Posted on 04/18/2021 6:17:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
I confess to having followed the life of Prince Philip with some interest. After all, we both started life as Greeks, were born on islands, brought up in the Orthodox Church and ended up as very British Anglicans.
In fact, trying to add anything meaningful to the mountain of material generated by the passing of Prince Philip is a daunting task. Nevertheless, I think one aspect that has not been considered adequately is his extraordinary role as a servant. In Christian circles we frequently pay lip service to the idea of being a servant. Although it’s a concept that is easy to embrace in an age and culture where most of us are unfamiliar with the practice of being a servant, I do wonder whether we understand the reality. To be a servant demands two things: first, you must make the needs of someone else your priority; second, you put yourself in a subordinate position. To make your well-being second to someone else’s is a tough call.
Prince Philip became a servant and played the role well. And let me remind you, it’s not a task he was born to. With his origins within Europe’s noble families, his outstanding education and his natural gifting of courage and intelligence, he was born to be a leader not a follower. In another time and place one can well imagine him as the respected monarch of some European kingdom. To be forced to walk ‘two steps behind’ was never his natural position in life. Indeed, he may well have had some expectations of not having to play the role of consort to Her Majesty until much later in life: after all, George VI was only fifty-six when he died. The result was, however, that within five years of his marriage Prince Philip found himself thrust not so much into the limelight as into the shadows. And there he stayed, loyal and supportive, for nearly seventy years.
We don’t need the imaginations of The Crown to know that being consort to the Queen was not an easy role to play. The press has made much of Prince Philip’s occasional gaffe but there must have been countless occasions when he was forced to bite his tongue. I do wonder how often when, safe in the privacy of Balmoral or Buckingham Palace, he let off a steam of frustration at all that he had been forced to endure. Convention demands that the monarch is above criticism; there is no such protection for her spouse and Prince Philip took a lot of abuse. To choose to be a servant is to offer yourself as a sacrifice.
Prince Philip’s life reminds us that as Christians we are to be servants. In an age of celebrity culture, taking a step back does not come easily. The Greek word for servant or slave doulos – Prince Philip would have known it well – occurs over a hundred times across the New Testament. It has three great focal points: Christ, the King above all who became the servant for all (Philippians 2:7); the way that we who follow him are to reciprocate by being his servants; and the way in which we are to be the servants of others.
One of the glories of Christianity – unknown and unsung in this life but not, we are promised, in the next – are those men and women who have given up their own pleasures, priorities and power in order to loyally serve Christ or each other. In practice, as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25:40, to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ is to serve him.
We don’t need the imaginations of The Crown to know that being consort to the Queen was not an easy role to play. The press has made much of Prince Philip’s occasional gaffe but there must have been countless occasions when he was forced to bite his tongue. I do wonder how often when, safe in the privacy of Balmoral or Buckingham Palace, he let off a steam of frustration at all that he had been forced to endure. Convention demands that the monarch is above criticism; there is no such protection for her spouse and Prince Philip took a lot of abuse. To choose to be a servant is to offer yourself as a sacrifice.
Prince Philip’s life reminds us that as Christians we are to be servants. In an age of celebrity culture, taking a step back does not come easily. The Greek word for servant or slave doulos – Prince Philip would have known it well – occurs over a hundred times across the New Testament. It has three great focal points: Christ, the King above all who became the servant for all (Philippians 2:7); the way that we who follow him are to reciprocate by being his servants; and the way in which we are to be the servants of others.
One of the glories of Christianity – unknown and unsung in this life but not, we are promised, in the next – are those men and women who have given up their own pleasures, priorities and power in order to loyally serve Christ or each other. In practice, as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25:40, to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ is to serve him.
May he rest in peace.
Over the past year, Her Majesty has handed more and more responsibilities to Charles and William. It is being said that she will never spend another night in Buckingham, preferring to remain at Windsor near her departed beloved.
Although it was her usual seating, was a message sent during the funeral that she was, quietly and by appearances, self-delegating herself to the ‘minor royals’ side (with Andrew and Harry on one side of the aisle), with the lineage side on the other? Will she adopt the roll of Queen Mother to a Charles regency, a goal he has waited a lifetime for? Or will she pick herself up, and carry on for another decade. resident of London or no?
from what’s been rumored, the Prince INO was thoroughly shunned by the rest of the family - as in barely eye contact even. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first thing Kate said to Harry outside as people nervously avoided Harry while waiting for their cars, was, don’t stand around like a stray dog, come on, then. Wills has a few words to say to you, unless you want this to be a complete disaster. Of course, Catherine has much more class than to reveal what was said.
Yeah, that’s ridiculous.
Question for Royalphiles.
I notice that Elizabeth 1st was bestowed the the title of Queen simply by her marriage to Berty/George. Why wasn’t Phillip bestowed the title of “King”?
Princess Diane told the staff one time she was taking the boys to MacDonalds for hamburger, because like all kids they liked the toys.
has to be in the blood line for that title
Totally agree. Prince Philip earned widespread respect and love, in his adopted nation and many other countries. So many young people benefited by his mentoring, with his many charities and interests, especially the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
I feel so sad for his dear wife and even his snotty older sons Charles and Andrew. (His daughter Anne and younger son Edward and wife Sophie have always appeared more humble and very loyal.)
RIP, valiant Prince.
That very significant Queen, Elizabeth I, was the daughter of Henry 8th and Anne Boleyn. She reigned from 1558 to 1603. She died childless and was succeeded by a cousin from the royal line of succession.
The present Queen, Elizabeth II, is the daughter of King George VI, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, and his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, a "commoner" from an aristocratic Scottish family. Bowes-Lyon was titled Duchess of York when she married her husband; she was called Queen Consort when her husband was crowned King (after his brother abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson), and in widowhood she was titled Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
The Brit's royalty traditions extend back over a thousand years, long before feminism. Elizabeth II was crowned in the 1950s and Prince Philip's titles were decided then. The custom has been that a King can call his wife "Queen" or "Queen Consort" because the public would automatically think he is "greater" than his wife. But a hereditary Sovereign Queen on the throne does not call her spouse "King," so that there will be no mistake who is in charge.
When Elizabeth II took the throne in 1952, women generally speaking were not regarded as the equals of men, and only a handful of women had reigned in Britain over the centuries; but her great-great-grandmother Victoria, whose reign ended at death in 1901, had established respect for a female Sovereign, and was Britain's longest-serving Sovereign (if I'm not mistaken) until the present Queen, Elizabeth II.
When Charles takes the throne, his wife Camilla is rumored to be titled "Queen Consort," although a large segment of the public dislike this idea and would prefer she continue to be called "Duchess" or "Princess" because of her infidelity with Charles while he was married to Diana. But Meghan and Harry's recent disrespectful behavior has taken some of the heat of scandal off of Camilla, and the public will likely accept the "Queen Consort" title for her.
Thanks! Very clear explanation. I only noticed the title situation watching a show about Philip over the weekend.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.