Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh

COUNCILLORS paid their own tributes to Prince Philip at the first all member meeting since the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Amid 15 minutes of tributes, Conservative group leader Councillor Oliver Cooper said there had been a discussion about whether members should say some words in his memory.

“One of the points that was raised is that there was no precedent. There was no guidebook,” he told the meeting.

“And of course, how could that be? Prince Philip had served us, as a country,  and served the Queen, as her husband and consort, not just a long period of time – not just long as anyone can remember – but longer than any human in 10,000 years of recorded history.”

He added: “No consort of any monarch in any country had served with distinction for as long as Prince Philip had our country and our Commonwealth. Without precedent, without peer, and without comparison – that century that he lived is almost too long to imagine, too long for our brains to compute and so milestones have to be laid down at moments like this, to think of what Prince Philip saw, what he did, and who he encountered.”

Conservative councillor Oliver Cooper

Cllr Cooper listed Prince Philip’s achievements and his wartime service.

“Back in 1964, when Swiss Cottage Library was opened, he was there,” he said.  “And when the British Library opened on Euston Road, Prince Philip was there as well in 1998.

“Prince Philip was there when the new Euston station was opened in 1968 – and Prince Philip was there when the new St Pancras was opened in 2007. Prince Philip was there at the opening the Royal Free in 78, and the opening of the new UCLH in 2005.

“He was there at the turning points in this borough’s history, faithfully and constantly, always two steps behind our Queen, but four-square behind Camden, our country and our Commonwealth.”

Cllr Cooper added: “He always believed strongly in the individualism and the importance of human dignity to decide one’s own fate. And you see that in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, and the hundreds of other charities supporting young people – supporting individuals in difficulties – so they can make the most of their futures.”

Prince Philip’s funeral was held in Windsor on Saturday although there were Covid restrictions on the numbers who could attend.

Liberal Democrat councillor Flick Rea said she had been struck by his film star looks when she first saw him 60 years ago.

“An important visitor was coming to open a new playing field complex,” she said. “Up drove a car and out of it stepped one of the most handsome men that most of us had ever seen outside the pages of Film Fun or Picturegoer.”

“Not only was he like a young viking, but he was charming and friendly – a prince. We all waved our flags like mad and we cheered as 100 little girls fell instantly in love. That afternoon stuck in our minds forever, even as we grew up and our pin-up also grew older. The charm, the warmth, the easy manner never left him.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Flick Rea

She added: “Many tributes that have been paid have referred to his sense of duty, his wit – his wicked wit – and his outspoken sense of humour. But for me, and most of my generation – we do remember a time before Prince Philip – he was an icon of the past which now seems gone forever. I will always treasure the lasting impression from that afternoon in the sun…  when a prince waved at me.”

Labour councillor Richard Cotton told the meeting: “I never met the duke so I cannot speak speak from personal experience. My friend, Councillor Abdul Quadir, met him during his year as the Mayor of Camden. Apparently the Duke called Abdul ‘the Mayor of Westminster’. And when Abdul pointed out that he was in fact the ‘Mayor of Camden’,  the Duke replied: ‘I know that, but I was just checking to see if you were paying attention’.”

“He was clearly a man who could think on his feet. He would have been a good politician perhaps. The Duke also had great literary skills having written, and I was amazed to discover this after he died, 14 books on a very wide range of subjects.”

He added: “So much has been written about the duke and tributes have come from all over the world, and especially from our friends and relatives in the Commonwealth, for whom the monarchy is a vital link.

“So many of those tributes have referenced the support he gave to the Queen, who has been the focal points of loyalty, stability and continuity for as long as I have been alive. She became the Queen the year I was born. People know that she could not have done such a great job without the support of her liegeman of life and limb.

“And what a refreshing change to see a woman in the top job being followed several paces behind by her husband.”

[All councillor photographs taken at meetings before the Covid pandemic]