Prince Philip memorial: The Duke of Edinburgh’s best quotes

An estimated 1,800 people are expected to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service

(Shutterstock)

The Duke of Edinburgh will be honoured in a memorial at Westminster Abbey today, Tuesday 29 March.

The Service of Thanksgiving will be attended by most senior members of the royal family, including the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Buckingham Palace has also confirmed the Queen will attend the memorial after recovering from a bout of Covid and struggling with mobility issues.

Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband of 73 years, died on 9 April 2021.

Philip’s funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor last year took place during Covid restrictions and was limited to just 30 people. The Queen sat alone during the farewell ceremony due to social distancing measures, and singing was banned at the time.

Prince Philip was born in Corfu to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He enjoyed a career in the Royal Navy and married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947. Together they would go on to have four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward.

Read more:

• What is the protocol if a senior member of the royal family dies?
• A timeline of Prince Philip’s life from 1921 to 2021

The Duke finally retired from official royal duties in 2017, marking the end of 70 years of service to the monarchy. Over his career he was renowned for speaking his mind. Here The Independent brings you a roundup of his best quotes.

On his marriage to the Queen, Golden wedding anniversary, 1997

“I think the main lesson we have learnt is that tolerance is the one essential ingredient in any happy marriage... You can take it from me, the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.”

On his son Prince Charles, 1999

“He’s a romantic, and I’m a pragmatist. That means we do see things differently. And because I don’t see things as a romantic would, I’m ‘unfeeling’.”

In a 1940s letter written to Princess Elizabeth, according to Philip Eade, author of Young Prince Philip: His Turbulent Early Life

“To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty.”

On his reputation

“I’ve just done what I think is my best. Some people think it’s all right. Some don’t. What can you do? I can’t suddenly change my whole way of doing things. I can’t change my interests and the way in which I react to things. It’s part of my style. It’s just too bad, they’ll have to lump it.”

On Princess Anne

“If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.”

On the 1981 recession

“Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed.”

On the Duke of Edinburgh scheme

“[My] legacy? No, no it’s got nothing to do with me. It’s there for people to use. I couldn’t care less. It’s relevant too because it’s part of the process of growing up.”

(PA)

On the environment

“Human population growth is probably the single most serious long-term threat to survival. We’re in for a major disaster if it isn’t curbed–not just for the natural world, but for the human world.”

On the attempted kidnap of his daughter, the Princess Royal, 1974

“If the man had succeeded in abducting Anne, she would have given him a hell of a time while in captivity."

At the opening of a school, 2000

“You send children to school to get them out of your hair. Then they come back and make life difficult for parents. That is why holidays are set so they are just about the limit of your endurance.”

On tourism, at the opening of City Hall in London, 2002

“Of course the problem with London is the tourists. They cause the congestion. They block the streets. If we could just stop tourism we could stop the congestion.”

On stepping back from his workload, 90th birthday, 2011

“[It’s] better to get out before you reach your sell by date. I reckon I’ve done my bit so I can enjoy myself, less responsibility, less frantic rushing about, less trying to think of something to say…I’m just sort of winding down.”