IN HIS HONOUR
Boris Johnson hails Prince Philip’s ‘unfailing dedication’ & will consider permanent memorial
BORIS Johnson praised Prince Philip's "unfailing dedication" to Britain over his 99-year-life - and said the country would want a permanent memorial to him.
The PM thanked the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on Friday, for his "tireless" service to the Queen and "millions of young people around the world".
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The PM said this afternoon: "I know in due course the House and the country will want to consider a suitable memorial to him.
"He shaped and protected the monarchy through the last seven decades, and helped to modernise and continually adapt an institution that is above politics."
The PM said he gave us a "model of selflessness and putting others before ourselves".
Boris said: "He made this country a better place, and he will be remembered with gratitude with fondness for generations to come."
He hailed his "unfailing dedication to this country, to the economy" and through the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme "which touched the lives of millions across the globe."
He joked that the Duke "occasionally drove a coach and horses through the finer points of diplomatic protocol, and he coined a new word – dontopedalogy – for the experience of putting your foot in your mouth."
And he quipped that Prince Philip tried to be "at once politically incorrect and also ahead of his time".
The PM got his hair cut earlier today to smarten up for the occasion.
The session began this afternoon and is scheduled to run until up until 10pm with more than 100 MPs wanted to speak.
MPs are able to attend in person or on zoom, and have been asked to wear "appropriate" mourning clothes such as dark suits.
And peers in the Lords also held a special session to remember him.
Most were wearing black, including former PM Theresa May who donned a black mask too.
In a moving speech, she described him as "remarkable man" and paid tribute to his dedication to the environment.
She told an amusing anecdote when she was last at Balmoral and the Duke gave her and her husband a long walk to try out.
It turned out he usually went around the route in the car, she revealed with a smile.
And she also told how she couldn't find him to say goodbye before leaving - but eventually the pair discovered him tucked away in a back room watching the cricket.
Sir Keir Starmer praised the Duke as a "funny, engaging, warm and loving man."
He added: "Britain will not be the same in his absence... The Duke loved this country, and Britain loved him in return."
Ministers are expected to celebrate the Duke's long life and service and tell amusing anecdotes about meeting him.
Former Tory leader Lord Howard
The Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish parliaments are all also being recalled today to pay their respects to the Prince.
Nicola Sturgeon led the tributes at Holyrood from 11am, with Cardiff's assembly also sitting at the same time and Stormont an hour later, at noon.
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Political parties across the UK last week suspended all campaigning for a week to mark a period of mourning for Prince Philip - which is expected to be lifted on Wednesday.
But all Government business - including ministers on telly and any press conferences - will be cancelled for the whole week.
In an address outside No 10 on Friday afternoon, the PM praised the Duke's selfless sense of public service.
He said: "It was with great sadness that a short time ago I received word from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the age of 99.
"Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world.
"He was the longest serving consort in history, one of the last surviving people in this country to have served in the Second World War.
"At Cape Matapan, where he was mentioned in despatches for bravery and in the invasion of Sicily, where he saved his ship by his quick thinking.
"From that conflict he took an ethic of service that he applied throughout the unprecedented changes of the post-war era."
"Like the expert carriage driver he was he helped to steer the Royal Family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life."
The PM added: "With his Duke of Edinburgh award scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.
"We remember the Duke for all of this and above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty the Queen, not just as her consort - by her side every day of her reign - but as her husband, her strength and stay of more than 70 years.
"And it's to Her Majesty and her family that our nation's thoughts must turn today, because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather, and in recent years great grandfather."
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The royal was taken to London’s King Edward VII Hospital on February 16 after feeling unwell.
Two weeks later, he was transferred to St Bart’s Hospital for treatment for an infection and heart condition.
Buckingham Palace then announced on Tuesday, March 16 he had been released from hospital and was in "good spirits" and "comfortable".
Philip had dedicated his life to the Queen and tragically died just before his 100th birthday in June this year.
And his death comes after a turmoil-filled 12 months for the royals after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry quit the royal family.
Prince Philip has been one of the hardest working royals - since 1952 he attended 22,219 solo engagements and 637 overseas tours in a career marked by his famous gaffes, wit and wisdom.
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He had retired from his public duties at the age of 96 in 2017 after 65 years of public life.
But despite retiring, the Royal last year issued a message of thanks to NHS workers facing the coronavirus pandemic.
He also made a rare appearance in public to pass on his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles to Camilla Parker Bowles.
In recent years, the duke had recently struggled with ill-health, spending time in hospital before Christmas in 2019 following a fall.
He was also involved in a car crash in January 2019 after his vehicle collided with another vehicle near the Sandringham estate.
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His health scares have included heart problems, arthritis, abdominal surgery and bladder infections.
In April 2018 he had a hip replacement operation but had recovered well for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding a month later.
The royal was born on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, to parents Princess Anne of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
Soon after his birth, his family was banished from Greece and as a baby he was carried onto a British naval vessel in an orange crate.
He then went onto be educated at The Elms then onto Cheam School before going to school in Germany.
Philip then became a cadet at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth before making his way up the ranks in the Royal Navy.
In 1942, he became first lieutenant of HMS Wallace, and at 21-years-old was one of the youngest first lieutenants in the Royal Navy
He married Elizabeth in 1947 at Westminster Abbey, described as her "constant strength", after the pair met at the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Prince George, Duke of Kent, in 1934.
The royal pair then went on to have four children together - Charles, Prince of Wales, born 1948; Anne, Princess Royal, born 1950; Andrew, Duke of York, born 1960; and Edward, Earl of Wessex, born 1964.
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They have eight grandchildren: Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louse Windsor, and James, Viscount Severn.
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They have another eight great-grandchildren including Savannah Phillips, Isla Phillips, Prince George, Mia Tindall, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Lena Tindall, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and August Philip Brooksbank.
Their latest great-grandson August, the son of Princess Eugenie and husband Jack, was given the middle name Philip in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh.
His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh passes aged 99
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