Prince Philip: Buckingham Palace announce funeral details

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While his devotion to the Queen and country was widely recognised, many singled out how he helped change people’s lives, particularly through The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. Young children were among thousands who turned out across the UK to pay their respects, despite warnings not to attend due to coronavirus restrictions. Queues formed at a social distance to lay flowers, cards, balloons and tributes at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Sandringham in Norfolk, Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and Hillsborough Castle, near Belfast.

Throughout 65 years as the Queen’s consort, the much-loved royal completed 22,219 solo engagements and many thousands more at the side of his wife, before retiring in August 2017.

One father and his children paid their respects outside Buckingham Palace in the middle of the night. Alex with his daughter and son, from south-east London, arrived at 1am to avoid the crowds and “have a bit of time to spend in front of the palace, and take some nice photos, lay some flowers and pay our respects”.

Sayeeful Islam, 67, chairman and trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme in Bangladesh, said: “He inspired people and helped change their lives through the award.”

And student Zuzana, 39, who is originally from Czechoslovakia and lives in north London, brought sons Liam, 11, and Michael, three.

She said: “The Queen has had a very hard couple of years and we wanted to pay our respects and let her know the people from Czechoslovakia think about her. It’s very important to be here.”

In Windsor, Craig Truter and his children Ranger, six, and Bale, four, laid handmade paper crowns with the initials HRHPP – His Royal Highness Prince Philip. Mr Truter said his children made the crowns “as a sign of respect”.

Pope Francis in a telegram offered the Queen his “heartfelt condolences” for her loss and praised the Duke for his “distinguished record” of public service.

And Lady Pamela Hicks, the daughter of Philip’s uncle Lord Mountbatten, who was murdered by the IRA in 1979, described her cousin as a “unique man” and said “there will never be another man like him again”.

Five-time Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft said The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was “one of the best things I did when I was younger”.

The British wheelchair racer said she “wouldn’t be where I am now” without the independence and confidence that taking part in the award had given her as a child, at a time when she was struggling to come to terms with her dependence on a wheelchair. 

She said: “The award pushed me out of my comfort zone…it made me accept my disability. I learned so much about myself.”

And she praised the Duke for putting young people at ease when he met them, showing an interest and being considerate about her disability.

She said: “I remember one of the times I met him he was quite concerned, because I’m a wheelchair user, he was quite concerned that he was looking down on me. He said, ‘How would you prefer that I spoke to you, as a wheelchair user? Do you want me to crouch down next to you, do you mind if I look down? You tell me what to do and I’ll do that’.

“He really wanted to get it right and I just think that was lovely.”

Former British Army officer and explorer Levison Wood also took part in the awards and said: “It afforded me the opportunity to live the life of my choosing and I know it has done the same for many millions more.”

Meanwhile, broadcaster Michael Palin highlighted the Duke’s drive to help others.

Michael said: “He did his bit from a privileged position, but I think, deep down, he did a lot of good in pursuing his various interests and helping people to get things done.”

Queen Rania of Jordan said giving up a promising naval career to become the Queen’s consort would have been a challenge for Prince Philip. She added: “There must have been times when it wasn’t easy for him…but at the same time he was a constant anchor for Her Majesty.”

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