Prince Philip dead at 99: PM leads tributes to royal ‘committed to service’
The Queen’s famous stoicism will be put to the test, says Kim Beazley, as John Howard, Scott Morrison also pay tribute.
The death of Prince Philip will test the Queen’s famous stoicism, WA Governor Kim Beazely says, joining a host of senior Australian political figures to pay tribute to the late Duke of Edinburgh, who died overnight.
“This will be a terrible blow to Her Majesty,” Labor’s former federal leader Mr Beazley said on Saturday.
“How close they were, how much they were a shoulder for each other, for her to now be deprived of that is a body blow.
“Her Majesty is a stoic lady. This will test her stoicism. We appreciate how she must be wearing that burden, and there is going to be a long period of mourning and we will be in it.
Former prime ministers John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard have all spoken of the Duke’s impact on public life and his deep ties to Australia.
Scott Morrison offered his prayers to Queen Elizabeth as she mourned the loss of her husband of 73 years.
“There are many towering figures that the world has lost and known, but few have been
before us in our lifetimes for such a long time,” Mr Morrison said on Saturday.
“His presence and service a reassurance, a reminder of the stability we so often need to a world that can be so uncertain. With his passing, we say farewell to another of the greatest generation. The generation that defied tyranny, but won peace, and built a liberal world order that protects and favours freedom — an order that Australia still shelters under for our own peace and prosperity and stability to this day. But above all, today, we think of our Queen. “While your strength and stay, your Majesty, may now have passed, Jenny and I pray that you
will find great comfort in your faith and your family at this time. But we also, your Majesty, say to you as a Commonwealth, let us also now be your strength and stay, as you continue to endure, as you continue to serve so loyally and so faithfully, as you have done over so many generations. You have been there for us over such a long time. Let us be there now for you, your Majesty, and allow us to send our love to you on this, I am sure, one of your most
sad of days.”
Mr Morrison said he and Governor-General David Hurley would sign the official royal condolences book ahead of a 41-gun salute in Canberra later today.
“Through his service to the Commonwealth he presided as patron or president of nearly 50 organisations in Australia. Given his own service, Prince Philip also had a strong connection with the Australian Defence Force.”
Prince Philip died at home at Windsor Castle on Friday morning, UK-time, after a stint in hospital in February and heart surgery last month.
He visited Australia 21 times – most famously when he opened the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne – and supported more than 770,000 Australians through the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award.
Former Prime Minister John Howard commended the Prince for this “extraordinary grace and flair and intelligence” in a life spent walking a step behind the Queen.
“He had a great sense of humour and gave a short drift to political correctness when he encountered it and that endeared him to millions of people,” Mr Howard said.
He said the Prince’s informal style endeared him to the Australian people.
“He took an alert interest and his mannerisms and demeanour went down well in Australia,” he said.
“He was a great combination of dignity, tradition and informality. You know, it is quite a tricky balance. Some try too hard to be informal and they lose their dignity. Others can’t be informal.”
Flags have been lowered in honour of the late Duke and the federal government will make more announcements on how the nation will mourn him.
Mr Hurley said he would be remembered for his service as a consort and World War Two veteran.
Statement on His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. pic.twitter.com/6kq6Lg7cLp
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 9, 2021
“He was a popular, engaged and welcome visitor to our shores. His impact was profound – not least on the more than 775,000 young Australians who have participated in The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award since it began here in 1959.
“Many Australians will have a personal memory of His Royal Highness and many around the world will, in coming days, reflect on his remarkable life and legacy.”
After he was informed of the death, Mr Morrison also shared the news with Anthony Albanese and former prime ministers Paul Keating, John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, who have shared their own tributes.
Australia has sent its love and deepest condolences to the Queen, George Brandis, Australia’s high commissioner in the UK, said.
“All of us at the Australian High Commission to the United Kingdom join with the Governor-General and the Prime Minister in expressing our sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” Mr Brandis said in a statement.
The Australian also understands members of the cabinet, Senate President Scott Ryan and House Speaker Tony Smith were also informed of Prince Philip’s death.
British prime minister Boris Johnson led an outpouring of tributes.
Mr Johnson, wearing a black suit and tie outside 10 Downing Street, said of Philip: “He helped to steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.” He added: “Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world”
Ms Gillard was the first former prime minister to pay tribute to Prince Philip on Friday night and said she had fond memories of his last trip to Australia in 2011.
It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 9, 2021
His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/XOIDQqlFPn
“I have fond memories of spending time with Prince Philip during his visit to Australia at the time of CHOGM in Perth. While a man of duty, he had a sense of fun,” she said.
“His loss will be mourned by the Queen, his family and millions around the world.”
Mr Abbott said in a statement that the world felt a “little emptier” without Prince Philip.
“Even as we mourn his passing – we should be uplifted by his example,” Mr Abbott said.
“He combined great character with being a dutiful royal, and demonstrated over eight decades that there is no better life than one lived in the service of others.”
Mr Turnbull — who led the campaign for a republic in the 1999 referendum — said Prince Philip was “always charming to this republican.”
“but never more so than at Malta 2015 when he relived his young life with his young wife not yet a Queen. He spoke of love, adventure, eyes sparkling, he banished time. And we could see how he won Elizabeth’s heart,” Mr Turnbull said.
The former British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt tweeted: ‘’The Duke of Edinburgh personified the sense of duty that makes us so proud of our Royal Family and so proud to be British. Thank you for your service to our country and RIP.’’
Flags are flying at half mast, radio station broadcasts have been interrupted for a playing of the national anthem “God Save the Queen’’.
Even football clubs Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur tweeted their sorrow.
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