A Service of Thanksgiving for HRH The Duke of Edinburgh - BBC - 29th March 2022

[Music] a very good morning from westminster abbey the royal setting for this national service of thanksgiving for the life of his royal highness prince philip duke of edinburgh prince philip who died 11 months ago at the age of 99. now the queen is expected to be here to lead the congregation it's an event designed to reflect philip's long and eventful life of course and some elements of the service have been specially chosen by her majesty one thing will be clear from the outset have a look at this contrast it'll be a big well-attended service today unlike last year at st george's chapel windsor with a funeral of the duke just 30 people there because of the pandemic restrictions and the enduring image of course from that service was that of her majesty the queen sitting alone as her husband of 73 years was laid to rest that image of course was the one which resonated with so many people who had lost loved ones during the pandemic so today's service with uplifting music with readings and with tributes and an address by the dean of windsor will celebrate philip's commitment to hundreds of causes championing the armed forces conservation sport youth charities other charities too of course to do with technology and industry and education especially organizations whose representatives will make up a very big section of the congregation and the queen will be joined by most of her family by members of the dukes family who are visiting the uk at the moment especially for this service they've been invited by her majesty and royal families from other countries too with close links with the windsors now outside the abbey no surprise that the world's media is gathered waiting there just in front of the queen elizabeth conference center opposite westminster abbey waiting for the arrival of her majesty who as we know has made very few public appearances in recent months because of some health concerns uh the service begins at 11 30. uh in the meantime we'll be talking to some special guests who knew the duke worked with him indeed who got to know the very big character behind the public image now there are dozens of members of the duke's family i think we counted 51 in all who started arriving just a few minutes ago and they represent the greek and danish and german branches of philips extended family they've just been arriving uh in the abbey and they include indeed the uh hereditary prince and princess of baden i'm singling these people out because they were invited to the funeral last year uh just of 30 people so it'll underline the importance that they take they're sitting there just in the front row uh to the right of screen as we see it there um and that's the prince of baden who is a great nephew of the duke we will also have from another branch of the german family the land grave of hesse related to the duke by marriage they'll be joined by the prince and princess of honlo langenberg and also by another branch of the family again the countess mountbatten of burma we'll be spotting them as they take their places but um we did get a little glimpse there of the uh prince of baden just to give you a flavor of the very international nature of the congregation itself now before the service gets underway in just under an hour's time we'll have the opportunity to consider different aspects of duke's work how his legacy indeed is still evolving and there's no guesswork needed because philip was consistently clear about the issues that really mattered to him [Applause] [Music] i'm very doubtful about the whole concept of deliberately trying to create an image because i think that it's very easily an image develops out of what you do the duke of edinburgh's award scheme proves that the life of modern youth isn't all pop music long hair and punch-ups [Music] when you start something you never really know where it's going to work or not and it just it seems to have taken off everything that wasn't invented by god was invented by an engineer it all started at the festival of suddenly it had my eyes open to the way people did things and designed things [Music] it's easy to forget that we are not the only living beings on this planet i think that the life for humanity is going to be extremely difficult unless we do something about it now i've just done what i think is my best i never thought of it as a role i mean it's just a way of life [Music] back into the abbey this morning um on the front row there um who are the extended family of the duke who are visiting for this uh service of thanksgiving today and they of course lots of them shared lots of the same interests in terms of sport and yachting and the environment especially i mentioned the prince of baden who's there to the left and then we have countess mumbachne of burma that's the prince of baden there um with the princess of barna and then as we go down the row we have the princeton princess of ho and lower langenburg and then we have the landgrave and landgravin of hesse so all of these people related somehow to the duke by marriage in some cases uh the prince of hondura langenberg is a great nephew of prince philip so there you have some of the more prominent members of the family itself we were listening there to the duke in just a matter of a short minute uh really going through a summary of the things that had been most important to him throughout his life some interesting thoughts about his role too and i'm joined first of all today by two guests who knew the duke in different capacities uh baroness floeela benjamin and the falklands veteran simon weston good morning to you both good morning nice to have you with us um floella if i may um can i just start with you and say what's your main memory of the duke i the duke was a man with a good heart he had an inquisitive mind he wanted to know about people he was like a walking encyclopedia and i remember the first time we met with back in 1998 it was at a charity function for young people in the environment and the organizers said to me would i sit next to him he's only here for half an hour i thought lovely so he came in and he spoke to the person on his right for 25 minutes right then eventually he turned to me and said so who are you what do you do and i said i tell you what you tell me who you are and what you do and i'll tell you all about myself and he did exactly well did he take that he just laughed and half you know half an hour later we were still exchanging stories and i found he was such a generous person because when i did my first marathon he sent me a telegram when i did when i got my ob he sent me a telegram when i got my dame hood he sent me a letter he was so thoughtful and considerate and i think you know many people you know when when they when they get to see the program today will realize what a great man he was how many lives he touched and the difference he made to this world thank you floyla and i'll turn to simon simon we do have a remarkable image if i can share it with viewers um and this is you being presented with your falklands medal by the duke i think it was the end of 1982 some six months after the conflict um where you of course have sustained those dreadful injuries on the sagala hat um how did you find the duke what kind of impression did he make on you i found him to be incredibly funny a very sincere man but very very funny um i i remember different circumstances where i met him um like floella when i got my ob um he sent me a telegram as well right so i have my medal of him there at a telegram those little things he didn't have to do but he still did anyway but i i just remembered different circumstances where we met i remember doing something for disability driving and it was up in derbyshire and i remember he came along and because i'd met him several different times i thought oh well i'm easily identifiably he won't pass by without saying something yeah and he walked past i thought oh that's a bit off there i thought i was a bit miffed if i'm honest anyway he stopped he turned around he walked back and he poked me in the belly like the pillsbury oh boy and he went god weston you've got fat i'd have been offended if it wasn't true [Laughter] to get away with that takes a lot of charm doesn't it really i mean it's not just a bit of fun but it it's to do with charisma it's to do with force of personality um but even as simon described it there there's there's a bit of kindness in there as well in the sense that he was actually saying we know each other yes yes yeah well whenever whenever he turned up somewhere and i was in the room uh he would always say hello floella how are you doing and he would never forget you you know what i mean and he was very thoughtful and i found uh that um we had lots in common he and i because i wrote a book called coming to england and he read it and he said to me this is my story too wow he had great empathy with the story he said i i was an outsider i came to britain when i was 10 from trinidad he said i came from greece i was born in greece and i came to britain age seven went to a small school in team and i knew what it was like to be different i knew what it was like to be teased but luckily i had good friends and relatives to help me become the man who i am today who would have thought when you see him you wouldn't think he understood but he really understood people who came from different cultures and having to leave one culture coming to another culture and exist and adapt and make something of your life and he certainly did didn't he it he did and it's such an important point to underline fellow given that we've been seeing representatives there of the family who come from different countries and you get a sense of the the mixed background in terms of um nationalities and ethnicities so it's a very good point to me simon can i ask you what do you think his lasting legacy will be because he had contacts with so many organizations armed forces certainly but of course environment sport youth opportunity we're nearly a year after his death now what do you think the legacy will be as far as you're concerned i think the legacy certainly the the duke of edinburgh is a ward because that was encouraging so many young people to test themselves to push themselves to the limit to create their own legacy he was very keen on young people being the best they could be trying to get the best out of themselves he never stopped when he did his carriage racing and i remember i went and saw him race his carriages in windsor and i just thought he was well he was bonkers because i mean to do that you know the amount of bones he broke doing it the amount of times that he had accidents um and you just have to say that he stretched himself as he wanted other people to stretch themselves he didn't want people just sit on their laurels and when you were in the military and he came around and he spoke to people he was always curious to see what was what was really changing in the military i've just come back from the falklands and the people down there remember him with fondness back even as far as 57 people were talking about it and they remember the conversations they had with him you know he's that type of man or was lovely to talk to you both and uh and hopefully the service will go uh exactly as the duke would have wished it and as the queen wishes it so uh thank you both very much thank you and hello thank you thank you very much indeed um well let's have a look inside the abbey we've got uh some of the senior military figures arriving including the chief of the defence staff admiral sir tony radekin who's just been shown to his seat in the uh in the transept there at the abbey the vice chief of the defence staff following uh who is admiral timothy fraser and we can just about see that the first sea lord admiral ben key and the chief of the general staff samar carlton smith all in that little queue waiting to be seated and the chief of the air staff air chief marshal sir michael wigston there's uh tony radek in there just uh chatting to one of the ushers um i'm just moving across there we are just chatting there so to the right we have uh admiral sir tony radican and then we also have there the commander strategic command general sir patrick sanders so they're sitting in that block which is quite near to the royal family and just in the front of frame there the gentleman with the white hair that's the lord's speaker uh who's lord mcfall the former labour mp john mcfall when he represented dumbarton but was elected speaker of the house of lords or lord speaker um and that was uh just uh i think last year actually it's very recently succeeded lord fowler in that role so lord mcfall who's in charge of keeping order in the house of lords as we were saying the congregation really does reflect uh the extensive range of causes that the duke promoted during his decades in public life we've seen some of the military there but you know the range is vast and simon was mentioning the duke of edinburgh award he was innovative he was forward-thinking very much a modernizer and when it came to the environment and wildlife and conservation really you can't deny he was way ahead of his time last year the world suddenly woke up to the fact that it is fast destroying the remains of its wildlife this applies just as much to the songbird in the english countryside as to the zebra on the plains of serengeti the duke was raising concerns about the natural world decades ago both abroad and at home as ranger of windsor great park he reintroduced red deer and planted one thousand oak trees and his passion for conservation continues through the award scheme that bears his name in hampshire helen moody has volunteered to help transform a field into a wildlife haven as part of her gold award project we are going to do a bit of conservational work plant some trees to maintain in the pond check under here see if there's anything this field was bought five or six years ago by local residents of the village so that it would prevent development happening and it's thrived we've found a couple of fallow deer have come to the area and have had their young here as well the fact that they feel comfortable enough being here considering we've got busy roads on either side is a huge achievement i believe that the duke of edinburgh's work has been incredibly innovative he's been a huge pioneer from his time and i think it's incredibly inspiring and it's really wonderful to see that his work and passion has continued through an award that he's set up the duke of edinburgh award programme is an international affair with 133 countries taking part in kenya award participants have planted more than 30 000 trees in the past year to tackle climate change hi i'm abi i'm davin i'm home i'm bianca and we are here to plant trees today for the honor of prince philip come to plant some trees to conserve the environment yeah let's do this together our goal is to plant about three million cheese number four number four okay number four tree number four the reason we are planting cheese is just to have a better future have a greener future and in new zealand protecting the ocean is the focus for lara as a sailor and someone who's grown up living no more than five minutes from a beach ocean conservation is super important to me and that's why i've chosen to do beach cleanups as my service in the past few months i've picked up 73 litres of rubbish from my local beaches looking back on all the rubbish i've collected has helped me realise that while these issues we're trying to tackle may seem huge everyone can make a difference so just picking up from that it is worth underlining the fact that philip had been warning decades ago that action was needed to save the planet all of this before concern for the environment and the future of the planet became what you call a mainstream concern a big political issue and among the many organizations represented here today is the worldwide fund for nature so i'm going to join my colleague rita chakrabarti uh to tell us more about that hugh i'm delighted to be joined by the chief executive of wwf uk tania steele and tanya we just saw in that film um one of the main passions of the duke's life the environment conservation it's an issue he was so alive too he really was the duke of edinburgh was a visionary he was ahead of his time and he founded wwf along with sir peter scott in 1961 at a at a time that nobody was talking about the environment to the extent that we he here and see today and he really used his position to put these issues on the agenda but particularly with the next generation in mind where did that come from i think it came from his love of the outdoors and he was an incredible expert on issues he really ensured that he learnt about the science and actually what would happen as a result of that so he traveled extensively with our organization over 50 times but he really was appraised on all issues from land to sea from pole to pole he really was a very very extraordinary man that's so interesting so he traveled with the organization he was a very hands-on president he was i mean i think it's fair to say the duke of edinburgh he was he was almost notorious in terms of a real stickler for ensuring not just the detail but that we got things done and one of the reasons why the duke traveled so extensively was so he could see for himself but importantly hear from the communities affected too in terms of what they might do to ensure that we were saving our world you met him what was he like he was a bundle of energy uh you know i had the the honor of meeting the duke of edinburgh at buckingham palace and and he he almost bounced across the room um but incredibly knowledgeable he absolutely wanted to know what we were doing the progress that we were making and he could really draw on the historical context but with a keen eye on the future he would often say that if nature doesn't survive neither will man so he could really see the interconnection between nature and humanity and and create a real bad bedrock for the entire environmental movement not just in the uk but around the world and you mentioned his legacy there he has passed on this passion to his son and to his grandson unquestionably um you know prince charles and indeed both the young dukes as well um keen environmentalists again very active but hugely ambitious in terms of setting our sights in terms of what we need to do in terms of tackling climate change but also ensuring that we actually have wildlife and wild places on our planet for a healthy future for wildlife and indeed for man as well tanya steele chief executive of wwf thank you so much thank you many thanks sir to rita it's a slightly cloudy day at westminster but it is dry so that's good and there you can see all the flash bulbs going off for some of the latest arrivals we're expecting uh prime minister and members of the cabinet very soon um but here we are some of the people lining the approach to the west door of the abbey and uh i'd like to just pay attention to some of these young people because they're all gold award winners of the duke of edinburgh scheme members of the cadet force too duke of edinburgh award of course without question the most important part of the legacy for millions of young people who've taken part the duke once described it as a do-it-yourself growing up kit which is a lovely description and during the service by the way we'll hear from another gold award holder doing ibari who will be talking about the transformative power of the award scheme so lovely to see the uh the gold award holders there and they're waiting patiently uh for the next guest to arrive um talking of guests joining me now in the studio baroness scotland uh secretary general of the commonwealth and lord borten uh paul butting um as he was as a labour mp um vice patron of book aid international former high commissioner of south africa um and the international council for the duke of edinburgh awards it's lovely to have you both with us good to be with you so much um can i start barrier scotland by asking you for your main tribute to the duke and the way in which he sustained a belief in the value of the commonwealth i think um he was one of the main architects who really understood that we were moving away from dominion into an association of equal states 54 now eight when they started and i think his hand crafted so much of that which made independence possible in terms of institutionalizing the secretariat which was created in 1965 but people thinking well where's the secretary going to be and it was the duke who suggested that he and her majesty should give marlboro a house which had been the queen's grandmother's home as the home for the commonwealth and he said i will never forget how prescient it was right back in 1953 he said this concept this new construct of a commonwealth of free liberated people coming together was worth sacrifice making sacrifices for and he personally was willing to make a great deal of sacrifice if he was able to do just a little good so his love of the commonwealth his commitment to the commonwealth and his commitment to the minority and the diversity within it was absolutely unbending and so i think we owe him an extraordinary debt of gratitude he was an extraordinary man and he did extraordinary things i think one of the most wonderful thing is he allowed others to do extraordinary things by stimulating and maintaining that commitment for his whole life it was extraordinary lots of those strong themes there would be reflected in service today um paul i mentioned with you three dimensions um the value of books which i think is a very special project south africa of course which presented lots of challenges um and if we look at the duke of edinburgh award i've already mentioned the gold award holders but the fact that millions i mean many millions have benefited from that where would you start to focus well of course he was a man of action and the award reflects that the venom's award reflects that but he was also a man of books i mean he loved books he wrote uh 14 books uh but what sums him up for me is something actually that appears ah something that that appears in a book he wrote called a question of balance yes and in that uh he talks about political consciousness moving from the family through the city through the nation to embrace the world but he says you need to link political consciousness with love and concern and i think that sums up the man he loved the queen he loved judy he put judy and the queen before all else but he was concerned he was concerned for a shared humanity and concern for a shared planet and you saw that in every aspect of his own life and work and in south africa long before it was fashionable he took a stand against racism and apartheid he said the award should never ever be delivered in south africa so long as the apartheid state existed and then subsequently he visited pose more prison because the award is big in prisons throughout the commonwealth not just in elite schools as they say but in difficult places like prisons and informal communities he visited polls more with nelson mandela and i think that says something about the man he transcended all issues uh of race and classy was about the development of young people and a shared humanity and that link uh between action and considered thought yes he could be challenging you know he he he relished in new and innovative thinking he was a very very special person there's a lovely uh image paul i think we caught sight of it just earlier oh there it is um i love this because it smiles but it smiles in in the cause of i think this was this was again on books yes yeah um i tell it just it just basically uh i think that that photo says a lot about the way that he handled relationships he did and i'll tell you what was so special about that event it was almost one of the last before he actually retired from public life but he wanted to celebrate books and and bouquet and we were talking to him about the work we were doing in refugee camps you know in difficult places and he just understood what it was to confront that sort of difficulty and he wanted bookaid and he wanted us to be where the action was making a difference and that was what he gave his life to byron scotland when we spoke last year yeah um you kindly came into the studio in windsor when uh when the funeral was held um you you said very confidently that the commonwealth as heat helped to shape it had a great future um are you equally confident today absolutely because if you think about the things that he was passionate about climate change fairness democracy the rule of law women the environment all of these things are absolutely at the core of what the commonwealth is now doing today right at the front but you know he was fascinated by technological development he was a radical thinker he was typing on a computer himself before most of us had any idea of it at all and he was always ahead of his time and the commonwealth also is ahead of its time if you think about the issues that paul's been talking about in terms of racism 1953 he talked about racism the commonwealth was the the fulcrum of the fight against racism climate change 1989 it was the commonwealth in langkawi in malaysia who said this poses an existential threat to the world now in terms of what we're doing for digitalization it's the commonwealth once again so i think we've never needed it more and you know hugh the first larger than life statue of the duke of edinburgh is going to be unveiled in ghana outside a ward house in june in the commonwealth and that says it all well you were saying that he was ahead of his time we are slightly behind time now and that means sadly that i've got to thank you both um and hopefully the service will run as as everyone wants it to run which is uplifting music and appropriate readings and a good address hopefully by the dean of windsor thank you both paul and patricia thank you very much pleasure thank you very much indeed um i think paul said it there and baroness scotland did the scheme the award scheme is easily the most prominent of the projects for young people devised and sponsored by philip there were lots of other projects encouraging wider opportunities for young people as well at the rebuilt brady boys club in east end london the duke was met by president of the london federation of boys clubs and the duke showed great interest in their work the duke's very first charity was the london federation of boys clubs now known as london youth today it's helping young people like amina who came to britain from a troubled background in albania amina this is yours so you're basically the group's guide for the day here today we're doing an art test today for a lot of youth clubs which are coming together to to do some drawing and painting and and lots of other things so it's always a lot going on and i like that i enjoy that london youth has been transformational for amina she's now studying at university for a degree in politics and international relations a far cry from her arrival in the uk six years ago there was this sense of isolation and not having someone to talk to i was afraid of my front door london youth was this safe haven and it really helped my confidence to help me become who who i wanted to become and that's i think what i want to do i want to give back to the community i want to be that source of information for someone like me i think i want to be that helping hand that was handed to me from london youth in a rolls-royce arrived the 12th man of lords taverners he is also their patron the duke picked a winning ticket in may tombola but didn't claim the prize the duke was patron for more than 70 years of the lord's taverners a charity raising funds to promote sport for the young one of their programmes is called wickets oh hey man you're right you got an old tool the lord's having us work in socially and economically deprived areas producing cricket sessions for young people completely free of charge that not only focuses on the cricket but also on the life skills i don't really used to play cricket much but when i started wickets i got involved in other cricket academies like i played i play i play for redditch curry club now i play a regular club and i also uh i'm trialing for hereford i've been coming for about five years now maybe there's nothing like this back then it's just playing in car parks or on the street just a bit like that i think what the defragment was done is really helpful to the young people definitely and it keeps the young people out of crime and hostility really i think his legacy does continue through his absence especially through things like this like wickets and this is going to continue to grow and his legacy will just keep going [Music] well i'm joined now by the chair of trustees of the duke of edinburgh awards baroness at tani gray thompson um tani you've observed already that the duke was so involved with public life and yet it's almost only in his passing that we've come to appreciate how much that was the case that's absolutely right i mean such a huge range of charities and organizations he cared about you know the duke of edinburgh awards with his name on it he absolutely cared about the young people you saw him light up when he spoke to the people about what they'd done what had made up the award and he really cared about the difference it made to their lives this was a very genuine passion of his their welfare their development absolutely and if you were sort of setting up an award from scratch you'd have those things in there you'd have the volunteering you'd have the physical you'd have the expedition to challenge young people and he was amazing in terms of connecting and understanding the difference that it made because it changed the lives already of over six and a half million young people in the uk many more millions around the world and it's an incredible legacy that he's left and you've had a great response from dov award holders even from people who didn't meet him see i mean we had letters from people who did the award 60 plus years ago sent in pound coins in envelopes to say continue the legacy help more young people and that public side has been incredible and sets us up for the future we're going into more schools than ever before young offenders institute prisons uh to help young people find sort of focus in their lives and we're in a really difficult time right now and and this is one way we can help young people thank you so much dame tani gray thompson thank you [Music] so inside the abbey we have lots of our prominent politicians gathering the prime minister who has a rather busy day today and uh this evening we'll be entertaining lots of conservative mps at a big dinner rishi sunak there the chancellor who's been uh busy after his spring statement last week liz trust the foreign secretary priti patel the home secretary brandon lewis of course and then just behind we have the president of the welsh senate ellen jones we have the president of the scottish parliament moving across mark drakeford who is the welsh first minister and then the gentleman next to mark drakeford um is on the right-hand side is peter morell who is the husband of nicola sturgeon we can just see the first minister of scotland just at the end of the road they're chatting to mr drakeford and just behind them we can see kia stammer the labour leader and i think just along the row as well is sired davey the lib dem leader and other senior parliamentarians including sir jeffrey donaldson of the democratic unionist party of northern ireland so they're all gathering and we'll have another look because we're expecting some of the members of the foreign royal families arriving very soon so we'll be able to see uh who'll be taking their places and also of course uh the royal family itself which will arrive most of it before the queen now joining me uh here in the studio we have the author and daily mail writer robert hardman uh who's been very busy because he's just published queen of our times the life of elizabeth ii his latest book well done robert on that thank you um and we're delighted once again to welcome roy anika who's the royal editor of the sunday times it's difficult to believe seeing you both here and it's lovely to have you with us um that there's nearly a year since the funeral in windsor and roya do you think that we're in a position today where because the nature of the service is different lots of the elements of today's events are ones which we might have seen last year but they've been put in this year because of course last year was very difficult it's a really lovely service today which reflects everything that prince philip wanted but wasn't able to have last year everything from the hymns some really rousing stirring hymns reflecting his naval service to the flowers reflecting his naval servers the sea holly to right at the heart of the service the duke of edinburgh awards and we're going to hear this wonderful very moving tribute from a gold duke of edinburgh ward holder so absolutely it is everything prince philip with a wanted which we weren't able to see last year due to covert restrictions but what someone from buckingham palace has said to me is it's still a very short paired back service and that reflects prince philip's very simple approach to life uh indeed robert we understand it'll be maybe around three quarters of an hour which is uh which is a pretty concise service by by these standards isn't it entirely in keeping as royal says with with the man uh he as we saw with that remarkable historic funeral that was very much what he wanted um here we see of course uh his his family arriving we're going to see more of of it's very nice to see great grandchildren there as well taking part in savannah phillips there with uh their father peter phillips coming in um but yeah he he didn't want he never planned this service um you know he he just wanted the one so this is this is a sort of sense of unfinished business today but i'm sure he would have approved of all the details and all the family particularly the queen have taken a very close interest in everything really nice to see some grandchildren there another one maya tindall coming in with zara and mike he would have loved that philip having his great-grandchildren there uh it's it's nice because lots of the tributes um have been reflected by the grandchildren great-grandchildren in fact um in a short while as i was saying the queen is expected to arrive uh for the service being driven um from the palace uh in the past year much has been written about philip's contribution to public life um but to those tributes we've been able to add these personal memories from his close family i was talking to him the day before he died you know and we were talking about his birthday coming up and i said i said we're talking about your birthday because he's getting a bit dead and whether there's gonna be a reception he said but i've got to be alive for it haven't i he said i said i knew you'd say that [Music] he's always been the sort of heart of the family and always been a huge presence behind everything we've done really you know he enjoyed messing around with the children and kind of being a grandfather he made time for all of us supported all of us and he kept control of most of us he treated everybody he met as an individual he didn't make assumptions people would say that he could be a bit sharp with his wits but i always felt that he was he was never cruel what did you think of the level of noise and smoke i was inside and i wasn't smoking [Laughter] his wits served him well i think on the whole you're going to see the world's most experienced plaque unveiled what you see is what you got he was unapologetically him at all times no matter where he was no matter who he was speaking to no matter what he was doing all too often i fear prince philip has had to listen to me speaking frequently we have discussed my intended speech beforehand and as you will imagine his views have been expressed in a forthright manner you all know he was getting older and he hated it he absolutely hated it he was the worst patient in the world but actually you never really prepare yourself for for losing him because he was always there [Music] we named august august philip because grandpa has been such a huge inspiring character in my life it felt like the end of an era they're a very difficult generation to live up to but i'm very proud and very pleased that i knew him all of us are shaped by our experiences you know imagine the experiences that shaped him the amount he's seen and it's not to be sniffed out [Music] i really have his memories that we were lucky to have him for nearly 100 years [Music] and there we have some of those who were paying tribute so generously and in such a moving way peter phillips and we have peter's children savannah and isla and then we have zara and mike tyndall peter and zara of course both children of the princess royal and then the tyndall's with their daughter mia and they've just taken their places so we'll have other members of the royal family joining us very soon of course we'll be reflecting on the kind of tributes that have been paid and what struck me there if i can bring in robert and arroyo once again was the warmth of the tributes there is a kind of normal communication and warmth when they talk about philip and that's very noticeable oh he was absolutely uh central to the family and and they all at the time of his death and afterwards um had such a wide variety of of fond memories but what it all came back to was that he he really was he was grandpa and and and they they just loved their time with him and and he he was extremely tolerant they could get away with all sorts of things when they were around the duke well one of the warmest tributes of course paid by the princess royal who's just arrived at the husband admiral timothy lawrence and now having a little chat with the gold award holders or aligning the approach to the west door of the abbey such an honor for them and such a nice touch and royal this indeed was one of the features that was meant to be seen at the funeral itself so it's lovely that they've been able to recreate it it was of course at the funeral we had a military staircase party but this the staircase party that prince vedic really wanted these duke of edinburgh ward holders whose lives have been transformed and changed because of that extraordinary initiative he set up in 1956 some military personnel there as well that the princess royal and timothy lawrence are greeting it's just a lovely another lovely touch a sign of that every little detail of this extraordinary service was down to prince philip's planning a mix of gold award holders and cadets of course because the duke himself had a great affinity with lots of the cadet forces encouraging them in the ways of the military and to try to achieve great things by entering into careers in the military and just behind there i think we can see the duke of york's daughters with their husbands that's right robert yes yes princess beatrice princess eugenie there with their their their husbands i mean the the you know the the very much the wider family here today there are so many people who would have loved to have been there um last year but obviously couldn't because of kovid um it's a full royal turnout really just passing there the grave of the unknown warrior which is uh of course near the west door there it is the last head of state to pay his respects at the grave of diana moria was the president of ukraine president zielinski just about two years ago and it's fitting for us to just mark that as well uh today given what's happening in that uh very troubled country right now duke of kent just arriving now with the gloucesters so here we have one of the queen's cousins of course and someone who really has been at the queen side a lot in recent years especially at big public events the birthday parade for example um one of the three cousins including uh prince michael of kent was just entering the uh area before the west door and of course we are expecting the duke and duchess of gloucester to arrive as well so close family here robert a close family um and and going back a long way as you say i mean the duke of kent who is his mother was a member of the greek royal family so you know interlinks i mean what we see today i think so much is that this interlinking of all these royal houses of europe really and and the duke is is what they all have in common in many ways he's related to the royal houses of denmark and spain and ex-royal houses of places like serbia and and and uh he was even a great nephew of the last czar i mean it was often said of the duke he was more royal than the royals yes the connections are remarkable and so the duke uh entering the abbey and being escorted and along with the uh duke and duchess of gloucester who have already made their way in and uh they're just passing through the uh the screen through the nave and into the choir another of the queen's cousins robert yeah the the the gloucesters um uh are very much and their extended family are here as well i mean i i was in the abbey earlier and you look in the south transit we just see a glimpse of it there um you know for for 10 rows back and members of the royal family all of whom as you say he would would love to have been there for his funeral couldn't be because of covet they're there on the on the left-hand side there the prince michael and prince and princess michael of kent they couldn't be at the funeral but uh it was so important as i say for for all these people to to to have have have their have their moment their moment to say thank you sir we have the dean and chapter of westminster the senior clergy as we can see there led by the dean of westminster waiting for the senior members of the royal family to arrive and they'll be greeted when they come in and then shown to their seats we have the the earl of wessex i think is just arriving outside with the countess of wessex and their two children lady louise windsor and vikrant seven and uh they too will be part of the worldwide tours won't they roya in terms of marking the platinum jubilee absolutely they are soon to go on a tour of the caribbean another tour we've just had um william and catherine uh in the caribbean i was with them on that tour and of course for the earl of wessex a really important day not only honoring his father but for a very long time he has taken over stewardship of the duke of edinburgh awards which are absolutely at the heart of this service we see not only with the with the staircase party there but also we're going to hear from a duke of edinburgh reward holder and i think for him it's wonderful not only to honor his father personally but to see the duke of eden wars going forwards and his father's legacy um alive and powerful and changing young people's lives at the moment i think uh he was in kenya it wasn't earlier this year as well yes yes and of course uh lady louise there who again we see so much we saw her just yesterday driving a carriage with her grandfather's ponies in windsor taking on that wonderful legacy of his carriage driving and very good at it she is very good i saw her wins the show last year so these wonderful sort of throw forwards of his legacy still still alive and kicking as he would have wanted them to be wessex of course who's inherited not just the awards but um the london youth responsibilities as well because that was one of the duke's great passions which was all of these charities promoting opportunities especially for disadvantaged young people absolutely that was so central one of his very first patronages long before he the queen became queen was was the national playing fields association so youth enhancing youth and youth opportunities is a thread that runs right right through the duke's reign and and the earth wessex has brought that on uh in the same way that princess royal who we saw earlier you know she's taken on some of his key organizations like the commonwealth study conferences about you know identifying young leaders of tomorrow right around the world so uh and and uh you know the commonwealth royal agricultural i mean so many of these organizations there's the the princess there with rare admiral tim lawrence um you know they they they're all continuing the legacy the duke of course said i don't want a legacy but he has one and we're seeing it today the bells are ringing very clearly outside and i just want to say one word if we can just pop outside the abbey for a moment to take in the full atmosphere of the bells ringing all around westminster signaling that this very important service of thanksgiving is to get underway 10 ringers hard at work today under the direction of jeremy pratt and before this service and i hope i've got this right because they'll correct me if it's wrong trust me 144 changes of the grand sire caters that's the sequence of bells being peeled today roy you're looking rather terrified when i say that who knew you who knew and afterwards in case i don't get a chance to mention it there'll be 669 changes of the steadman caters and i hope that you know there'll be someone counting all right but jokes aside it is a magnificent sound it really is just to hear those bells um the power and the resonance is wonderful isn't it and in our studio here uh just facing the abbey of course um we can feel the full force of the bells too okay so the only brussels yes and they're just taking yes lovely they all look so happy and they're all joking and there's humor and there's celebration and there's joy amongst the royal family today such a different picture to that scene a year ago [Music] so we now have a steady stream of senior members of the royal family making the way towards uh the abbey so let's see who's next to arrive [Music] looks like the prince of wales doesn't date on the duchess of cornwall and the dean will greet them [Music] as he has done many times on these great events [Music] and again the tribute paid by the prince which we heard just a short while ago but indeed in the days after the death of his father really radiated warmth again there's been talk in the past about the fact that they may have had a it may have been a bit of friction in the relationship you know who knows but actually it was warm they're such similar characters in terms of their their their their interests their love of art always asking questions um they they have so much in common and uh i know it was very sweet to see that the way that the prince was was just you know spoke for all the family and and of course the duchess of cornwall i mean she's one of the duke's very last public engagements was to hand over the rifles of which he is such a proud colonel in chief it's very touching today i just noticed on her lapel she's wearing the badge of uh of the rifles i think and and and that meant a lot to her um and that that was i think the last time we saw him when when in that little ceremony at windsor so so many of these little touches today i'm sure we'll see them all through the service i mean just when we watch these members of the royal family processing down the aisle you'll see hundreds of people from all these different uh organizations that you represent we caught a glimpse there um of the of the brooch oh yes um there it is yes there it is and the duchess herself was just very keen to say that aid was an honor to take over but b the way in which it was transferred she appreciated very much and he was a great inspiration to her she said at the time that you know when she was came into the family as he did and had to suddenly take on this very prominent role he was really the mentor the template for what she's done [Music] dr cambridge there we can just see just arriving with the duke of cambridge and i think we're going to see some of their children as well there we go princess charlotte and prince george that's lovely to have them here and the first really huge event like this for them it's just a proper family occasion it really is for them to really understand and have a concept of just what an important figure their father was not just the way they're told privately but to see with other people there and charities and patronages lovely to see them here today with their parents that's the site that that young man is going to see for a very long time for the rest of his life so a historic day for him but how charming that they're here one of the lovely things about the tour i was just on with william and catherine was that at every port of call they were on william spoke so often about his grandfather in all his speeches his grandfather's conservation work how fond you know the knowledge his grandfather had at those three caribbean realms um so that was his sort of public way of remembering him in advance of this service [Music] dr david hoyle is the dean of westminster who's just introducing uh the duke under d prince george there just yes eight years old just getting used to line-ups actually accomplishing it very well yes looks the part he does very much so and i think princess it's very nice for princess charlotte to be there with him today as well looking him in the eye and he's got a smile it's it's it's it's a very nice sight we're talking earlier about duchess of cornwall having taking on the rifles and of course um the duchess of cambridge took over um patrick of the raf air cadets from phillip that was her first military patronage william of course uh builds and trust so and the cadets among the cadets here today he was colonel in chief of the army cadets i think it's a very nice touch that as we said earlier that you had all the the rich military ritual at his funeral but here today we've got the other end of the the services spectrum the cadets the the service men and women of tomorrow she's an absolutely natural isn't she princess charlotte lovely image really nice nice smiles and a firm handshake yeah so the duke and duchess cambridge and the children going to make their way down into the choir through the choir [Music] and right down to the furthest end of the abbey just about and they'll wait there for the arrival of the queen i think it's fair to say robert just uh and android that you know this is a moment where we reflect on the fact as indeed the prince of wales and the duchess have two on the fact that her majesty is doing remarkably well given the challenges that she's faced not just with covid recently but um with to do with mobility i suppose i think mobility is is the issue mobility and also i think dignity is terribly important to her majesty you know she wants to look the part she wants to look like a queen um and and you know that's why during this pandemic i think it's been great that we've been able to see her at work i mean who'd have thought zoom would play a part in all these video conferencing there are other ones available i know uh uh in in royal life they're they're they're the prince and the the dutchess coming through through the choir up to and they'll see their their uh their cousins their german cousins on the left and their family on the right but just to explain to viewers joining us from home and uh wherever you're watching um the great west door has now been closed the choir is coming in james o'donnell there who's the organist and uh director of music master of the foresters westminster abbey um the the west doors have been closed because their majesty will not be coming into the west doors that we're familiar with um she'll be coming in through a different entrance so that the walk is slightly less onerous and that's we all understand that yes it's the it's the route she took when she came to the abbey for the centenary of the royal british legion last autumn um through uh what they call poet's corner it's a much shorter route um of course no one has attended more events in the abbey i think probably in its history than the queen but she knows every part of it so i don't think she'll she'll she'll get lost [Music] we expect the queen to be arriving within just a few minutes time but as robert was saying this of course is the glorious setting of the queen's wedding to prince philip back in 1947 the great services to mark the jubilees the silver jubilee golden and diamond jubilee it really is a great arc of british history it is green represents kind of continuity and stability that is unmatched in the history of the british monarchy the longest-lived longest reigning monarch in british history and and and so much of that royal history is unfolded in inside these walls and uh and it is looking magnificent today it's it's wonderful that it's there there's a full house but i mean look at the flowers we just see there you know red white and blue and as roya said earlier you know references to the wedding bouquet i mean there are so many little links to the past here [Music] the formal procession of clergy which will precede the start of the service of thanksgiving organ played by peter holder sub-organist and then matthew george who is the assistant organist playing some of the lovely pieces by vidor and bach and percy whitlock lorne williams wagner and thomas bergerson we expect the state trumpeters of the household cavalry to make their way into the abbey at any moment and they will sound the fanfare to signal the queen's arrival [Music] passing the altar and they will line up to face the abbey face the great organ screen the choir and down through the nave to that west door it's a magnificent site [Music] so [Music] so so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] in westminster abbey where he made promises that defined a life of willing duty and spirited service we give thanks for his royal highness the prince philip duke of edinburgh a man of rare ability and distinction rightly honoured and celebrated he ever directed our attention away from himself he put privilege to work and understood his rank as a spurt of service working at pace with so many claims on his attention he encouraged us to focus as he was focused on the things that matter his was a discipline and character that seized opportunity and overcame obstruction and difficulty we recall with affection and respect the sustained offering of a long life lived fully acknowledging our loss we turn to the god who is our help for he will renew our hope in grateful remembrance of the prince philip we then commit ourselves to live as he lived in faith in the service of her majesty and with a greater reverence for our world and our neighbors let us pray in the words that jesus taught us our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation that deliver us from evil good morning everyone my name is dwayne sonibar and i started the duke of edinburgh's award when i was 15. i previously heard about the award but i never applied until my mom encouraged me to she's strict and nigerian so it's very difficult to say no to her i wasn't completely sold on the idea at first i was happy i could learn new skills and build upon interests such as learning how to drive and playing netball but i was worried about the expedition i grew up in east london and had never been camping before i also had a fear of climbing steep hills i kept thinking i was going to trip up roll down the mountain and its lights out for doyin fortunately for me that didn't happen my friend constantly said you're not going to fall and if you do i'm right behind you that was so comforting the support of my team and our ability to communicate and work well together resulted in us successfully completing our expedition i remember thinking to myself if i could complete this expedition i can do anything even though at the time i was 18 and unsure about my future i decided to apply to several gap year schemes and landed my first job as a program coordinator at ibm i formally enjoyed my work but i wasn't ready to hang up my education hack just yet so i attended the university of essex during the summer my old manager who was aware of my involvement in the duke of edinburgh's award invited me to help set up a work experience program for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds this program is still in effect till this very day a few years later i completed my degree and returned on the graduate scheme which enabled me to develop my professional skills and pursue my interest in health research over the years the award remains a prominent part of my life from encouraging more young women to pursue careers in technology to partake in the do it for youth campaign as captain for london in october i started a new job as an account executive at ultrix selling data and analytics automation software to clients i also began a phd in sickle cell research and health inequalities at brunel university london looking back i'm thrilled with how far i've come but most importantly so was my mum so how did i get my first job at 18 without any professional experience the duke of edinburgh's award all the answers in my cv and interview were all related to the work i'd previously done with the award give an example of where you've shown teamwork skills my expedition in wales give an example of where you've taken initiative i had to fundraise for my volunteering trip to the gambia it all links back to the award which actually links back to the golden word opportunity on reflection i never thought i could do half the things i've done in the last decade yet i've been able to do so because of the opportunities presented to me in 1956 when the duke of edinburgh created the award he had a vision to create a program which supported the development of young people all over the world today you've learned how his legacy has impacted me and how it will continue to impact future generations to come the world has been through so much turmoil and in these times it is so important to show our support to young people to encourage them opportunities and empower them to reach their full potential thank you to whom then will you liken me or shall i be equal saith the holy one lift up your eyes on high and behold who hath created these things that bringeth out their host by number he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might for that he is strong in power not one faileth why says thou o jacob and speakest o israel my way is head from the lord and my judgment is passed over from my god hast thou not known hast thou not heard that the everlasting god the lord the creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not neither is weary there is no searching of his understanding he giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint thanks be to god [Music] is [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] jesus [Music] jesus christ [Music] rejoice in the lord alway and again i say rejoice let your moderation be known unto all men the lord is at hand be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto god and the peace of god which path is all understanding shall keep your hearts and mind through jesus christ finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good repute if there is any virtue and if there be any praise think upon these things those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do and the god of peace shall be with you thanks be to god [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] uh foreign [Music] [Music] oh so foreign [Music] oh so [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] you [Music] [Music] there's no discouragement shall make him once relent his first avowed intent to be a pilgrim these are john bunyan's words from our opening hymn they remind us very much of the courage integrity steadfastness and sense of purpose that were part of the intriguing and attractive mix that went to make up the personality of prince philip duke of edinburgh but in what was it all rooted in 1947 prince philip was made a knight of the order of the garcher on the back of his stall in saint george's chapel windsor castle is fixed in perpetuity and for everyone to see a small enameled brass plate on which is inscribed his motto it is simply god is my help we do not understand the man unless we see him at the heart to be a man of faith that faith was never dogmatic sentimental or paraded and as it went in search of understanding it was frequently questioned and examined however it was real and it endured inspiring and shaping a lifetime of commitment to the making of this world a better place i'm not sure that prince philip had much time for the theological controversies that divide people his faith was a heartfelt trust in a loving god whose intention for this world is glimpsed in the life and teaching of jesus christ such trust such hope as could unite people in a common endeavor this trust this hope was not idle wishful thinking or escapism rather it evoked in him a kind of impatience eagerness for that god-intended future upon which his gaze was always fixed he knew however that that future from any human point of view had to be arrived at step by step he was practical wanting to put flesh upon his dreams and acknowledging the limitations of living in this so-called real world he devoted his astonishing intellectual and physical energy his enormous capacity for sheer hard work to a host of down-to-earth enterprises these included the equipping of young people to face tomorrow's challenges the encouragement of respect and care for the natural order and his pioneering work in facilitating conversation between representatives of the different world faiths through his passionate commitment he drew others to himself in admiration and respect and in the case of those who lived and worked most closely to him genuine love however i sense that he did not believe that all these achievements were made in his own strength i'm reminded of those words god is my help i think he understood his constant need of inspiration and of guidance i'm quite sure that his prayers were not reserved for public occasions alone he would hate to think that i should paint a picture of him as a plaster saint someone without the usual human foibles and failings he was far too self-aware ever to be taken in by flattery of course it must be said that his life bore the marks of sacrifice and service certainly he could show great sympathy and kindness there's no doubt that he had a delightfully engaging and often self-deprecating sense of humor it's quite clear that his mind held together both speculation and common sense moreover nobody would ever doubt his loyalty and deep devotion to our queen and to their family yet there were times when he could be abrupt maybe in robust conversation forgetting just how intimidating he could be a kind of natural reserve sometimes made him seem a little distant he could be somewhat sharp in pricking what he thought to be bubbles of pomposity or on the other hand we should not forget that he himself was sometimes wounded by being unfairly criticized or misunderstood like the rest of us he was part of flawed humanity unlike most of us however he was one of those rare people who remained true to and guided by what you might call an inner spiritual compass a sense of being called to play a part in the making of a god-intended world as we give thanks for the life of a remarkable man perhaps our greatest tribute to him most especially in these far too troubled times will be for us to accept the challenge implicit in his life to rekindle in our hearts something of that call and to pray as i think he did for the inspiration and the guidance to play our part however small in working for a kinder future first oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] oh so [Music] [Music] he told him [Music] is sharpness [Music] is [Music] [Applause] okay oh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] uh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] to keep us [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] let us give thanks to almighty god for the life and work of the prince philip duke of edinburgh and pray for all who honor his legacy and continue his work let us give thanks for his service as concerts lead man of life and limb and of earthly worship to her majesty for his devotion to family to nation and to commonwealth for his strength and constancy o father of all we pray thee for those whom we love but no longer see no longer grant them thy peace let light perpetua shine upon them and in thy loving wisdom and almighty power work in them the good purpose of thy perfect will through jesus christ our lord let us give thanks for his energy and spirit of adventure for his work with the young to discover new skills and serve their communities let us pray especially for the work of cadet forces and all engaged in the duke of edinburgh's award teach us good lord to serve thee as our deservest to give and not to count the cost to fight and not to heed the wounds to toil and not to seek for rest to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do thy will through jesus christ our lord amen let us give thanks for his work in conservation and the good stewardship of the environment in bringing together people of many faiths and in the work of the worldwide fund for nature almighty god whose loving hand have given us all that we possess in creation grant us grace that we may honor thee with our substance and remembering the account which we must one day give may be faithful stewards of thy bounty through jesus christ our lord amen let us give thanks for his gifts of character for his humor and resilience his fortitude and devotion to duty that we may follow his good example in the service of our fellows o lord god when thou give us to thy servants to endeavor any great matter grant us also to know that it is not the beginning but the continuing of the same unto the end until it be thoroughly finished which yieldeth the true glory through him who for the finishing of thy work laid down his life our redeemer jesus christ amen let us give thanks to our heavenly father for all his blessings and mercies and dedicate ourselves anew to his service almighty god father of all mercies we thin unworthy servants to give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving kindness to us and to all men we bless thee for our creation preservation and all the blessings of this life but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our lord jesus christ for the means of grace and for the hope of glory and we beseech thee give us that due sense of all thy mercies that our hearts may be unfairly thankful and that we show forth thy praise not only with our lips but in our lives by giving up ourselves to thy service and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days through jesus christ our lord to whom with thee and the holy ghost be all honor and glory world without it [Music] oh uh [Music] you [Music] foreign [Music] uh [Music] [Music] god grant to the living grace to the departed rest to the church the queen the commonwealth and to all people peace and concord and to us sinners life everlasting and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be amongst you and remain with you now and always amen [Music] oh foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] dean of westminster approaching her majesty the queen to escort her majesty towards speakers the deputy speaker of the commons and the lord speaker and over to poet's corner which is uh the route taken by the queen into the abbey today majesty being escorted out as she was escorted in by the duke of york [Music] royal family having heard the tribute of the duke of windsor beg your pardon the dean of windsor and the queen will be heading back to windsor after this service at poet's corner the queen will be just greeting the gold award winner who spoke earlier at the start of the service [Music] and spoke very eloquently about her experience and the way in which the duke of edinburgh awards scheme had helped her and inspired her listen to her interest in the queen smiling and acknowledging the contribution and the dean of windsor who gave that wonderful tribute arm-in-arm with prince andrew the duke of york in a rare public appearance for him after the settling of that legal case in the states a few weeks ago [Music] the prince of wales duchess of cornwall acknowledging the smiles of the distinguished guests under the lantern there beyond the choir duke and duchess of cornwall duchess of cornwall having made their way towards the screen and now the duke and duchess of cambridge with their children the procession of clergy [Music] the superb military musicians who've been taking part today the fanfare before the national anthem founded by the fanfare team from the central band of the royal air force as the senior royals making their way to the west door of the abbey [Music] the queen has already left on our way back to windsor where we understand she may be meeting some of the guests who have been at the service today prince of wales thanking the clergy and james o'donnell there the director of music at the abbey for their wonderful contribution to the service [Music] bells of westminster abbey sounding out once again and signaling that this service of thanksgiving has come to an end [Music] the queen of course will be celebrating her 96th birthday next month on the 21st of april and we look forward to returning in early june uh to those platinum jubilee celebrations marking a rain without equal of 70 years but for now from all of the bbc team at westminster abbey thank you for watching and goodbye [Music] you

Channel: Political TV

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Length: 113min 39sec (6819 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 29 2022