During the royal coronation at Westminster Abbey in November 1947, Prince Philip knelt down before his wife and vowed to be her “liege man of life and limb” — her faithful servant for life. Many of my gentle readers have asked me why he himself was never crowned king. The reason is simple. In the constitutional conventions of the British monarchy, a female royal consort can be crowned Queen, but a male royal consort cannot become King.
He had to resign from the navy, a career he loved so much. The lack of an official role was rather frustrating. The Queen made up for this deficiency by drafting a letter patent which decreed that, in all matters of precedent, he shall be treated as next to her on all occasions. As required by protocol, he always walked a step behind Her Majesty.
Philip also wanted his children to bear his own family name of Mountbatten. Churchill and the government preferred Windsor. A compromise was reached in Mountbatten-Windsor. He complained that he had become a “bloody amoeba”.
During the Golden anniversary of their wedding in November 1997, Her Royal Majesty eulogized the prince as, “my strength and stay in all these years”. He once confided to a friend that his job, “first, second and last” was never to let Elizabeth down. They have endured so much together: Her late sister Margaret’s troubled life; the failed marriages of Charles and Diana and that of her daughter Princess. The recent estrangement of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, from the royal household have dented the image of the royal family.
Despite the rumours and innuendoes, he remained to the very end her soulmate, lover, best friend, confidante and trusted adviser
The Queen remains the head of the Commonwealth; an organization that has endured as a symbol of hope in a divided world. She is also Head of State for 16 Commonwealth realms ranging from Canada to Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the seas. Philip was her constant companion during most royal visits to the Commonwealth dominions.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip first visited Nigeria in 1956. Coincidently, my own parents’ wedding took place in the grand old church in Randa during the week of that royal visit in February 1956. Mother Dearest told me that the glow of the royal visit cast a glorious light over their own wedding. The second time the royal couple came to our country was in December 2003, on the occasion of the Commonwealth Summit in Abuja.
Prince Philip was prone to embarrassing gaffes. For example, Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo during a state visit to Britain in 2003, “You look like you’re ready for bed,” (in reference to his flowing agbada). Addressing a gathering of the General Dental Council, he proudly announced that he was the inventor of “dentopedology”, which he defined as, “the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it”. He belonged to a bygone age.
Despite his foibles, the late Duke took his dharma seriously; performing, according to Buckingham Palace sources, 22,191 solo engagements, 637 overseas visits and 5,493 speeches. He believed that “the purpose of monarchy is to serve the people, not the other way around”. He once told a Canadian audience: “If at any stage people feel that the monarchy has no further part to play, then for goodness’ sake let’s end the thing on amicable terms.”
A keen outdoorsman, he promoted physical exercise and fitness. He also took on charitable causes ranging from the arts to the sciences, sports and wildlife. He was for many years the head of the Worldwide Fund for Nature. He will also be remembered for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme that has helped more than 2 million youths find a meaning and a purpose for their lives.
He also took on the task of managing the Queen’s vast assets, valued at over $500 million; including Windsor, Balmoral and Sandringham. He also pursued hobbies such as sports, painting and aviation. He also reputedly loved long walks and reading – he was said to have a large collection of history books.
He nurtured close friendships with notable businesspeople. According to the writer Hugo Vickers, “Prince Philip applied a military (or perhaps naval) logicality to all he did… He had a particular dislike of chairpersons of companies…if they had not mastered their brief.”
From the early years of their marriage, rumours were rife about other women. But there was no evidence of infidelity. According to the former Archbishop of York, Rt. Rev. John Sentamu who was close to him, Philip was a man of deep faith who had knowledge of and appreciation for, holy scripture.
There were also stories that the Duke became resentful of the friendship between Her Majesty and their family friend and horse-racing manager, Lord Porchester Henry Herbert, Earl Carnarvon. That episode was featured in the documentary, The Crown, in which the actor starring the Queen declares: “I have nothing to hide from you. Porchey is a friend. And yes, there are those who would have preferred me to marry him…But to everyone’s regret and frustration, the only person I have ever loved is you.”
Despite the rumours and innuendoes, he remained to the very end her soulmate, lover, best friend, confidante and trusted adviser. Until he moved to the royal estate at Sandringham in his last days, they unfailingly had afternoon tea and dinner together.
Asked the secret of his long and happy marriage, he was quoted as saying, “tolerance is the one essential ingredient…You can take it from me, the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance”.
Prince William was once asked to sum up his grandfather. He responded: “Just one word — legend!” Even in death, the legend lives on. And it will live on for as long as England endures.
On the Pacific island of Tanna in Vanuatu, the late Duke was worshipped as a reincarnation of one of the ancestral gods. The sunset of an era. Sic transit gloria mundi.
