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?

His naval career actually continued after his marriage to Princess Elizabeth - they moved to Malta with Charles and Anne and lived a fairly "normal" military family life for a while - they would hold dinner parties with other officers and their wives, the Princess would drive herself around the island to visit the hairdresser, etc. They fully anticipated following the naval life for a good 10-20 years as King George was only in his 50s at the time. Sadly he became ill with lung cancer and they had to return to the UK to take on more royal responsibilities, including the overseas trip they were sent on during which the King died and Elizabeth ascended to the throne.

@tonystarksrighthand

He married the Queen of England.

Maybe educate yourself around the British Monarchy.

Do you mean the Queen of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and some other places)?

On another point, as I understand it the RN has always promoted on merit, as opposed to the Army, where you used to be able to buy a commission.

Bless Philip. He's still able to stir up hornet's nests even in death.

Meghan, is that you?

I agree with OP that PP's achievements and the 'remarkable life' news coverage are exaggerated. But so what? Speaking as a foreigner, I feel it's not my place to have strong opinions on the Royals. Beyond that, he did hugely better at his roles & job than I would have done. I can admire him for that.

Ill-informed. Technically, at the start of WW2, he was a national of a neutral country (Greece) and didn't have to fight at all. Instead, he joined the Royal Navy and spent years on one dangerous posting after another, including North Atlantic convoys and the Battles of Crete and Sicily. Mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and initiative, fondly remembered by crewmates.

By all means criticise him for his dubious sense of humour and his prejudices, but his Naval career was clearly extremely promising and he showed coolness and courage far beyond what most of us could manage in similar circumstances, I'd say.

Being foreign doesn't mean you have to bow to all things establishment you know., at least in a democratic country such as the UK.

It's not bowing to refrain from insulting institutions in the country that allowed you to live there. I find that pretty crass and impolite.

@TheSpottedZebra

Well his uncle was head of the Navy so it's not a stretch to think that that helped his career. Also, the fact he was a Prince from birth.

He joined the Navy at the start of WW2 when he was 18, and took part in active service throughout the war - not something to be dismissed with claims of nepotism.

Bit rude OP.

@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?

Jesus wept. You must be really thick. In most Royal families this would be a fairly big event - but it's sort of on the scale with Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Consort, Prince Albert, dying, though of course very different times.

He may not have had hardships per se (wealthy) but was certainly displaced and had to leave his homeland and travel to another country to live.

An older Jamaican man summed it up when he said himself and people of his generation felt he'd brought other countries (like Jamaica with black population) to feel equal (as part of commonwealth etc) with Duke of Edinburgh award. Even today in news last week all cultures were interviewed doing this award and saying how inclusive it was and thanks to him.

Yes, he's part old boy network - you can't deny that, part of his upbringing, hard to break out of or ignore, he'd be damned if he did or didn't ignore that.

His humour apparently was to break the ice, apparently the Queen was very shy and on walkabouts he was in front of her saying hello to the public.

Contrast with other younger family members who can't be bothered and bugger off to America to make money.

whether or not his titles and connections helped his career, I imagine the bullets and bombs didnt do a swift uturn towards the nearest lowly rating/squaddie when they saw him, same goes for Harry.

Since the beginning of March five aboriginal Australians have died in custody.
The deceased were all young people with typically many years left to live. The aboriginal culture is one of the richest on earth but has been severely disrupted by colonialism.
99 year olds die all the time, it’s difficult to understand why it’s of so much interest.
What should be filling newspapers is not fawning stories about Prince Phillip (especially here in Australia) when we’ve already had the same apologist account of his racist and insensitive behaviour for several days now.

Re women give up their careers for their husbands all the time.

Yes they do.

It is thus far more remarkable that Philip, a man, did this for his wife, and in the 1950s.

@EverythingRuined

OP, I am British but I really don’t understand the fuss. I’ve nothing against him but I do not feel sad that he has died as I didn’t know him. I am always sorry for family members when a loved one dies but my sorrow for the Queen is no more than the sorry I feel for the family members of all those thousands of people who have died of COVID this past 12 months. He had a fantastically privileged life. He lived to be 99. That’s not bad going. There is no place in modern society for royal families. It’s an antiquated concept that needs to disappear.

Agree with this statement. I feel for his family at a personal level and empathise with their grief. But I don't agree with the monarchy and as such don't believe any member of the royal family deserves any more attention than anyone else who has died.

@TashieWoo

Meghan, is that you?

Yep, whatever the problem Meghan is the source. Dump the world's problems on Meghan, surely she is the reason

More Mysoginoir

Wow the bootlicking on this thread is off the charts. OP much like you I don't really get the fuss either but I'd absolutely love to be a royal - never having to do any work and being fawned over. Fancy an egg McMuffin at 3am in the morning and it's yours!

@Freshprincess

Compare him to the Queen who has never expressed an opinion about anything ever.

I think he’s had a pretty interesting life, and I imagine most men in late 80s/90s have some stories to tell.

I’m not royalist at all, and have watched less than an hour of the tributes. The press particularly the BBC seem to have over estimated the level of interest in him IMO.

As far as I know, much as the Queen would love to express an opinion, she's not allowed to... or not generally, part of the job?!

Thanks for the comments, some of which were very interesting, in various ways.

Maybe just to clarify - I don't mean to say Prince Philip was a bad or somehow unworthy character. I personally never even met him, and I would hate to claim something like this about someone I didn't know, especially recently deceased.

My comments are purely about the media portrayal which is what I and most of us know.

I hear you OP. It was a diplomatic role. All he had to do was smile and not offend people, and most of the coverage I remember about him in the 80s/90s was one howler after another, before someone seems to have had a quiet word and told him to button it. It was embarrassing that he was supposed to be representing our country and yet his attitudes were so out of date. I know he was from another generation but so is the Queen and she knows exactly what to say and when to not say anything.

@VladmirsPoutine

Wow the bootlicking on this thread is off the charts. OP much like you I don't really get the fuss either but I'd absolutely love to be a royal - never having to do any work and being fawned over. Fancy an egg McMuffin at 3am in the morning and it's yours!

what bootlicking?

I'm guessing the people replying live here and either do or don't hold a British passport.

The work they do, ok doesn't seem like hard work to most people but travelling, attending dinners, charity work etc is certainly work, as the younger RF members who try to do as little as possible are aware.

He was quite an interesting character actually - lively and funny and intense. I heard him speaking (to someone else) in the flesh and he was quite sharp and to the point and his sharpness made me wince. Offensive - probably. Ordinary - definitely not.

My visually impaired mate thinks the comment about tie was absolutely hilarious.

@Kishkashta

Thanks for the comments, some of which were very interesting, in various ways.

Maybe just to clarify - I don't mean to say Prince Philip was a bad or somehow unworthy character. I personally never even met him, and I would hate to claim something like this about someone I didn't know, especially recently deceased.

My comments are purely about the media portrayal which is what I and most of us know.

My stepdad met him a few times at dinners as patron of Maritime Museum of this country. Said he was a nice enough person and likeable.

Public speaking at dinners (stepdad had to do this) is actually quite taxing especially if you're not confident or that type.

Just because it is not the same kind of career an ordinary person could enjoy if we enlisted in the Navy.

Essentially his military career seems to be an attribute of his social position, much like Prince Harry's military career.

TBF, you’re entirely wrong there.