Prince Philip: Harvie slammed for 'disrespectful' tribute

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

The Duke of Edinburgh sadly passed away last Friday, but he has since received a huge number of tributes from figures worldwide. Prince Philip played a pivotal role in supporting Her Majesty the Queen for decades while establishing himself as an iconic member of the monarchy in his own right. While he was often described as being in the Queen’s shadow, Philip wasn’t shy in trying to make his own stamp on behalf of Britain on the world stage. This was seen when he launched a plan “to establish for himself a fully independent role within the Commonwealth and potentially bypass his wife ‒ who famously sees the association of nations as her life’s work.

As highlighted in The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History by Dr Phillip Murphy, the Duke of Edinburgh joined his uncle, Lord Louis Mountbatten, in his bid to start a ‘Commonwealth Bilderberg Group’.

The Bilderberg Group is an annual conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America.

The group’s agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defined as bolstering a consensus around free market Western capitalism and its interests around the globe.

Participants include political leaders, experts from industry, finance, academia, and the media.

It has become well known for being a secretive affair, and for being the subject of conspiracy theories.

Between 1964 and 1966, Philip and his uncle wanted to create a new conference for the Commonwealth modelled on the Bilderberg group.

By this time the Commonwealth was beginning to divide, Dr Murphy writes in his 2006 journal.

In early April 1965, both Mountbatten and Prince Philip attended the Bilderberg conference held at the Hotel Villa d’Esté near Como in Italy.

Four days later, a proposal was sent to then Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

Mountbatten moved quickly to try to obtain Mr Wilson’s approval for the proposals, but there was scepticism in Whitehall.

Cabinet Secretary, Philip Rogers, expressed surprise that “two such eminent (and, more important, intellectually distinguished) persons” provided a “quite extraordinarily woolly’ document.”

He even went as far to say the plan “fills me with horror when I think of some previous discussions that I have attended of bodies so constituted”.

While Prime Minister Wilson was more open to the idea, there was also scepticism in the Commonwealth Relations Office.

Dr Murphy added: “It was felt unlikely that Commonwealth states would react favourably to the idea that they make a financial contribution to the scheme.

“More generally, the Commonwealth Relations Office feared that, with proposals already afoot to create a Commonwealth Secretariat and a Commonwealth Foundation, this was the wrong time to confront heads of government with proposals for a new body.”

The Commonwealth Relations Office was scathing in its response to Philip’s plan: “There is a suspicion on the part of some of the newer members that Britain still in some ways tries to run the Commonwealth.

“This makes for suspicion of any new ideas which we may put forward, and resentment of anything which might be regarded as a tightening of the apron strings.

“From this point of view, we need to be careful not to appear to be giving too much encouragement to what might be described as Anglocentricity.”

DON’T MISS
Prince Philip withdrew support of Prince Edward’s horror gaffe [INSIGHT]
Prince Andrew warned about ‘seedy billionaires’ by Prince Philip [ANALYSIS]
Meghan’s immortalised tribute to Prince Philip in Archie’s name [INSIGHT]

Meanwhile, Mountbatten had already started gauging the views of other Commonwealth leaders.

Nigerian prime minister, Sir Abu Bakar Tafawa Balewa, also gave the idea of a ‘Commonwealth Bilderberg’ a negative reception.

However, leaders in Trinidad and Canada were among those who shared a more positive outlook on the plan.

Canadian prime minister, Lester Pearson, noted that he had himself attended Bilderberg meetings and had been “impressed by the value of this technique of consultation on a non-official, but influential basis.”

Canadian prime minister, Lester Pearson, noted that he had himself attended Bilderberg meetings and had been “impressed by the value of this technique of consultation on a non-official, but influential basis”.

By February 1965, however, there was a feeling that sufficient support was lacking, and the Commonwealth Relations Office warned that the scheme was “rather in the doldrums at the moment”.

Source: Read Full Article