Prince a man who knew his duty

He had the stiffest of British upper lips, which is why the Duke of Edinburgh, who died at Windsor Castle two months short of his 100th birthday on Friday morning, would not want bouquets. Especially not from a newspaper. As he once told the matron of a hospital in the Caribbean: “You have mosquitoes, I have the press.’’ In a world of increasing political correctness, his clangers were one of his most refreshing traits. “I declare this thing open, whatever it is,’’ he said on a visit to Canada in 1969. “It looks like a tart’s bedroom,’’ he said on seeing plans for the home of Prince Andrew and Sarah, the Duchess of York, in 1988.

As a stalwart of the second Elizabethan age, and the longest-serving royal consort in history, his death marks the end of an era. Whether devotees of our constitutional monarchy or not, Australians will feel deeply for Queen Elizabeth, 94, in her loss, after 73 years of marriage. Of the thousands of 100th birthday telegrams she has sent, she will feel the pain of not celebrating this one.

Never one to wear her heart on her sleeve, the Queen paid her husband a rare tribute when they reached their 50th wedding anniversary: “I and his whole family and this and many other countries owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”

He had been her “strength and stay all these years”. They met as teenagers — she was reportedly smitten at first sight. He was an 18-year-old midshipman. They corresponded and she persevered in the romance, despite her parents’ apparent reservations.

After their marriage he was always at her side in public, albeit two paces behind. In private, he was a sounding board and undoubtedly a source of blunt, fearless advice. Like his wife, to whom he was prepared to play second fiddle, although it sometimes chafed, he was devoted to service. Before stepping back from royal duties in his mid-90s he was patron and leader of about 800 charities. As British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, the duke was “an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable’’. While making it clear he was “not a bunny hugger’’, the duke revelled in his role as president of the World Wildlife Fund from 1981 to 1996.

As Mr Johnson said, the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme, which was close to Philip’s heart, “shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions’’. Presenting awards for the scheme brought him to Australia, among many nations. The prince, who opened the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and visited our shores more than 20 times, felt an affinity with the openness and contrasting landscapes of our land. He understood that nations, as history unfolds, must follow their own destinies.

He lived through the highs and lows of Britain, the Commonwealth and the royal family during tumultuous decades, from post-war recovery, to the welfare state, which he reportedly despised, to the upheavals and reforms of the Thatcher years, the point of which he grasped, and beyond. With his son, Prince Charles, and grandsons, Princes William and Harry — whom he encouraged to take part, against their natural hesitancy — he walked behind the coffin of Diana, the Princess of Wales. In 2012 he was front and centre beside the Queen during the celebration for her 60th anniversary as sovereign, amid pouring rain, on the Thames.

As Scott Morrison said, Philip “embodied a generation that we will never see again”. From his service in World War II through years of supporting his wife, he gave his best for the monarchy, the Commonwealth and the causes he supported. His Greek, Danish and German background was colourful, but from the time of his marriage he was quintessentially British. He was the antithesis of the “celebrity royals’’. Due to COVID, his funeral is likely to be pared back. The tributes to his long, extraordinary life however will be no less heartfelt for that. May he rest in peace.