LONDON – Queen Elizabeth awarded her husband, Prince Philip, a new title as a 90th birthday present yesterday as he announced he would be winding down his activities after decades of official engagements.
The prince, renowned for his blunt talk and unguarded off-the-cuff remarks, spent his birthday as he has much of life – performing duties in his role as the Queen’s consort following their marriage in 1947.
"It's a normal working day for him. There's no celebration as such," his spokeswoman said, although a military band played Happy Birthdayoutside Buckingham Palace and there was a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.
To mark the occasion, the Queen conferred the office of Lord High Admiral, titular head of the British navy, on her husband, who served in the navy during the second World War, took part in the Allied landings in Sicily and was in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered in 1945.
Despite being a near-constant companion at the Queen’s side during her long reign, the still sprightly prince has rarely sought the limelight himself.
His birthday will be in keeping with that low-key style. He held a reception to mark the centenary of a charity for the deaf and in the evening will chair a conference for senior British military figures followed by a dinner.
The prince is now the longest-serving consort and oldest-serving spouse of any British monarch and during those years he has supported hundreds of charities and causes. However, in an interview with the BBC to mark his birthday, he said he would be stepping back from his official duties.
“I reckon I’ve done my bit so I want to enjoy myself a bit now, with less responsibility . . . less trying to think of something to say,” he said. “On top of that, your memory’s going – I can’t remember names and things.”
It is for such direct remarks and gaffes that the prince is best-known. He once told British students in China: “If you stay here much longer, you’ll be slitty-eyed.” He also asked Aborigines in Australia on occasion if they still threw spears at each other.
British prime minister David Cameron said the prince had always done things in his own inimitable way, with a down-to-earth approach that the British people find endearing.
While the prince has spent his life in the Queen’s shadow, there is one place where he outshines his wife – on the south Pacific island of Tanna in the Vanuatu group, where locals worship him as a god. – (Reuters)