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By Trent772
#1839531
Arrived as a photo, so will type out...

Many years ago.......The Queen Mum had welcomed Prince Philip into the family by dubbing him The Hun, while other courtiers called him Charlie Kraut or Phil the Greek. Even Princess Diana referred to him as Stavros.

So...

Later, he was sailing off the Isle of Wight and the skipper of another boat yelled - Oi ! Out of the way Stavros.

Philip yelled back "It's not Stavros and it's my wife's f***ing water, so I'll do what I f***ing well please"

One Nil.......
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By flybymike
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1839557
Various amusing anecdotes doing the rounds at the moment.

When talking to two old ladies at one particular function the Duke attended, one of them told him that she was 104 years old, and that her friend was 101.

The Duke looked at them and said incredulously “surely that cannot be true?” But they assured him it was indeed true.

HRH responded,

“But women always knock at least ten years off their age.”
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By akg1486
#1839964
There's a reality show on Swedish TV with former champions in all kinds of sports where the contestants live together for a week, share experiences and compete in mental and physical games. (You might have a similar show in the UK; it's a Dutch or Belgian format originally.) This year, one of the contestants is a former world champion in the equestrian sport "combined driving", in which Prince Philip was a central figure. Like polo, it was a sport for the very rich, but the Swedish athlete was a farmer so he struggled with money and sponsors.

When this guy got started, Prince Philip had a lot of influence and the sport's governing bodies and was instrumental in banning any sort of advertising on the carriage and the contestant's clothes. The message was clear: if you can't afford it out of your own pocket, you don't belong. Eventually, as a new generation of not-so-posh athletes from many countries started to be good, they did relinquish the ban and allowed sponsors.

I knew next to nothing about the sport, so it was interesting hearing the ex-champion explain and to see clips from his career. By pure coincidence (the show was taped last summer and scheduled months in advance), the episode where we got to see the combined driving aired yesterday, just two days after the passing of HRH PP.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1839971
We are all men/women of our time to some degree and some of us learn quicker than others.....
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By akg1486
#1839994
johnm wrote:We are all men/women of our time to some degree and some of us learn quicker than others.....

I guess that the signs of the times are not as visible in all locations, either. "Let them eat cakes", as Marie Antoinette famously didn't say.

Despite being a bit bothered by seeing The Doctor as Prince Philip in the first two seasons, I found The Crown quite interesting even if I know it's a reality-based drama and not a documentary.
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By Propwash
#1841008
I watched the impressive ceremony at Windsor on TV. Despite the restrictions of Covid regulations the UK once again showed the world that it can produce pomp, dignity and humility in a package unrivalled anywhere. A fitting sendoff for a man whose loss will only register with many now that he has gone.

Proud to be British.

PW
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By Highland Park
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1841021
It was pretty impressive; I certainly wouldn’t want to have been part of the bearer party climbing those steps with the DofE on their shoulders. Having sadly been a bearer at my late niece’s funeral, I know how difficult it is to be under the pressure “to get it right”, notwithstanding the weight of the coffin...

On a slightly lighter note, the height of the heels on the shoes of some the ladies present was erm...impressive...

Ian
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1841024
A marvellously understated yet powerful ceremony: The Brits always get it right.

The 'clack-clack' of the bearer parties' heels as they rotated the coffin instantly reminded me of the 'clack-clack' of the heels on marble of the bearers of Diana's coffin accompanied by the mournful sounds of Taverner's 'Song for Athene':

Surely one of the most choking moments in history.... :(

Was I the only one willing that 17 year old Landy to start?
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By Propwash
#1841034
I was on duty in charge of a security detail outside the Abbey for Diana’s funeral. The sound of the guardsmen’s boots as they approached down Whitehall, in a crowded square in which you could have otherwise heard a pin drop, was one of the spookiest things I have ever experienced and lives with me to this day. I relived that today watching this ceremony.

How time flies.

PW