Today, 9 April 2021 started just like any other day, except with consistent gloriously warm sunshine. Hours later as I was preparing lunch and listening to the radio, suddenly the usual programme was abruptly stopped with the announcement that the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip, and the Queen’s husband has passed away. Thinking back, I remember the times when royal passing were announced: The Queen Mother, as I was putting the final touches to a Saturday dinner party and, Diana, Princess of Wales, as I was getting ready for Sunday church. I think some things just stick in my mind.
For the first 15 years of my life, I lived in Hong Kong, a former colony of the British Empire. I remember seeing portraits of the Queen in a lot of establishments, hospitals, clinics, government offices, schools. I think from a young age I have held tremendous fondness for the Royal Family and this has not diminished over the years.
Hearing the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh unsurprisingly brings on some sadness and nostalgia. I really do think the Queen will miss her husband very much. Announcing the passing of her beloved husband, with just the right balance of personal affection and official notice, to me this says quite a lot. Whether it was written by herself or not, I have no doubt she is deeply grieving but also thankful for the mutually loving long marriage.
I didn’t know much about the Duke of Edinburgh, until today. Like many, I used to think he was the man who walked a couple of steps behind his wife, quite different to a lot of fairy tales of “the King and the Queen”! I know of his love of the outdoors and of course the DfE Awards. Today in his many tributes and obituaries, I certainly know more now and I have a new respect for him. This man was dignified and according some reports, his funeral reflecting his wishes, would be an understatedly private one, quite unlike those who have gone before him. I guess, for a man who got on with rather than revelled in pomposity, he made his final intentions clear. I also didn’t realise his coat of arms has this motto, “God is My Help”. Wow. I don’t claim to know the historical significance of one’s insignia but I have come to the conclusion that every detail must unmistakably reflect the identity of that person, and it is not something one changes as the mood takes them. You would choose your insignia very, very carefully. So to see this motto surely tells of his faith in his God.
No one will miss him more than his wife and his family. And we can identify with loss, whether experienced personally or over the events in the last year. I think the Queen will take great comfort in this verse, John 11:25.
Recent Comments