He was a dedicated family man in order to support the Queen's need to serve the country.

When Diana died, he was all about his grandsons - when William was hesitant to walk in the procession to the funeral in front of the public and the media, he was known to have said something like "If I walk, will you walk with me?" - that is why both William and Harry walked in the procession with their father, uncle, and grandfather. Philip had lost his own mother at an early age.

Yes, his wit sometimes failed him, but his unrelenting support of his family says a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by NK402:
In some ways, he made the best of a bad situation. Class act.

Marrying a lady who becomes the titular head of a peaceful and democratic organisation containing over a quarter of the world's population is some kind of a 'bad situation'?

There are now 54 countries in the Commonwealth, with a combined population of 2.4 billion. More than 60 per cent of that population is aged 29 or under. The combined GDP of Commonwealth countries was estimated at $10.4 trillion in 2017 and is predicted to reach $13 trillion in 2020.6

Your comment needs some kind of explanation, I think.

One memory that stands out for me about Prince Philip:
During the Falklands War, Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot on a British Aircraft Carrier. The ship was to sail to take part in the fighting.

The Queen interceded to get her son reassigned to desk duty in London. Andrew was incensed when told the news and said he would resign from the Navy if he couldn't serve with his comrades.

Prince Philip had to take Andrew's part and make the Queen understand that their son was going to go and she couldn't stop him.

The Queen understood that would make the ship a target of all of Argentina's resources just to destroy that single ship. She's not a stupid woman.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
The Queen understood that would make the ship a target of all of Argentina's resources just to destroy that single ship. She's not a stupid woman.

It was an aircraft carrier, 1 of 2. Argentina was quite aware that without one or both, the task force was doomed to failure, and the islands would remain in their hands. Prince Andrew's presence on the ship was neither here nor there as far as targeting was concerned.