The Duke of Edinburgh 1921 - 2021
This week the UK mourns the loss of the His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The consistency and resolute support Prince Philip gave the Queen was extraordinary. In her own words, “He has, quite simply, been my support and stay all these years”. Regardless of your views on the monarchy, I believe his dedicated service, predicated on his love for the Queen, is an example to us all. Not a perfect man, but a man who consistently put the needs of his wife (and our country), ahead of his own. A man who set aside his own career to support another’s. These qualities are those I wish to develop our children and are why I have shone a light on Prince Philip in my Headmaster’s Lessons this week.
Study of our modern monarchy falls between the cracks of the National Curriculum and many of our children knew very little of monarchy/The Royal Family beyond that reported in the media. I was delighted to oversee spirited debates about the powers of the King/Queen, wealth and opulence, celebrity lifestyles, and lines of succession. It was in the conversation surrounding future kings and queens that saw the greatest consensus. Pupils were agreed that choosing the eldest (male) child was no guarantee that the ‘best’ one was chosen, that gender should have no place in succession, and they were surprised that it was only as recently as 2011 that our constitution was changed by the Commonwealth to reflect this.
Our monarchy remains a special feature of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. I hope you will join me in a period of reflection at 2.45pm on Saturday when the minute guns will be fired and The Curfew Tower Bell tolls in Prince Philip’s memory.
Richard Murray
Headmaster
