Prince Michael of Kent has frequently worn a beard on this and similar occasions when in military uniform. Once retired from the active list I don't see any problem with beards in uniform. I'm more offended by the sight of a guards WO1 in shirt sleeve order with tattoos down to his wrists, but I guess that another story :*

We do digress, don't we! :)

I guess in part it's a generational thing, once we escaped from Victorian/Edwardian beards.

Anyway, lets get back to His Amazing Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and much else besides. The young ones can make their own arrangements!

He didn't wear a beard during his formative years.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/...7341965832.jpg

Cazalet, if that photo is intended as a comment on TTNav's reference to Prince Michael of Kent at #41, it's perhaps worth noting that the Prince is aged just 75, born in 1942, and thus unlikely to have taken part in in any pre-war National Socialist march in Germany of the sort we appear to see there. If I have the reference wrong, then I duly apologise in advance.

That appears to be a funeral procession, possibly Ludendorff or von Hindenberg.... and a state funeral would be when a representative of the Crown would be present. Cazalet probably knows who and what he is referring to

It was the funeral of the sister to Prince Philip in 1937.

Story here Prince Philip at a Nazi funeral and the day his sister had lunch with Hitler | Daily Mail Online

I think the award of the (then) maximum of 5 WW2 campaign stars and an MID for the Battle of Cape Matapan rather wipes out any spurious connections with the nazis.

Did Prince Philip ever wear a beard? I thought we were talking about George V, Prince Michael and Prince Harry.

Yes, I'm no good at posting photos, but there are plenty about including one taken in 1957, 4 years after being appointed Captain General of the RM who are rumoured to be unhappy about Prince Harry possibly getting the same appointment.

Well the RM are likely to history in a few years anyway - wiped out by cuts & Trident

My bad. Should have checked.

Lot's of rumours swirl around his past - no doubt.
Three of his four sisters, for instance - marrid Nazi's. He is alleged to have dug his heels in with the Queen adopting his surname, not hers, for their children (Mountbatten Vs Windsor).
All in all, he's done the Queen proud - standing by her for all this time, through thick and thin.
Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of his razor sharp wit though!

Never met him but I know people who have - and they say he's the sharpest of the bunch by a considerable margin.........

but that's not a very high bar TBH

For 10 years I was Secretary of a very large "Royal" yacht club, Patron - The Princess Royal. She is one of the hardest working of "the Firm", and on the basis of several meetings I would rate her as intelligent, sharp, witty, and a damn fine sailor too.

....and you have to be fairly sharp to pilot a helicopter!

no just huge balls and the ability to wank a mouse.

oh and drink like a fish seems to help.

:p:p:p:p:p

I had a colleague, who sadly passed last year, who had spent time as a pilot on the Royal Flight Wessex. Apparently he and the Duke got on well. It must have been a strong relationship. He was 84 when he died, so had been retired some thirty years. At the commemoration of his life, there was a Group Captain representing HRH. Dave was a fine person and I'm sure if he had respect for HRH, it would have been well earned.

Tescoapp, a rather immature response IMHO but it did get a smile from HH!!!

I am just a nipper compared to you Sir!!

And HRH can definitely drink like a fish.

Don't know about the other two items though.

He did as a young naval officer

Most of the feedback I've had from those who met him over the years was that he's quite obnoxious.

Judging by some of the publicly reported stuff, it tends to back it up.

He is very obnoxious to fannies, and generally idiots in general.

Has zero time for them and after less than 30 seconds makes a call on if they are fannies and has zero issues telling them they are fannies.

I have met the bloke three times , once on the golf course at Crathies swearing my head off looking for my golf ball in the gorse as a 9 year old (he gave me one of his balls and sent the three of us up to the kitchens for a bite to eat). Second time was on the top of Loch Nagar with Andrew. Third time was in a LAD where he had come to find our ASM and we rustled him up a GnT from the Machie wagon stores.

Cutting to the point, funny, zero tolerance for fannies yes. Obnoxious no really no. In fact if I heard someone say that he was and they were in the mil I would instantly presume they were a waste of rations.

tescoapp,

Fannies? Are you 12?

No ex royal engineer and Scottish.

Met loads of remf fannies doing ADR with the bears.

Tescoapp,
Well I’ve met the bloke about a dozen times, he’s never been rude to me but the way he treats and speaks to people, as I have witnessed, is appalling. Obnoxious and arrogant about sums it up, and as for judging people after 30 seconds? How absolutely crass, especially seeing who he is and how some folk revere him so and are in awe of him. I’ve seen him leave folks like that in tears.

Remfs, bears? You sure you’re not 12?

Obnoxious and arrogant? He’s a bluff, no nonsence naval man of the old school, fearless, intelligent, inquisitive, practical, honest, generous, loyal, plain speaking, incisive and intolerant of bull****. The sort of man you would be glad to have with you in the jungle. Try to suck up to him or condescend and you’ll get short shrift. The antithesis of political correctness and a wonderful consort to the queen for the last 70 years.

To one or two here - if the cap fits, wear it.

And well said Genstabler!

If we're name dropping, I also met him on several occasions: always to the point, quick-witted and sometimes a tad sarcastic. Obnoxious, crass and arrogant - no!

My old man met him at the Palace once-he was there with at group of ATC cadets for their DoE Gold Awards.


One cadet, in No 1's, was wearing his recently won, and highly prized, Nijmegan marches medal-despite being told not to wear it.


At these do's, people cluster around in small groups sipping a drink, and HRH would pop over to one or two groups for a brief hello and chat.


Of course, HRH pops over to meet the esteemed cadets from 111 ATC and their very proud OIC (the old man).....HRH sees the medal and addresses the young man wearing it.....wondering what it is?


The immortal reply came back 'Well I'm surprised you don't know sir, you being the commander in chief....'


HRH just smiled and moved on. Dad was too busy extricating himself from the hole he found in the floor of the Palace to see what happened...

Hmmm . . . so opinion is very much divided.

Reckon I must be a REMF then . . .