Trish Corbett
When people pass away you find out things you didn’t know about them before. I find eulogies interesting because you always learn something about someone that you thought you knew well but there’s always something you didn’t know – even in a short eulogy.
This past month, after attending a close friend’s mother’s funeral I discovered my friend was born in England and moved to Australia as a young girl. I’ve known this person for many many years but I didn’t know that about her.
A few weeks before that I went to a close friend’s funeral. I knew he was gifted at his craft but I discovered how humble he was. I learnt that he is known on a global stage for his gift when the mayor told a story about how she was in Canada and when sitting in a small group of people she mentioned where she was from and while others hadn’t heard of the place they had heard of my friend and were familiar with him and his work – he was a cartoonist who moved to Mount Isa and made that his home.
The person who has had the world stage though is Prince Philip. I’ve learnt so much about him in the few screenings I’ve watched. I had no idea that the Queen met Prince Philip when she was 13, married him at 21 and they were married for 73 years. Prince Philip had a troubled childhood and often wrote ‘no fixed abode’ on documents requiring an address. What has amazed me though was his character.
Prince Philip gave up so much for the love of his life, the Queen. He was very forward thinking for his generation. For a man to give up everything, and I mean everything of importance in any man’s life so many years ago, I found absolutely astounding.
He gave up his Greek and Danish royal titles to marry the Queen and his country. His three sisters were forbidden to attend his wedding because they all married German soldiers and the Queen & Prince Philips wedding was post-war.
Importantly, he gave up the right to name his own children with his surname – Mountbatten. There is so much he sacrificed so he could marry the Queen and be her consort and her most loyal supporter.
His difficult childhood strengthened his character and he became known for his ‘just get on with it’ attitude and it was something that he was well known for saying often. Challenges in anyone’s life, yours or your child’s, can strengthen character qualities if used as a learning opportunity.
Prince Philip was known for his ‘gaffes’ which is something that annoyed him. He saw it as lightening the mood of the room, and using humour to do so. I recall reading that he made an ‘inappropriate’ comment to Aborigines but later on I’d read that the reason he made that comment was because he had just come from another meeting with another group of Aborigines who told him years ago they used to throw spears at each other. That made his comment understandable yet not everyone reported ‘the whole truth’. Some of the truth made headlines and created more interest – and negative judgement – rather than the whole truth.
I’m amazed at the numerous qualities of character this made had and the foresight and wisdom he had for his generation. He started talking about the environment before it was an issue. Also how many men do you know that would give up everything for the love of his wife and sacrifice so much to support her in doing the best job she could?
His sacrifice blew me away. Prince Philip was not just a ‘character’ but also had many quality characteristics – sacrifice shown by giving up his naval career which he loved and according to numerous sources he would have ended up at the top; humility shown is so many ways, always walking behind her, giving up naming his children with his surname; trustworthy shown by being the consort and being the Queen’s most trusted man; acceptance for just getting on with the job and doing so; service and loyalty for doing so much to support her cause as well as most valued support person; honesty in providing truthful feedback when required; thoughtfulness and consideration in deciding what to do to keep himself busy, he had to create his own job!
Kindness in helping new family members when they came into the fold. Purpose in being their for his family members, old and new whenever they needed guidance and encouragement. Teach your children to be kind but also to know their boundaries and what behaviour they will and won’t tolerate or find acceptable.
There were just so many character qualities that came to mind throughout the past week, not to mention that he was very forward thinking for a man of his generation – he was just a few months short of 100 years when he passed. He used challenging times in his life to strengthen and deepen his character and although he gave up so much I can’t help but think he also gained so much because of the service he gave to his adopted country and the sacrifices he made. He did all this because of the great character qualities he possessed and the fun, joy and laughter he brought into so many peoples lives.
If you’d like some inspiration to share and teach one positive characteristic each week, I’ve created a weekly blog which focusses on one positive characteristic a week which will help you teach your child how to practice respect. You can find me on Facebook (Trish Corbett – Author & Life Coach) to find out more.
