As gunfire marks the passing of a Queen’s consort who still in his nineties had a back as stiff as a ramrod, we recognise the value of endurance, of keeping right on to the end of the road. This may not be a glamorous virtue; it may degenerate into obstinacy; but without fortitude other merits may fail. When it is accompanied by good humour and a sense of place, endurance becomes attractive and exemplary.
Such a virtue also gives ballast to the concept of monarchy. A monarch with decades in office contributes stability to the nation over which she presides. A consort who underpins those decades advances the loyalty and affection that subjects vouchsafe to their Supreme Governor, to use the language of the Established Church.
Prince Philip made a role for himself after the manner of Prince Albert. The record of a long-serving Queen has been a familiarising factor in our understanding of monarchy. We may speak of a united kingdom but we welcome the proviso that such a unit may involve a female monarch. Experience sheds light on the way we think of headship within the Church and beyond it.
Thank you, Prince Philip.
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