A day of light and dark! A helpful tractor driver managed to knock down a pole at half past one. Wonderful Western Power Distribution estimated four o'clock to be back on, then eight, then ten, so at least we were saved from going to bed by candle light. However a power cut does bring home how much we depend on those inexplicable little electrons that dash along copper at the speed of light. (Thank you Faraday, Olm, Volta, et al) Unable to read (no wonder Milton went blind) to make a cup of tea, or play with this thing, I gave up and went to bed, waking to discover a house still in darkness. Relief, when without a sound, everything appeared, violins played, and the fridge started to hum. In the ancient farm house up the road, a couple I discovered from the handy man were on their honey moon. What a romantic memory: I hope it's a lucky omen for their future together. "And God said let there be light. And there was light. And it was very good" (to have it back!)
Somehow it's gone 9 o'clock already. I haven't cut my hair but I have cut the grass. A day dominated by death of DoE. They married in 1947 so his marriage and my life have run in parallel. As a kid, Charlie and Meg Flower were my 'Duke' and 'Queen'. In a funny sort of way Royalty and Ritual were all the rage. Like a punctured tyre, the awe that once accompanied the monarchy has escaped and the concept is now much deflated. We have grown up now, but in similar vein maybe possess a tinge of regret that the old magic has gone. He of course visited the village and other affected locations in 1968 which seems like only yesterday. It is sobering to think that twice as many years have passed since then as those since his marriage had taken place. In 1970, on a Royal trip to Cornwall, with my baby daughter on my back, standing alone on the corner of the junction as their limousine exited and drove off, he turned and waved through the back window to us. It was a personal human touch that stuck. The Monarchy and Royal Family are an anachronism from a distant age, not easily reconciled with modern ideas of equality and intrusive technology, but whilst the imperialist past of which it is the epitome and crown fades ever fainter, it has managed to survive despite continual crises largely as a result of an indefinable fascination people have of it. A significant member of it is now gone and those remaining will have to adjust to a new normal, as shall we.
Yesterday it was announced that the Duke of Edinburgh had died at about one o'clock in the afternoon. When I saw the photograph of him leaving hospital last week, it was clear his days were numbered as he must have known himself. The Grim Reaper, the fate of Everyman irrespective of status or estate, was etched on his face. The end of a long, eventful and distinguished life was indelibly written in his facial expression. There is genuine grief on the part of the majority despite the inevitable rancorous observations of anti-monarchists. Most respect the man and his achievements and mourn the loss to the Queen, his family, the country and commonwealth. Those that knew him personally and professionally speak highly of him. The fact that relationships tended to last decades speaks well, sadly in marked contrast to some of those within the royal circle. He was a man who spoke his mind and clearly did not suffer fools gladly but at the same time demonstrated genuine interest and empathy to people of all colours and classes around the world. He knew his place and everyone else's, but wore his role with personal humility and absence face. He expected the same of those he met, a necessary corrective to political pride and so-called 'correctness' of which today we are so plagued. Sadly the funeral has been infected by government rules related to the size of gatherings, distance and masks. Inevitable but totally unnecessary and disrespectful of the man and occasion.
He regarded fate and duty prerequisites for a fulfilling life. Abandoned by his mother and father due to circumstances beyond his control, he memorably said "he just had to get on with it". It was a philosophy honed by Gordonstoun, the navy and the war, in which he distinguished himself, he carried with him for the rest of his life. It was a stoical, no nonsense view of the world, there to be explored, enjoyed and even controlled, whilst respecting the natural world, the mystery of which is summed up in the ancient passage from Ecclesiastes that he chose for his funeral service. He is remembered for his statement that after his death he wished to come back as a human virus. The current circumstances are chilling but there is no gainsaying the consequences of an over populated, polluting humanity.
This over interpreted comment was an exception. In life he tended to keep his opinions to himself or shared them only to people he could trust would not betray the confidence. His much publicised throwaway remarks when meeting people, termed 'gaffs', were intended to be provocative, humorous and debunking of pomposity. It was his common touch that endeared him to the people. He was confident of his own status as the grandson of a King, of a mother descended from Queen Victoria and married the Queen of England himself.
He was not inherently religious in the accepted sense but this did not mean he was not philosophical or appreciative of mystical beliefs. His role required him to become a member of the Church of England, follow its precepts and attend countless Christian ceremonials. His mother, with whom he latterly reconnected and resided in Buckingham Palace in her last years, was deeply religious in the Greek Orthodox tradition. Some of this must have rubbed off, so to speak. He was a literalist and pragmatist, taking a stoical view of life whilst determined to influence it for the better. His initiatives for wildlife, playing fields and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, besides his patronage of numerous charity organisations, are generally acknowledged to have been of real benefit to many.
He was therefore firmly embedded in the European aristocratic and Christian tradition, yet a moderniser and innovator. He persuaded the Queen against her better judgement to allow the cameras in to their private life in the late sixties, an experiment never to be repeated. It was watched by millions around the world and certainly humanised the family at the cost of demystifying the institution. Whether the process was inevitable; whether the positives outweighed the negatives has not been decided. Certainly it has never been shown again. Today we rely on the fact based fiction of 'The Crown'.
In the 'sixties we get the impression he was more in tune, paradoxically, with Harold Wilson 'white hot heat of technology' than Ted Heath's pomposity or John Major's 'back to basics'. I have a feeling the Queen shared to a more guarded extent, his view. He put up with the limitations of his role and took a satirical view of power and those that wield it, ever conscious of human limitations, including his own. In I think a Guild Hall speech he famously praised the Queen for her toleration of him, only they knowing what this really entailed. At the funeral, the only non-family member to attend was his constant companion of many years, Lady Mountbatten. She sat at the opposite end of the stalls to the Queen. Both sat alone. His was not a sentimental view of life or death, as the above interview proves. It was just one of those things to be stoically borne; to be endured out of necessity and enjoyed wherever possible. It was shaped by his early childhood experiences: born in Corfu, expelled from Greece, abandoned by a dissolute father and a mentally unstable mother, effectively homeless and stateless, dependent on uncles and aunts, finally coming to terms with his fate at Gordonstoun and in the Royal Navy. His loyalties were torn in the war by sisters who all married high ranking German Nazis, as indeed the essentially German Royal Family was divided by the actions of the Duke of Windsor. This is all a complicated game. Three of Philip's German family attended the funeral of course, a sign of reconciliation mirrored in the meeting of William and Harry. One is reminded of the story of Sampson.
There was a quixotic element to his character. He was often charming and amenable but as David Attenborough and others who knew have noted, there was a steely glint in his eye that demanded respect. In the best traditions of the Royal Navy in which he served, he was not averse to using expletives when required. Famously once whilst sailing at Cowes when another yachtsman bellowed at him to get out of the way, he shouted back, "My wife owns the 'f'ing' sea so you can 'f' off". On another occasion of an official group photograph in Buckingham Palace, frustrated over the time it was taking, he can be seen saying to the cameraman, "Just take the 'f'ing' photograph! No doubt these instances were fairly typical of his approach to verbal emphasis when required.
Was there a darker unrevealed side to his character. Some have pointed to Jimmy Savile's life and involvement with the royal family as indicative of it, others that he was instrumental in the demise of Diana as claimed by a dying MI5 officer. It is certainly a strange coincidence that he retired on the exact twentieth anniversary of her death, although this can be interpreted as much a tribute as a macabre admission. His funeral less than two months from his hundredth birthday and only a few days before the Queens own ninety-fifth, was in stark contrast to that of Princess Diana's nearly twenty-four years previous. Perhaps messaging is more eloquent than words.
What an extraordinary event it was? The funeral of Prince Philip that is, or was. A state funeral but no statesmen - not even the Prime Minister. Public event but no public allowed. Only thirty attending but viewed by millions. The indignity of a monarch forced to sit alone and wear a face mask, even though there is no risk of a dreaded disease. It has become the iconic image of the occasion, Learian in its poignancy. It is said the Queen will never return to Buckingham Palace yet hundreds of millions being spent on its renovation. (Shades of Biden and the White House) A son the subject of serious allegations. Two grandchildren at logger heads. Monarchy under attack as never before amidst revisionist environmental, historical, racial and sexual movements. This must go down in the annals of Royal ceremonies as the strangest ever. I can't help feeling it betokens something far more profound and sinister. Nevertheless it was carried out with the military precision and due solemnity expected of a royal occasion that must have touched the hearts of even the most avid anti-royalist. The funeral ceremony for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, may one day be viewed as the ominous harbinger of fundamental constitutional change and not necessarily for the better. Meanwhile for the first time the Monarch sits alone. Does she feel with King David, "strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round"?
What did Philip say to Charles at their last tearful meeting, whilst he was still in hospital? We of course do not know but my guess is that it would have been, "Support the Queen; Protect the Monarchy; Look after the estates; And good luck."
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.
22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.
35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.
