East Lothian pays tribute to Prince Philip

Prince Philip died last Friday at the age of 99. In East Lothian, flags were lowered at local authority buildings across the county. The flags will remain at half mast until after the funeral.

East Lothian Provost John McMillan; Roderick Urquhart, the new Lord Lieutenant of East Lothian; and Michael Williams, Mr Urquhart’s predecessor, were among those paying tribute.

Mr McMillan said: “The Duke of Edinburgh throughout his life exemplified the values of public service.

“Like many of his generation, he experienced active service during the Second World War, serving within the Royal Navy, before marrying HM The Queen in 1947 and embarking on a role as consort supporting her throughout her reign.

“I had the pleasure of meeting the Duke of Edinburgh at a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and can attest to his keen observations and sharp sense of humour.

“His passing in his 100th year concludes a remarkable era of history in which he witnessed, or had first-hand experience, of so many global and societal changes.

“He leaves a major legacy in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, which many young people across East Lothian have taken part in and gained personal achievement as a result.”

The Queen and Prince Philip with the Provost of Haddington, Fraser Spowage, on the steps of Haddington Town House in July 1973. Image: East Lothian Council Archives, John Gray Centre

Mr Urquhart said: “It was with considerable sadness that I learned of the death of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and, on behalf of the communities here in East Lothian, I offer our deepest condolences to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their loss.

“Listening to the many tributes, we are reminded of the invaluable role he played in supporting HM The Queen, and his extraordinary service to the nation. I have also been privileged to see at first hand on many occasions his dedication to Her Majesty on a range of public duties, as well as the personal causes he so strongly championed, including his award scheme, which benefitted so very many recipients.

“During this time of sadness, we should also reflect and celebrate his many achievements during a lifetime of public service.”

Michael Williams, who was Lord Lieutenant for East Lothian until last month, said: “I met him on several occasions and I have a huge admiration for him, particularly for his work with young people.

“What a legacy to have five million-plus young people in the world having done his award.

“That is what really struck me on every occasion I met him, he just exuded an aura of ‘I want to meet you, I’m interested in meeting you’ and he had a wonderful sense of humour.

“He was somebody you would never forget meeting and every one of those meetings I remember quite vividly.”

Mr Williams was a depute lord lieutenant when the Queen and Prince Philip visited the Lamp of Lothian Trust in July 2007 when the organisation was marking its 40th anniversary.

Nearly 160 centre users, guests, trustees and staff showed the royal party round the buildings in Haddington.

He was also on hand to greet the royal party when they attended Musselburgh Racecourse in 2016.

The visit was the highlight of the racecourse’s Bi-Centenary Raceday.

Mr Williams said harness racing had been put on for the Duke of Edinburgh to enjoy on the day. He added: “He just noticed everything.”

Those at the racecourse remember his visit well. Sarah Montgomery, senior operations and commercial manager at Musselburgh Racecourse, said: “Bill Farnsworth was hosting The Queen and I hosted the Duke of Edinburgh. Most of the visit I was by his side, keeping my fingers crossed I didn’t put my foot in it.

“We were obviously quite nervous and there was not a lot of information as to what you should and shouldn’t talk about but he was very nice. Both of them made it very easy in terms of putting you at ease.

“He was particularly interested in the history, not just of the racecourse, but also of the golf course. I think he had anticipated coming for just a race day, but we had gathered a lot of historical information about the racecourse and the golf course and he was very interested in both.

“The impression I got was that he was a keen sportsman, but perhaps racing was not his first love, it was The Queen’s, and he was more interested in talking to people.

“He did enjoy it – The Queen had a runner, and I got a bit carried away when we thought her horse was going to win. I screamed quite loudly and he found it very funny that I felt quite embarrassed about getting carried away.

“He was humorous; he was looking to engage in conversation with people but to talk about off-beat subjects. He was trying to always personalise the situation and to put people at ease.

“The Royal couple came down jointly from the Queen’s Stand to be involved in the presentation of The Bi-Centenary Cup, and they spoke to members of the team in the parade ring before they left. He was not bothered about being involved in the presentation, he wanted to speak to the groundstaff and office staff who were lined up, and he took the time to do that.

“We all really enjoyed the fact that they seemed to enjoy their visit to Musselburgh and we were chuffed to bits to have them as guests. It was a bit of a coup for Musselburgh Racecourse and a town of Musselburgh’s size to have a visit from the Royal Family. On behalf of our staff, our customers and everyone connected to the racecourse, we would like to send our sincere condolences to Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family at this sad time.”

Young footballers from Musselburgh Windsor Football Club were in attendance when the royal couple visited Haddington in 2007, with Prince Philip, who was president of the Football Association from 1955 to 1957, keen to find out more about the club.

Scott Robertson, president of Musselburgh Windsor Football Club, met Prince Philip during that visit.

The Duke had been due to open the club’s new changing facilities at Pinkie but they were not ready in time.

Instead, representatives of the club were invited to Haddington, where they met both HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Mr Robertson described him as “fairly friendly, smiley and quite down to earth”. He said: “I found him a fairly relaxed chap that just took his time.

“He did not, funnily enough, seem to have any airs or graces.”

Iain Gray, who steps down as East Lothian’s MSP next month, told the Courier: “I met Prince Philip a few times, and even sat next to him at lunch once.

“I always found him good company, engaging and funny.

“My most memorable encounter, though, was during the visit of Pope Benedict to Scotland in 2010. In the long receiving line at Holyrood Palace, I was placed next to Annabel Goldie, then leader of the Scottish Conservatives. The Queen and the Pope passed by, followed some way behind by the Duke of Edinburgh.

“He grabbed the tartan tie I was wearing and asked: ‘What’s this?’ I explained it was a tartan especially commissioned for the Papal visit, and all male MSPs had been presented with one.

“He turned to Annabel and said: ‘What about you, then? Are you wearing knickers in this tartan?’ and strolled off, leaving her spluttering and speechless in his wake!”

Lesley Brown, executive director for education and children’s services at East Lothian Council, said individual schools would decide how to discuss the death of the Duke of Edinburgh with pupils when they returned to classes next week.

She said: “A number of pupils will be involved or have been involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards scheme and I would expect discussions to be held. It will be down to the individual schools.”

A virtual book of condolences is also available through the council. To leave your tribute, go to eastlothian.gov.uk/hrh-duke-of-edinburgh