childhood and early family life, the war service, the royal marriage, the private family life, the public service all add up to a hefty volume that is generally being given a “well done” review.
But that’s not how we’re supposed to look into the past. We’re supposed to be progressive, dig deep and turn enough of a person’s historical sod until we find faults that run counter to au courant values and validate a cancellation order.
Of course, no human being lives almost a century fault-free and Philip’s “I can’t believe he said that” moments are well-documented but IMO, much of the vitriol rises not so much from what the man did or said but from the realization that “warts and all” context with respect to passing comment on a man’s life still matters.
“Sure, you made some mistakes but when it’s all said and done, you did not a bad job” is still a worthy epitaph in the minds of many people and that’s what really rankles the ‘cancellers’.
There is something really different about men of PP’s generation. My dad, who is 93 soon to be 94, on hearing of PP’s death wondered what had happened to him. I said well, dad, he died. But of what he asked as though a 99 year old needs any other cause of death. I tried not to chuckle because he was so sincere. They just think they’ll never die and if they do, something must have caused it. It can’t be just old age.
Like most Americans I am glad we don’t have a monarchy but you could look long and hard and not find a better example than Prince Philip.
Thank you for that.
As you say PP fought at Matapan, in fact on the Battleship H.M.S. Valiant. Had her joined her a little earlier he would have had the inestimable pleasure of participating in the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir in July 1940.
‘The inestimable pleasure’? Such a snide and unpleasant comment on one of the tragedies, however necessary, of WW2 says much about you.
Not many of the crew of H.M.S. Hood, the flagship on that day would agree with you.
From a purely technical point of view the shooting was also rather good that day, particularly from the somewhat aged Battleship, H.M.S. Resolution.
Let’s face it, the French had capitulated and then changed sides. It was triumph of Churchillian will and Royal Naval proficiency, and seems to have persuaded the US that we were worth backing. As such we should celebrate it.
It was NOT a tragedy but War as it has always was and always will be.
Having served as an officer in both the Army and in the Royal Navy from the early 60s to the late 80s, I find your apparent relish at such killing rather sickening. From a purely technical view, of course.
Were you therefore a Royal Maine or did you make the unusual, although not unknown transfer from Navy to Army or vice versa?
From a technical point of view it is not relish but pure satisfaction that major enemy capital ships have been destroyed at minimum loss of life to our own forces.
No doubt you have felt the same in Borneo, Aden, Oman, Belfast or wherever you served?
It is inaccurate to say France had changed sides. They had declared neutrality and were not at that point actively at war with Britain. Almost all countries involved treated neutrality with a hearty dose of cynicism so it isn’t really material but it is better to be accurate.
In any case both Churchill and Admiral Sommerville saw it as distasteful and dishonorable but necessary in the context of the war, especially to show resolve to the Americans. Even so both had hoped to avoid it but had been made impossible by Gensoul’s intransigence. Indeed Admiral Cunningham was able to secure the impoundment of French ships in Alexandria without resorting to bloodshed.
And it is hardly surprising the French capital ships were so easily sunk given they weren’t prepared or equipped for a major battle.
Gensoul had plenty of time to evacuate and sink his ships. He did neither.
As you say they were not “prepared or equipped for a major battle”, so why did he do nothing?
Incidentally the Hood shot well on the day, hitting the Dunkerque within five minutes of opening fire with four 15” rounds. Sadly ten months later her shooting was not so good.
Unfortunately, apparently this was not done before the French passed information about radar to the Germans; the Brits unwisely had given the French information about the great new invention.
Thank you for that I hadn’t heard it before. How typical!
I wonder what our former Commissioned Officer, very unusually in both the Army & Navy, one :
KS : code -named “Jerry Mee-Crowbin” makes of that?
I don’t know. Camilla seems to be of the same mould
Ed, the second paragraph is one of the best sentences I have read in a very long time. It’s brilliance lies in your ability to sum the Duke up whilst reflecting his humour. I suspect he would have loved it as a eulogy.
Prince Phillip demonstrated a stoicism once common in generations past and a frankness which was refreshing, if today, all too uncommon unless someone is grizzling and whinging about their ‘poor me’ experiences.
He did the job he married into, very well, unlike some others.
“To 21st century ears it sounds like hell on earth, yet Philip enjoyed it, illustrating just what a totally alien world he came from.”
I think Prince Charles had a rather different experience. Then again unlike his father he was also considered a indifferent naval officer who was mercifully let go as soon as it was tactful to do so.
Anybody know what happened with young Charles’ cello lessons?
I loved his refusal to complain ever though life threw a good few curveballs at him. That’s character. I wish more people would follow his example and complain less more often.
How could a European be an “ultimate outsider”? Same attitude as Sinn Fein and SNP, not to mention our own LibLabCon: British out: Africans/Muslims/Chinese in. Though we’re somewhat more advanced on ethnic cleansing than the Irish, with ethnic Britons already mathematically guaranteed ethnic minority status in Britain even without further influx, British schoolchildren an ethnic minority in British schools by 2035 possibly sooner, they are rapidly making up for lost time.
Gosh what is the point of your post?
And your point is?
Ethnic cleansing of Europeans in Europe. What’s happening in England already meets UN definition of genocide even without the crime, violence and rape -the latter of hundreds of thousands of native girs over decades with official complicity. All documented but suppressed from public notice. Ever wonder why BBC Crimewatch was discontinued or any comparable programme on any other channel which have been a staple of TV since the 1960s?
By differential birthrates alone, even without further influx or any violence natives will soon be outnumbered and eventually disappear altogether. Media/officialdom/LibLabCon defend every other nation’s right to self-determination, not least Israel, but the European.
There are more Africans, Chinese, Indians individually than Europeans, let alone combined. Yet Europeans alone are denied right to their own ethnic homelands. Only in Europe are natives supposed to have no more right of abode in their ancestral lands than new arrivals from Africa, Asia, and increasingly South America.
Meanwhile the scapegoating of Europeans intensifies as people become increasingly conscious of their numerical advantage with the most racially antagonistic, whose identity is invested in their appearance to a degree out of all proportion to any other, at the forefront. Wherever the same demographic preponderate crime and lawlessness become the norm. Identifcation of any particular group from such a neutral description renders one either “racist” or hypocrite aka “anti-racist”.
Perhaps one incident from my childhood illus rates a now abandoned culture that once existed in families not so grand as the performance driven royal family. As a child I once said at family table, “I’m bored.” The parents, very kind and intelligent and in some ways indulgent people, stopped and looked at me like I was an interplanetary alien. Finally my mother said, “Bored people make boring company. Leave the table now. You can return when you are not bored.” I returned. I never again said, “I’m bored.” In fact I really wasn’t all that bored when I said it on that long ago day. I was simply being rude. It has been reassuring, in good times and in bad, not to have been bored during my 80 year old life. And in the current lockdown isolation I am not bored now. Restless, yes, but a bit of not extreme exercises takes care of that. I also had, on scholarship, a classical education based on Latinn, Greek, lit, math, science, history, once a common enoough education, now rather rare in the USA. The great Oxford scolar Elizabeth Hamilton once said that if you have a classical education you are never bored. Perhaps that education explains the ability to sail aove the clods inevitablle in life of so many older people. I wouldn’t know.
I have not much, if any, of an emotional reaction to Philip’s death even though I enjoyed the portrayal of him in The Crown. He reminded me of some relatives. But what most impressed me about The Crown was the talent of the actors. I could not much identify with the characters (except a bit for Princess Margaret) but I was fascinated by the actors. Perhpa it’s because I’m 80 and have never been forced to abandon my upbrining (in a poor, kind, intelligent family) where public displays of emtion were not forbidden but not indulged either.
I
‘The census results next year will show a society that has seen greater demographic change than the preceding four or five thousand years combine’
Mmm, no.
Yep , harmless old stick. Devotion , duty blah blah …had fun in the early Sixties , though.
“Harmless old stick.” I bet those were precisely the thoughts of the woman he drove into in Norfolk. What a scamp, eh?
De mortuis nil nisi bonum and all that, but Radio 2 has now cancelled Sounds of the 70s! This Dukeathon is getting out of hand
This is a well written and crafted piece, makes a nice companion to Ari’s later one here at Unheard.
You’ve got him correctly set, congratulations.
To my mind, as a former rabid lefty Phil the Greek( boy, were we dumb!) was everything we stood for. Great Wally of China, wanting safari animals with sponsorship to save them from his tribe of huntin shootin moochers etc. And an Assisi ass that created the whole carcrash of environmental idiocy that his worthless son fell for.
And yet.
He’s right on wind turbines, he gave us Princess Anne, he first calked the media ” reptiles”…and gas enough unPC scabrous barbs to please us all in 2021.
And he was the Queen’s Rock. And thank God, we had them until now.
So ta Phil.
Now please can we have Princess Anne to rule until William gets an education? Otherwise the Monarchy are toast …nearly said kebabbed!
“Prince Philip, the Greek-born, Danish-German wanderer” was just the consort for Elizabeth Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha. Not much English about either of their families, really.
Her Majesty the Queen was born in England. Her parents were born in England. Her grandparents were all born in England. Five of her eight great-grandparents were born in England. Her heir was born in England, as was his wife. The next heir was born in England, as was his wife. The next heir was born in England. In what sense is there “not much English” about her family?
Incidentally, I’m not sure who this “Elizabeth Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha” is supposed to be. If you mean the Queen, then she never had that surname.
What a sad day for you Steve that clinging to aristocracy and inherited fortune provides constancy, truly you need a bit of fresh air.
Plenty of interesting details of Philip’s life here, but for me the biggest takeaway is that Philip was actually German. I always just accepted the “blond Greek” bit. Philip scored a PR coup by branding himself a Greek. It was something of news to me that the Greek royal family was also German. So there you go!
So Elizabeth II continued the longstanding tradition of keeping the British royal family’s DNA firmly German. That might explain the non-English facial features of the pair’s children. Diana was the true English rose. None of the royals come close in looks or grace. As for Philip’s falling in love with the future queen, reminds me of an adage passed on to me by an elderly English lady by way of her granddaughter: ” Do not love money. Love where money is.” Well done, Philip!
All the European royal families married and mixed over centuries – they are ALL related in some way. So what exactly is your point?
I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean. He was born in Greece. His parents were born in Greece and England. His grandparents were born in Denmark, Russia, Austria and England. In what sense is this “actually German”?
Her Majesty the Queen was born in England. Her parents were born in England. Her grandparents were all born in England. Her great-grandparents were born in England (5), Denmark, Austria and Germany. Her heir was born in England, as was his wife. The next heir was born in England, as was his wife. The next heir was born in England. In what sense is this “firmly German”?
You don’t know your royal DNA very well. Mission accomplished.
Don’t make personal remarks.
PS.Place of birth does not affect DNA. Despite all of Trofim Lysenko’s attempts to prove otherwise.
But your loyalty to the idea of the British monarchy is admirable.
Funnily enough, place of birth is often a factor in nationality. So what does “actually German” mean? Obviously not by place of birth, or legal nationality, or place of habitual residence, or personal loyalty. It seems to be some sort of hereditary characteristic for you. If you’re trying to promote the notion of some sort of German DNA, I’ll see your Trofim Lysenko and raise you a Hans Friedrich Karl Günther.
even Unherd joining in with this endless forelock tugging to these waste of space royals. Roll on the republic
Is it Ok to state now what many, many must be thinking that it was indeed Philip who enquired about the skin colour of a certain baby boy?
I feel like the boy in the story of the Emperor’s new clothes. Is it also OK now to say that he was a narrow, bigoted, surplus to requirements relic of a bygone age. He certainly never said what I thought. Indeed as he grew older he became not a national treasure, but a national embarassment.
why should he say what you thought? Why should anybody say what you think? You are a citizen, as he was, and you and he have as much right to speak, but you are no more bound by his opinions than he was by yours.
Well said.
Someone earlier said it. FB said that PP ‘said, what we thought’. I think this is what is referred to.
Have you even bothered to find out about him? His achievements?
I wonder if you would be prepared at the age of 21 to stand on the deck of a warship in the middle of a battle to man the search lights.
I will bet he helped more people from every kind of back ground than you have even met.
I think it is you who are the bigot. You allow your narrow minded prejudices to colour any real perspective.
Sometimes it is worth pausing to remembe that in WW2 there were a great many people who performed acts of great bravery, but only a very few who are lauded for it.
And of course on all sides.
I read similar comments to yours in The Guardian online yesterday, slagging off Prince Philip. Funny thing is, the same people beatify a career criminal who was renown for pistol whipping a black pregnant woman he was robbing, trying to get her life savings. The same scumbag died resisting arrest while drugged out of his head, after trying to rob someone else, and the world is suppose to feel sorry for him and praise his existence! Of course, my comments pointing this out were ‘moderated’ out (again) of The Guardian as part of their ongoing cancel culture.
Well said
J.Moore These people are cultural marxists. They DO exist I’m sure and the Guardian and it’s lefty readers support them.
You can say that of course you can.
Men like Prince Philip fought for your right to say so.
Now wasn’t that a wonderful thing that he did for you?
David. Yes. Nazism was one version of tyranny, Fascism another. Soviet Communism and Chinese communism likewise.
My fear is that Britain is now in the grip of another version of the same evil.
So did so many others. Many many others. Your point being?
Interesting use of the word `thought’.
reply to Andrew McGee I can not imagine why you had any interest in the matter Andrew. In fact I don’t believe a word of your comment.
Unless you were closely involved with the royal family you would not be embarrassed by what they said and did.
You are probably in the pay of some cultural marxist group.
Nice hatchet job there. I don’t suppose you have any evidence?
Probably was BUT it still isn’t racist like Ginge and Whinge make out: it is just genuine family inquisitiveness that occurs everywhere everyday and certainly not exclusive to whities.
Precisely.
…and as likely to be curiosity about red-headedness as brown-ness.
And isn’t it interesting that THAT curiosity would be fine but the other is called racist.
Not to mention freckles!
Especially in FOC (families of color). They are acutely aware of skin color and have different labels for different shades. One I heard early on: “coffee wih a LOT of cream.”
Sort of like the Eskimos who have (at least) ten names for snow.
It’s Inuit, there’s more than one language, and since they are fusional, they feature polysynthesis resulting in many, many lexemes.
/pedantry
No it’s not OK. You’re entitled to your own conjecture but there’s no way it’s appropriate to voice it to a larger audience, totally disrespectful and unfounded. It could have been any one of the family and it’s their business and wondering about the shade of skin is not racist, nowhere near it. Half the population may have wondered the same thing and MM has a relatively fair complexion.
“Half the population “ will be asking themselves that very same question again in a couple of months.
It has been attributed to Princess Anne, her father’s daughter.
This is correct according to Lady Colin Campbell. Her discussion (it’s on YouTube) of the alleged “racist conversation/s” with PH claims that Princess Anne was not referring to “race” but rather to “culture”; she warned PH that due to MM’s incompatible behaviour, conduct , attitude and apparent inability to conform to the norms/ protocols etc of British Royal Family life, future offspring of the marriage would be problematic – not because of the colour of their skin but as a result of their mother’s Southern Californian background and rearing.
Your point being what, exactly? If it was actually said, and there seems some considerable doubt, as ‘Sparkle’ dropped the subject fairly quickly after being challenged on it. Regardless, it might be the sort of speculative and harmless comment any person might make in the case of a mixed race couple.
Not that she was challenged much by Oprah anyway. It’s very suspicious that ‘Sparkle’ gave no context for it, and she and Harry refused to say even what question was actually asked in the interview. Agree that it would be a speculative and harmless comment anyway.
When Princess Di was killed in a car crash, my immediate reaction was that the French owed us a Princess because it was their papparazi chasing her caused it.
So what? All the GOSSIP and blame gaming went on and on and on. This ROT had already set in then. It seems to have taken over the world. Who the hell cares what the wonderful Oprah has persuaded Markle to say. Harry is the second son and unlikely to succeed. IF we have a monarchy by that time. At present we seem to be heading for something more like the C.C.P. ruling us.
Their versions of when it was said were inconsistent.
Also, Markle claimed it occurred when She was pregnant (2018). Whereas, when Harry appeared later, he stated it happened much earlier, around about the time of their engagement. Hmm…
Surely it really is a speculative and harmless comment. Surely every mixed race couple are curious and the more separated their origin the more curious? Would the hyper sensitive have raise an eyebrow if the verbalised speculation had been confined to gingerness?
My speculation is that a concerned relative spoke to Harry early in the relationship to ask if he had thought through the consequences: will Meghan be happy to give up her career, would you be happy to give up your life and live as a commoner in the US, or would Meghan give up her life to share yours, could she tolerate the restrictions of life as a royal, what would the children look like – might they be exposed to racism?
It doesn’t require the benefit of hindsight to see that such a conversation needed to be had.
“would you be happy to give up your life and live as a commoner in the US”
sounds like for Harry the answer is yes.
Yes but only as a 15 bathroom commoner.
Harry and Me-Again have specifically said it was neither the Queen nor Prince Philip.
They would say that, wouldn’t they?
Why would they?
That’s what I have said too. I like your description of Ms Markle as Me-Again 🙂
Curious though how few people are outraged by the Markle’s claims though.regardless of what the media does to try to whip up a frenzy.
Oprah, in that interview, specifically said that Harry and Meghan confirmed that the “culprit” (if, indeed, that question was ever asked by anyone) was neither the Queen nor Prince Philip.
When 3 actors are playing roles, can we believe anything that comes out of their mouths?
Philip was born the same year as my father, and people of that era were imbued with stereotypes that, without evidence to the contrary, they likely believed. Whether it be a negative opinion of Jews, Japanese, Africans, Germans, or British, they (and we) carry around ideas that are sustained until they are superseded by experience.
RIP, Philip, a Prince you became.
Curiosity about the results of matings is never going to die out.
As for stereotypes, each generation creates its own. For example, MM herself is a stereotype.
Since Meghan and Harry can’t agree on whether the putative conversation took place before the wedding or while she was pregnant, I don’t think we can be sure of anything.
Mostly because so much of what they said has already been debunked.
Now there’s another dispute – M thinks she was married two days earlier, at what was I guess the rehearsal. She hasn’t backed down on that one, even tho if it were true the ABofC would have committed a crime. Possibly several crimes.