THE FUNERAL OF H.R.H. THE PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH
 
Saturday, 17 April, 2021
They that go down to the sea in ships : and occupy their business in great waters;
These men see the works of the Lord : and his wonders in the deep
Psalm 107, verses 23, 24, Book of Common Prayer.
My dear friends,

In May 2015 His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, opened the new Haycroft Care Centre at Devizes, a care home run jointly by the Venerable Order of St John and the Order of Malta. People are sometimes apt to become a bit tense when a member of the Royal Family pays a visit. Prince Philip immediately put everyone in the care home at their ease by pointing out in his own inimitable style that he was older than all the residents. Immediately, there were smiles around the room and his visit was a great success, affording much pleasure to staff and residents alike.
 
This little story is typical of the impact Prince Philip had on so many people during a long and distinguished life of public service. Since his death on 9th April, many parishioners have stopped me and spoken of their recollections of Prince Philip. He was a great encourager of others. Many people met him through his Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme, which changed their lives for the good. Others met him on royal tours and at public events. My father used to tell the story of how Prince Philip spotted him at a reception at Lambeth Palace wearing the regimental tie of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers. Prince Philip pointed at my father’s tie and said: ‘You’re a bit far south, aren’t you?’ Once again, the ice was broken, and the reception turned into a very happy evening that my father never forgot.
 
Although he was born a prince of Greece and Denmark in 1921, family difficulties meant that Prince Philip did not have a very easy start in life. Fortunately, he took to life in the Royal Navy, and, although only a junior officer, served with distinction during the Second World War. Prince Philip continued his service in the Royal Navy following his marriage to Princess Elizabeth in 1947, but his career was cut short by the sudden death of King George VI in 1952 and Princess Elizabeth’s accession to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II.
 
Prince Philip devoted the rest of his life to supporting the Queen, the Royal Family, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. He went on to become the patron of 780 organisations and followed their activities with a keen eye. Prince Philip was interested in science, industry, conservation, aviation, sport, art, and many other subjects. In 1956 he established the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme for you people aged between 14 and 24. He retained a keen interest in the armed forces: in 2006 when he was 85, he surprised the Queen’s Royal Hussars, by unexpectedly visiting them at Basra in Iraq, wearing the same desert uniform as them. By the time Prince Philip retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017 aged 96, he had completed 22,219 solo engagements and delivered 5,493 speeches – and all this in addition to the public events undertaken by the Queen accompanied by Prince Philip.
 
We had all hoped that Prince Philip might have celebrated his hundredth birthday on 10th June 2021, but sadly it was not to be. Our hearts go out in sincere sympathy and condolence to Her Majesty the Queen, and to Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and all the Royal Family. They will grieve their loss like any other family, but they must do so in the glare of attention from the press and media. Might I invite you to join me in praying for the Royal Family on Saturday 17th April, that Prince Philip’s funeral will be an opportunity for the Royal Family both to mourn their loss and also to give thanks to God for his remarkable life and achievements. May they know the peace and presence of God in their hearts.
 
Although much attention has been paid to Prince Philip by the media in recent days, I am sorry that comparatively little has been made of his deep Christian faith. Prince Philip was Baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church. He was received into the Church of England in 1947 by Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher of Canterbury shortly before his marriage to Princess Elizabeth. I quoted some words from Psalm 107 at the start of this message. Seafarers who sail across the mighty oceans tend to realise how small is man, and conversely how big is God. Prince Philip was no exception.
 
Members of the Royal Family attend many church services as part of their work. Prince Philip took a keen interest in these. I knew one priest whose life was completely changed for the better by a conversation he had with Prince Philip after a service at Westminster Abbey. The Prince also attended church as an ordinary worshipper. From time to time he would stay with the Orthodox monks on Mount Athos and I suspect he retained many rich spiritual insights from the Greek Orthodox Church. His mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, became a Greek Orthodox nun of the Sisterhood of Martha and Mary, and ended her life living in Buckingham Palace. Prince Philip managed to fulfil her final request to be buried at the Orthodox Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
 
In 1966 Prince Philip helped to establish St George’s House, a Christian study and conference centre at Windsor Castle that seeks to bring together people of responsibility and influence in business, government, society and the Church to consult on contemporary issues. He always believed that study and asking questions were an important part of serving God. I suspect his religious convictions lay behind his interest in conservation.
 
Prince Philip was interested in all branches of Christianity and indeed in followers of other world faiths. In 2005 he travelled to the Vatican to represent the Queen at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Like the Pope, Prince Philip died in Easter week. This means that in his last days, if he was unable to get to church, he would doubtless have known that it was Easter. In his heart he would have accompanied his Lord to Calvary on Good Friday, and three days later he would have celebrated his joyful Resurrection at the first Easter.
 
At the end of a Christian life devoted to the service of others, may Prince Philip be united with the risen Lord Jesus, never to be parted. May the Easter message of Christ’s victory over sin and death strengthen and support our Queen and all the Royal Family and grant them renewed hope.
                                             The Rev. Dr  ROBERT BEAKEN, County Chaplain