Prince Philip funeral: Meet WA man Sir William Heseltine who served the Queen

The last time Sir William Heseltine saw Prince Philip, the pair had lunch at Windsor with their respective wives. It was 2019 and the 90-year-old, who served as the Queen’s private secretary for four years and was a member of the royal household for more than 25, was in the UK visiting family and took the opportunity to meet with the royal couple while there. It is a memory, Sir William says, he will cherish forever. He had come to know the Prince quite well during his time at the palace and was a “great admirer” of the man who sacrificed his own navy career to serve alongside Her Majesty. Speaking to The Sunday Times ahead of the Prince’s funeral, the Australian — who has been back in Perth for 30 years now — spoke fondly of the Queen’s husband who he described as an “inquisitive” man who had a “way of going off on a tangent”. “His achievements, well they speak for themselves,” he said. “I don’t need to spruik about those. The Duke of Edinburgh awards, for example, have been such a success. “He (Prince Philip) had a very inquisitive sort of mind. He had a way of going off on a tangent. And if you put a proposition to him, he would come back with an unexpected answer. He had a very organised mind.” Another thing that struck him about the late Prince was his obsession with planning. He recalled Prince Philip always liked to know exactly where he was going no matter where he was in the world, adding he was most vocal about this when he was planning royal engagements. “One thing in particular I remember was that he would always say ‘have you ever looked at the map?’,” he said. “Whether it (the engagement) was local or overseas, he always wanted to know himself.” Sir William was among dozens of mourners who gathered at St George’s Anglican Cathedral in Perth yesterday for an ecumenical service for the His Late Royal Highness. It was the only way he and his wife, Audrey, could pay their respects to the Prince given the pandemic. Sir William said even if he had been able to attend to the funeral in London he would have had to had considered it carefully. “My own physical status doesn’t allow me to travel far these days,” he professed. “I don’t look forward to long journeys. But if I had been invited I would have thought very carefully about going.” Asked if he thought the Queen would find it hard not being able to hold the type of funeral a man of Prince Philip’s standing would normally receive, Sir William said he imagined she would find it very difficult. “She would be feeling very bereft right now,” he said. “And what I feel right now is concern for the Queen. I feel desperately sorry for her.” But, he said, he thought the late Prince himself would be very happy with the smaller ceremony. “He did not want all the fuss made over his death and funeral,” he explained. “That was what he was like.” And how will Prince Philip be remembered? “I think he will be remembered for the unwavering support he gave the Queen,” he said. “He sacrificed his own career, which meant a lot to him. It was a great personal sacrifice.”

Prince Philip funeral: Meet WA man Sir William Heseltine who served the Queen

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