Philip Battenburg as he was, did extremely well for himself. Born into a royal family, he spent the first decade and more trolling around Europe at the behest of one penniless family after another.
Still, he had a title and as far as I know, he did no harm.
In the end, he was married to our Queen for 73 years and died just over a week ago. I am not so churlish as to rubbish the man and his life since it was a life of service and he worked hard at what he did. The Queen is bound to be devastated and it may well have an effect on her own longevity since couples who have been together so long often go together. One dying in the morning and the other in the afternoon is not so uncommon.
They are now using the term Grandfather of the Nation and I reject that: he was never that. It's like the soubriquet National Treasure. He wasn't that either. A national treasure emerges over many years and, possibly, for many reasons. To my mind, no one ever appoints a national treasure: they appear by osmosis.
I never ask that anyone rests in peace since that suggests something that I do not believe. I do like to use this phrase, however
Ave atque vale, Philip: hail and farewell!
DW
17th April 2021
