May 5, 2017

Statement from the Chairman of the International Churchill Society Regarding HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s Decision to Retire from Public Duties

Upon his own retirement in 1955, Sir Winston Churchill wrote in a personal message to HM The Queen about HRH The Duke of Edinburgh: “His Royal Highness’s remarkable qualities are making an ever-deepening impression upon the minds of people of all classes and Parties.” As a naval officer during the Second World War, the young Prince Philip had already made a favourable impression upon Churchill.

The Duke further showed his qualities in 1951 when he achieved the remarkable feat of convincing Churchill to change his mind. It was proposed that then Princess Elizabeth and her husband travel to Canada by air, a novel form of transit at the time. “To this Churchill was deeply opposed,” the Duke late recalled in a letter to Churchill’s Official Biographer Sir Martin Gilbert, “so it was decided that I should try to persuade him to give his approval. I am glad to say that he eventually did agree, after I had reminded him of his flights across the Atlantic during the war while he was in the rather more responsible position of Prime Minister.”

The Duke has now travelled on many journeys of countless miles to promote peace and understanding in the world. On behalf of the International Churchill Society, I would like to thank His Royal Highness for his many years of service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. We wish the Lord High Admiral fair winds and following seas.

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-Laurence Geller CBE, Chairman, The International Churchill Society

Photo Credit:  Allan Warren, Wikimedia Commons