10 April, 2021
It is with sincere sadness that the institute reacts the news of the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh. The Monarchist League of Canada posted the following obituary message:
Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh
Today, at the news of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh in his one hundredth year, the nation and the Commonwealth join in sorrow, yet also with thanksgiving for his singularly useful life of restless and many-faceted service in support of the Throne.
Our chief concern must be for The Queen, as she comes to terms with the loss of Prince Philip, whom she famously described as “my strength and stay.”
As subject, his duty to his Sovereign was unqualified. As partner in the reign, his innovative mind and forthright spirit added lustre to the achievements of the era of the second Elizabeth. As husband, and father of the Royal Family, his was the unqualified “love that asks no question.”
His, the activities which anchored the Crown in the realities of the present age, and shepherded it through triumphs and difficult times alike. Histhe constancy whose forthrightness allowed a life of innovation based on keen perception of societal needs, while respecting tradition and welcoming change.
When Philip wed Princess Elizabeth in 1947, he promised “to love and to cherish” her “until death do us part.” In the Coronation of 1953, he was the first to kneel before Her Majesty, anointed and crowned, to render his Homage and swear “faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and to die against all manner of folk.”
In keeping these oaths during the foundational early days of the reign of the young Queen, in the emergent steps towards the modern monarchy co-existing with an undeferential media as of the 1960's, in the popular celebration of its Jubilee milestones mingled with the pressures upon members of the family, and in the rich contentment of the knowledge of absolute love given, duty done and years well spent, Philip became quite simply “the indispensable man.”
In private life and inmost being, acutely sensitive to the needs of others and full of faith in God; in public station often flinty, candid and self-deprecating, Philip became part of the tapestry of our times woven throughout the reign. Thus, in following the multiplicity of his good example, we might long remember him as “Mr Valiant-for-Truth.”
May we, inspired by that good example, “run with patience the race that is set before us” until we too receive “the crown of glory that fadeth not away.” That glory lies not in riches or honours and tributes, but in his love unstinting of his wife and family, the respect of the world and the memory of the good deeds Philip did, the burdens of which all may now feel challenged to take up a share.
The BBC also published a poignant obituary: Obituary: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - BBC News