Tomorrow

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Canada, Funeral, life, Prince Philip

All this week, details of the Funeral of HRH The Prince Philip have been presented by the BBC and Sky News. I prefer the BBC because it is more accurate or factual. It is interesting to note that the British Army has also made several short video on preparation for the funeral, from the horse grooming to various details on the funeral itself, troops involved, what music will be played and all of it with comments from the soldiers and officers involved.

The guest list is very interesting, the Queen made the final decision on who would be invited and limited the number to 30 instead of the usual 800. Prince Philip’s German relatives are invited, he belonged to the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Family, this was his father Prince Andrew of Greece’s family name. His mother was Princess Alice of Battenberg changed to Mountbatten after 1917, she was also the sister of Lord Louis Mountbatten who was so influential in the life of his godson Philip. His sisters all married German Princes and three of them had husbands who joined the Nazi party. In 1947 at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, they were not invited. However in 1952 for the Coronation of now Queen Elizabeth, they were invited to attend and stood behind the seat of the Queen Mother at the service.

However his Royal Greek relatives including his Royal Spanish relatives or Royal Danish relatives or the Russian Romanovs where not invited due to Covid restrictions.

The invited German relatives are Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden, Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Prince Philip was their uncle.

At the service on the Altar of St-George’s Chapel will be 9 cushions with his British, Greek, Danish, Canadian and Australian decorations, there are also 61 other decorations received from various countries but they will not be displayed because it would be too much. Prince Philip chose the honours and medals to be displayed. Some have to be returned to the Sovereign after the recipient dies, the Order of the Garter returns to Queen Elizabeth and the Order of the Elephant of Denmark returns to Queen Margarete. All other medals and honours will be inherited by Queen Elizabeth. Same with his titles, that of Duke of Edinburgh now passes to his son Prince Charles.

His coffin of Oak lined with lead will be draped in his personal standard. The Oak comes from the Windsor forest and is made by the Royal Family’s coffin maker and embalmer, Leverton & Sons Ltd. The description below refers to who Prince Philip was. A Ducal crown, top with a Knight helmet and a Prince’s crown with plumes. Flanked by a savage or Hercules crowned with laurels.

The crest with the 3 blue lions and 9 hearts represents Denmark on his father’s side the white cross on blue is for Greece,Philip was Heir to the Greek Throne, the castle is for Edinburgh castle and the black and white stripes is the imperial colours of Prussia and Saxony, his German ancestry. His motto was God is my Help and the other motto Honni Soit Qui Mal Y Pense, is that of all British Sovereign.

All the decisions about the Funeral were made by the Queen and followed instructions given over a period of 16 years by Prince Philip who planned his own funeral including the design of the Landrover which will carry his coffin.

The Queen will sit by herself in the chapel during the service in what is designated as the Sovereign’s chair. Every male will wear Morning Dress or a dark suit, no military uniforms, this to avoid having both Andrew and Harry out of uniform since they no longer have any association with the military and the rest of the Princes in uniform, a wise choice. However they will all probably wear their military medals.

After the funeral the casket of Prince Philip will be lowered into the vault of St-George’s Chapel to rest with the other kings of the Hanoverian Dynasty ancestors of his wife the Queen, until the day both are laid to rest in the small chapel where Her father King George VI and her Mother and Princess Margaret are buried.

Also this week some interesting personal details about Prince Philip, he loved good food and was a foodie and a master at the Bar-B-Q. Many of the dishes he liked were simple and easy to make, one dessert Crepes Islandaise, a recipe from Iceland, is a simple paper thin crepe stuffed with plum jam and fresh whip cream. He also spoke fluent German, French and English. He loved all kinds of sports and was good with people, though he could not tolerate fools and could then be quite rude.

I will be watching the funeral tomorrow at 10am my time, London is +5 hours ahead of us.

new cooking site and news

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Canada, Death, life, Prince Philip, Royal, Time

Almost every Saturday morning we go to the Farmer’s Market, we are lucky here on this Agricultural Island that we do have a lot of farmers, real ones, none of the phoney farmers seen in so many urban markets. We are also lucky that many people shopping around have developed a personal relationship with various suppliers for their eggs, poultry, lamb, beef, cheese, fresh produce, etc..

Today I bought some very nice cheeses and some fresh lamb for stew and a leg of lamb to roast. The various farmers have developed their products to be natural and free of hormones or other nasty products usually found in grocery store supplies.

We buy our meat from Steerman, he is the old style farmer, you buy from his farm and he can give you which ever cut of beef you want. Same with chicken from Larkin or lamb. With every purchase comes also a bit of a chat, it is customary to do so.

So we bought lamb for a stew and found this really fun recipe and one that looks easy to make. On YouTube at KITCHEN SANCTUARY, the recipe is called Lancashire Hotpot.

I also bought a turkey pot pie from Larkin’s and we will have that for dinner tomorrow.

Of course, we are still thinking of the death of Prince Philip yesterday, it seems that many thought he would live forever. He was for me a mainstay all my life. We did have the Queen Mother but this was different, she belonged to the time of her husband, King George VI.

Philip and Elizabeth were married 73 years, next week the Lieutenant Governor of PEI is coming to the Club to re-dedicate a portrait of HM taken in 1951 some 70 years ago when the then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were on their first visit to Canada and PEI, Her Father only had about 3 months to live. What was not mentioned yesterday, it was the 16th Wedding Anniversary of Prince Charles and Camilla. The Queen’s birthday is in a few days and she will turn 95.

It was explained yesterday by the College of Arms or Heralds, that the title of the Duke of Edinburgh now passes to his son Charles, who is also Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay. When Charles becomes King, the Dukedom will be extinguished until such times as he gives it to another member of the Family. It is fully expected that the title of Duke of Edinburgh will go to his younger brother Edward the Earl of Wessex.

At the moment Prince Philip is lying at rest (not in State) in a chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. The Royal Memorial Service (not a State funeral) will be held at St-George’s Chapel at Windsor castle and not at Westminster Cathedral. Those were the wishes of the Prince who did not want any fuss as he put it. However he will have his Statue on the empty plinth at Trafalgar square in London in a few years time.

For the time being his coffin will rest in the vault of St-George’s Chapel until the Queen dies and then they will be buried together in a mausoleum on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Prince Charles now will assume even more responsibilities, he has taken over much of every day duties delegated by his mother the Queen, we have entered what seems to me as a transitory period. The video was made a few hours ago at Highgrove the Residence of Prince Charles and Camilla, about 90 minutes outside London

H.R.H. The Prince Philip

Tags

Canada, Death, Prince Philip, Royal Family

The first news I heard this morning in a special news bulletin on the CBC was of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Her Majesty the Queen. It really is for us Canadians the end of an era. After 70 years of distinguish public duty at the age of 99. The longest serving Prince Consort in Canadian and British history.

His childhood was one of adversity, his family was forced from Greece into exile, his parents Prince Andrew and Princess Alice separated and he spent his childhood moving from one relative to another and going to many different schools.

Born at the Palace of Mon Repos on the Isle of Corfu in Greece on June 10, 1921, Prince of Greece and Denmark, Philip’s four older sisters were Margharita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie.

He was born in Greece, but his family was exiled from the country when he was eighteen months old. After being educated in France, Germany and the United Kingdom, he joined the British Royal Navy in 1939, aged 18. From July 1939, he began corresponding with the thirteen-year-old, Princess Elizabeth whom he had first met in 1934. During the Second World War he served with distinction in the Mediterranean and Pacific Fleets. After the war, Philip was granted permission by King George VI to marry Elizabeth. Before the official announcement of their engagement in July 1947, he renounced his Greek and Danish titles and styles, changed his religion from Greek Orthodox to Anglican, became a British Subject and adopted his maternal grandparents’ surname Mountbatten. He married Princess Elizabeth on 20 November 1947. Just before the wedding, he was granted the style His Royal Highness and created Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich by King George VI. Philip left active military service when Elizabeth became queen in 1952, having reached the rank of commander of the British Navy, and was made Prince of Great Britain, on their 10th Wedding Anniversary in 1957 by his wife Queen Elizabeth.

Philip had four children with Elizabeth: HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Heir to the Throne; HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal; HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

A sports enthusiast, Philip helped develop the equestrian event of carriage driving. He was a patron, president, or member of over 780 organizations, and he served as chairman of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a self-improvement program for young people aged 14 to 24. He was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family. He retired from his royal duties on 2 August 2017, aged 96, having completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952.

The Queen referred to Prince Philip in a speech on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 as her “constant strength”.

Thank you Sir, for your service.

His favourite Hymn called the Sailor’s Hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save.

Happy Birthday!

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Birthday, Canada., Denmark, Germany, Greece, Prince Philip, Royal Family, UK

June 10, 2020.

Today HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh celebrates his 99 Birthday.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in the villa Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, itself a branch of the House of Oldenburg, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from King George I of Greece and King Christian IX of Denmark and he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones;  Philip’s four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised in the Greek Orthodox rite at St George’s Church in Corfu.

The Greek-Turkish War 1919-1922 went badly for Greece, and the Turks made large gains. On 22 September 1922, Philip’s uncle, King Constantine I, was forced to abdicate and the new Greek military government arrested Prince Andrew, along with others. His family were banished from Greece, the British naval vessel HMS Calypso evacuated Prince Andrew’s family, with Philip carried to safety in a cot made from a fruit box. Philip’s family went to France.

Because Philip left Greece as a baby, he does not speak Greek. In 1992, he said that he “could understand a certain amount”. Philip has stated that he thought of himself as Danish, and his family spoke English, French, and German.

In 1928, he was sent to the United Kingdom to attend school living with his maternal grandmother, Victoria Mountbatten, Dowager Marchioness of Milford-Haven, at Kensington Palace. In the next three years, his four sisters married German princes and moved to Germany, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed in an asylum, and his father took up residence in Monte Carlo with his new mistress. Philip had little contact with his mother for the remainder of his childhood. It was his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten who became his tutor. In March 1947, Philip had abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, had adopted the surname Mountbatten and became a British subject.

The day before the wedding, King George VI bestowed the style of Royal Highness on Philip and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Consequently, being already a Knight of the Garter, between 19 and 20 November 1947. He married Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and on her accession to the Throne in 1952 the now Queen Elizabeth announced that the Duke was to have “place, pre-eminence and precedence” next to her “on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament”.

Philip was not crowned in the Coronation service, but knelt before Elizabeth, with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her “liege man of life and limb”. On 22 February 1957, she granted her husband the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom, and it was gazetted that he was to be known as “His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh”. Philip was appointed to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada on 14 October 1957, taking his Oath of Allegiance before the Queen in person at her Canadian residence, Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

HRH Prince Philip,  his Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment

Official 99th Birthday portrait taken this week at Windsor Castle.

Coat of Arms of HRH Prince Philip