Thanksgiving services for the life of Prince Philip will continue in Australia this week as leaders and members of the public remember his decades-long commitment to the Commonwealth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died in his sleep on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday and shortly after a month-long stay in hospital.
St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne will hold a thanksgiving service for the prince on Wednesday and St Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide will hold one next Sunday.
Australia's Governor-General David Hurley, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny, and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian prayed for the royal family at St Andrews Cathedral in Sydney on Sunday.
The Right Reverend Peter Hayward gave thanks for Prince Philip's "extraordinary contribution" to the world.
"When he was a head boy at Gordonstoun (School), his final report said of him these words: 'Prince Philip is universally trusted, liked and respected. He has the greatest sense of service of all the boys in the school', and that was to define his life from then on," he said.
Mr Morrison spoke to the media on Saturday and Sunday, expressing condolences to the Queen and praising the contribution her husband made to the Commonwealth.
"Sure and steadfast ... he demonstrated that throughout his life, and we give thanks and give praise for that," Mr Morrison said after the Sunday service.
The prime minister is expected to move a condolence motion for Prince Philip when parliament next meets.
The Duke of Edinburgh's passing was marked with a 41-gun salute in Canberra on Saturday, in keeping with a tradition being observed by other Commonwealth nations.
Flags were flown at half-mast across the country and will be again next Saturday for Prince Philip's funeral in the UK.
Australians have sent thousands of condolence messages online via the government website pmc.gov.au, which will be forwarded to Buckingham Palace.
Prince Philip visited Australia 21 times, the first in 1940, before his marriage to the then Princess Elizabeth.
Some of his trips to Australia drew international headlines for controversial comments.
On one occasion he asked an Aboriginal elder: "Do you still throw spears at each other?".
Former prime minister John Howard said it was his so-called 'gaffes' that made people, particularly Australians, warm to Prince Philip.
Mr Howard said the outpouring of support showed Australians' love for the royal family, and that there is no movement for the country to ditch the monarchy and become a republic.
"Obviously the place and role of the monarchy has altered over the years ... (but) I don't see any likelihood of change," he told Sky News on Sunday.
Former prime minister and republican Malcolm Turnbull shared how Prince Philip once identified him as "the Republican fellow" and then quipped: "You should have been a republic years ago!".
Australian Associated Press
