Prince Philip, from an foreigner's perspective

[Kishkashta]

I am not English, but have been living here for quite a while. And I just don't get what all the fuss is about with prince Philip.

Every single article I read (there are a lot of them lately...) mentions his unconventional personality and sense of humor. But the thing is, from my experience, this is just cookie cutter behavior of the (especially older male) members of the British upper class. These politically incorrect jokes that kind of just stir the water a bit and slightly off kilter behavior. I just find it weird how in these articles it is presented as something unique about him whereas in reality all these stories are just something that describes essentially his class rather than his personality.

Also I don't know how anybody can take seriously the attempts to paint his life as full of hardships (had to give up his "Navy career" to support the Queen - the only reason he had his kind of career is obviously his background and marriage, etc).

To me, from these descriptions, he just seems to be an extremely ordinary person who literally did nothing special other than existing until age 99...

Is there something I don't get about this?

MythicalBiologicalFennel

but didn't you know that forriners are not allowed to express opinions about anything British? Tut tut.

The only people that are of this view appear to be the ones that support the OP.

HeadNorth - In what way has the 8 days of mourning affected your life? Nothing has been imposed upon me.

In what way has the 8 days of mourning affected your life? Nothing has been imposed upon me
Do several threads on here complaining about various impositions that were not impositions (in other words entirely optional) count?

how long before someone says "but you don't have to open them, you could scroll on by" without seeing the irony?

Prince Philip shot a tiger in India the same year he became president of the World Wildlife Fund UK.

It says it all.

Philip and the Queen shook hands with Martin McGuiness after the IRA murdered Louis Mountbatten. That's all I have to say.

@derxa I admired them so much that day.

Lauren It was all remarkable. Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness becoming the Chuckle Brothers. I wish people would just stop fighting.

@derxa I admired them so much that day.

Me too. Not sure I could have done it.

If Nicola Sturgeon can give a touching and dignified tribute to Prince Philip then surely you can OP. Hats off Nicola.

@derxa

Philip and the Queen shook hands with Martin McGuiness after the IRA murdered Louis Mountbatten. That's all I have to say.

Yes, that was incredible. So admirable.

I think that was the day I began to soften my republicanism slightly and give some of them some credit.

I agree OP. Child of immigrants here and I cringe at the accolades being awarded to this man when the rest of us knew he was known for making racist comments which are now being rebranded as 'gaffes'. I'm not a royalist (biggest bunch of benefit seeking twats) but do like the queen. Having said that, PP did have a horrible childhood and teen years. It's heartbreaking but his uncle (who has a lot to answer for making a hash out of the partition in India) managed to get him into the role which gave him the stability he so badly needed in his early and teen years. I think the Queen has been his rock (as she claims he was hers) and he played his role to perfection. Regardless, he's died now and I hope he RIP.

@derxa

If Nicola Sturgeon can give a touching and dignified tribute to Prince Philip then surely you can OP. Hats off Nicola.

I was shocked to find myself unable to disagree with something she said.

This is why all the programmes on TV about him were educational. Many people like yourself seem to have no clue about his life.

So the whole of the Troubles were a paedophile revenge mission? 🤔 Is this a script you’re writing @JaneJeffer 🙄

@RickiTarr

So the whole of the Troubles were a paedophile revenge mission? 🤔 Is this a script you’re writing *@JaneJeffer* 🙄

One incident does not encompass "the whole of the troubles"

Well the IRA took responsibility for that incident. So what? We’re they lying? Moonlighting?

Were not we’re.

the IRA took responsibility for that incident
Yes

You’ve lost me @JaneJeffer

From an Irish Times article about Andrew Lownie who wrote a biography of Mountbatten:
"Closer to home, Lownie interviews in the book two men who were teenagers at the time of Mountbatten’s death. One was from the notoriouss* Kincora Boys’ Home, in Belfast, which has been at the centre of allegations of a paedophile ring involving well-connected men. The other claimed to have met Mountbatten four times that summer at Classiebawn.
Lownie says he had heard allegations of Mountbatten’s paedophilia but was inclined to dismiss them as rumours. “I came to the book with no view. I followed the evidence,” he says.
He suggests the IRA may have killed Mountbatten because of the allegations that he was a paedophile rather than because of his position in the British Empire. “There were a lot of IRA people in that area. I am pretty sure they knew [the rumours]. They could have killed him any time in the last 30 years” of his life."
Do you get it now?

@JaneJeffer is the paedophile ring similar to the ones that supposedly existed in Westminster and all through the government.
The IRA saw an easy target of an old man and some kids and took it. Don't devalue their death with your bullshit conspiracy theories.

[quote TooOldandTired]@JaneJeffer is the paedophile ring similar to the ones that supposedly existed in Westminster and all through the government.
The IRA saw an easy target of an old man and some kids and took it. Don't devalue their death with your bullshit conspiracy theories.
[/quote]
I didn't come up with the theory.

Interesting that so many people mention the Commonwealth.
The majority of Australians want a republic (under the Queen, never mind Prince Charles who most see as a pompous fool).
The stumbling block is that is no model that suits yet and there is no urgency.
Perhaps the outpouring of grief is a realisation from many, for better or worse, that the world will change.
For now there is no Prince Phillip, in ten years there will be no Queen and conceivably, unless things change radically, no commonwealth in 20 years.

He suggests the IRA may have killed Mountbatten because of the allegations that he was a paedophile rather than because of his position in the British Empire. “There were a lot of IRA people in that area. I am pretty sure they knew [the rumours]. They could have killed him any time in the last 30 years” of his life."
Do you get it now?

No. The IRA were incredibly clear about their mission and motivation. They only branched out into lucrative criminal activities that would fund their main mission. Not into general vengeance for other crimes, real or imagined. It doesn’t really hang together.

If you’ve raised the illogical theory by the book chap just to air those allegations about Mountbatten, you might as well have cut to the chase.

Prince Philip shook hands with the guys who had claimed responsibility for his uncle’s murder. They were nationalistic terrorists. That’s what they did and why.