The Royal Family has rightly described the late Duke of Edinburgh as the grandfather of the nation. They recognise that he is not only a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a great-grandfather, but he is also a beloved ‘grandfather’ to the people of Britain.

Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Millions will remember Prince Philip through the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, which opened up new possibilities in the lives of so many young people. More than six million have participated in programmes that have developed their skills, increased their personal confidence, and opened up new life-chances to them. But it is not only British young people who will be remembering Prince Philip with gratitude for the difference he has made in their lives; the Awards quickly spread to all nations of the Commonwealth and are now offered in more than 140 countries across the world.

It is Prince Philip’s commitment to the Commonwealth and to racial diversity that may be his greatest legacy, and this is how I remember him. It was 1966, in the early days of the settlement of Commonwealth immigrants in Britain. I had been working with the ‘Windrush Generation’ from the Caribbean since 1952. I had written the first book on modern race relations in Britain, ‘Black-and-White in Harmony’, published in 1958 at the same time as the Notting Hill race riots.

A multiracial church

Packed multiracial congregation at Commonwealth service in Tottenham church Our church in Tottenham, North London was reported to be the largest multiracial congregation in Britain in the 1960s. The church seated 1,000 and was often full (as in the photo), with a fully mixed black and white congregation sitting together. I also gave a regular weekly broadcast on the BBC Caribbean Service, ‘A Letter from London’, reporting on life among the immigrant communities in London.

Much to our surprise, in 1966, Monica and I received a letter from his Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh inviting us to spend a few days in the newly opened St George’s House in Windsor Castle. I think we were the first of the consultations that became a regular feature of the House. Their purpose was to explore difficult subjects of faith and ethics. Several other African-Caribbean, British leaders and people of influence were also invited to spend time together discussing race relations in Britain. Almost all the immigrants were from Christian backgrounds as significant numbers of migrants from India and Pakistan only began coming after 1966.

Windsor Castle

On our arrival we were shown around St George’s House. The room reserved for us, we were told, was the Queen’s favourite bedroom, with the best views around the Castle! We certainly felt very privileged and the following morning we got up early and went for a walk around the Castle grounds before anyone else was around, and then we went for early morning communion in St George’s Chapel. It was an unforgettable experience. There were only a few of us present at that hour and Monica and I were actually kneeling at the altar rail preparing to receive communion when to my utter astonishment my wife suddenly went limp and collapsed beside me.

St Georges House, WindsorIt was the only time I remember her fainting in all the years we’ve been married, and it was a highly embarrassing moment! Even more so for her of course, as everybody thought she was pregnant. But she wasn’t; she was just hungry! We had had a long walk and had not yet eaten breakfast. Of course, it could have been a spiritual reaction – as a good Nonconformist, Monica perhaps did not want to receive an Anglican Communion!

Race relations discussion

Fortunately, the incident in the chapel did not affect our consultation and we spent the next three days in discussion of race relations in Britain and pursuing Prince Philip’s major interest in establishing greater understanding of the immigrant communities and their problems of faith and culture change. I had recently published another book, ‘West Indian Migrants and the London Churches’, which showed a drop in church attendance from 70% in the West Indian islands to about 5% in Britain.

It was this great falloff in faith that was the chief subject of discussion. Why was it that Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and Congregational churches in Jamaica and Barbados all had large congregations, but when people came to Britain, they no longer attended those same denominational churches? This was the big question.

I had personally visited Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados on behalf of the British Council of Churches in 1962, with the purpose of establishing closer relationships between the churches there and those in Britain. There were no simple answers because the whole impact of migration and the massive culture change, together with the physical difficulties of housing and employment, were life-changing. But the fact remained that the vast majority of migrants simply did not feel welcome when they attended a church in Britain. It was not that they had lost their faith; they just did not feel comfortable in British churches.

We discussed the background of Colonial slavery in the history of the West Indian islands, which led to in-depth discussion of racial prejudice and xenophobia. Prince Philip’s own faith showed in his deep commitment to racial equality and diversity, and to his great desire that the British Commonwealth should be freed from the spirit of European superiority that had triggered 300 years of Colonial slavery in the Empire.

Harry and Meghan

The impact of slavery in the changeover from Empire to Commonwealth was of profound significance, which has never been reflected in our political history. This is the discussion that Harry and Meghan tried to initiate in talks with the Commonwealth leaders. A month before Harry and Meghan’s wedding there was a meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government in London.

The Queen had already appointed Harry and Meghan as President and Vice President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT). They were officially introduced to Commonwealth leaders at a meeting in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster, on 18th April 2018. Shortly after this, both Harry and Meghan raised the subject of slavery in the old British Empire and immediately the whole British political establishment went into overdrive to block them. The rest is history. I will be publishing a book referring to this very shortly – it will be called ‘Shades of Black’.

Harry has now come back for his precious grandfather’s funeral. It may be that through his death, Prince Philip may yet succeed in reuniting Harry with the rest of the Royal Family, as well as allowing them to fulfil the Duke of Edinburgh’s dream of bringing racial harmony into the British Commonwealth of Nations and giving a lead to the world on relationships of love and mutual respect. In order for this to happen the legacy of slavery has to be acknowledged.