Forget The Hysteria, Crown Is Our Rock In A World Of Chaos

‘William is giving deep thought to what the monarchy should be’.

- Stephen Pollard

FOR 40 minutes or so today, attention will switch from the horrors in Ukraine and our own cost of living crisis to something altogether more uplifting.

The memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh, to be held at Westminster Abbey, prompts reflection on the profound service he performed for this country: as a naval officer in the war, mentioned in dispatches for his role in the Battle of Cape Matapan, as a public figure who used his position to champion causes he held dear, and as consort to the Queen. The values of service and duty that marked his adult life are often viewed as old fashioned, as something from a bygone age.

It is certainly true – thank God – that for several decades none of us beyond our armed forces have had to fight in war and perform the ultimate service to our country. But I take issue with those who argue that we live in a more selfish time and do not understand duty as did earlier generations.

Just look at the response of the British people (and other countries, too) to the exodus of Ukrainians. As well as donating huge sums of money, an astonishing number have opened their homes to give the refugees somewhere to stay. What is that if not service and duty? We feel we have to do something and cannot stand idly by with our heads buried in our own lives.