Service of Thanksgiving for the life of our Patron, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

We were privileged to be able to represent the Royal Institute of Navigation at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of our Patron, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey on 29 March.   Where, to quote from the Service, "...we give thanks for His Royal Highness, a man of rare ability and distinction, rightly honoured and celebrated, he ever drew attention away from himself. He put privilege to work and understood his rank as a spur to service.  Working at pace, with so many claims on his attention, he encouraged us to focus, as he was focussed, on the things that matter.  His was a discipline and character that seized opportunity and overcame obstruction and difficulty."   The service also reminded us of his "astonishing intellectual and physical energy, his capacity for sheer hard work, his passionate commitment; his engaging and self-deprecating sense of humour."  He could, we were told, forget just how intimidating he could be, as he pricked bubbles of pomposity, as we can all recall from his probing questions at Annual Meetings!   He was described as "this remarkable man," and none could disagree with that.    But what remains is not just memories of his commitment to and abiding interest in the Royal Institute of  Navigation.  It is an example for all of us to follow, not merely in Positioning, Navigation and Timing, but in how we live our lives.  

Cynthia Robinson OBE FRIN                                                            James Taylor OBE FRIN
President                                                                                            Past President