Prince Philip service at St Andrews Cathedral draws Scott Morrison and Gladys Berejiklian


Scott Morrison has paid his respects to Prince Philip at a church service in Sydney.

The prime minister was supported by his wife Jenny in the front pew at St Andrews Cathedral, in Sydney, on Sunday.

He was flanked by Governor-General David Hurley and New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, who had also turned up to pay their respects.  

Prince Philip died in his sleep on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday and a short time after a month-long stay in hospital. 

The Very Reverend Kanishka de Silva Raffel led the Sunday service and praised the duke as a loyal and loving husband, father, and grandfather.

Scott Morrison has commemorated the life and service of Prince Philip at a church service

Scott Morrison has commemorated the life and service of Prince Philip at a church service

Mr Morrison was flanked by Governor-General David Hurley and New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, who had also turned up to pay their respects

Mr Morrison was flanked by Governor-General David Hurley and New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, who had also turned up to pay their respects

‘On Prince Philip’s many visits to Australia, we have come to know him as a man of compassion and service, personal warmth, intellectual curiosity and generous spirit,’ he said.

‘Australians were deeply saddened by his passing, and are praying for the Queen and her family in their grief.’

A photo of the Queen and Prince Philip was displayed throughout the service, after which guests were invited to sign a condolence book, to be passed on to the monarch.

The Right Reverend Peter Hayward addressed the congregation and reflected on Prince Philip’s life and contributions 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.

‘A life of duty, loyalty and service during 73 years of marriage to the Queen, he lived this duty of service out in an exemplary way.’

St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne and St Peter’s Cathedral in Adelaide will hold special services in coming days.

Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny speak to New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian in the front pew of the St Andrews Cathedral

Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny speak to New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian in the front pew of the St Andrews Cathedral

Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny walk into the St Andrews Cathedral for the Sunday service

Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny walk into the St Andrews Cathedral for the Sunday service

Governor-General David Hurley also attended the Sunday service to pay his respects to the late Prince Philip

Governor-General David Hurley also attended the Sunday service to pay his respects to the late Prince Philip

The husband of Queen Elizabeth II was on Saturday lauded as a man of candour, compassion and service to others by past and present leaders in Australia.

Australians have sent thousands of condolence messages online via the government website pmc.gov.au, which will be forwarded to Buckingham Palace.

The Duke’s passing was marked with a 41-gun salute in Canberra on Saturday afternoon, in keeping with tradition being observed in other Commonwealth nations.

Flags were flown at half mast across the country on Saturday and will be again on the day of Prince Philip’s funeral in the United Kingdom.

Anecdotes and fond memories of Prince Philip flowed from Australian leaders including former prime minister John Howard, who said his death marked the end of a ‘partnership for the ages’ – his marriage to the Queen – that lasted more than 70 years.

Prime minister Scott Morrison was supported by his wife Jenny during the Sunday service at St Andrews Cathedral in Sydney

Prime minister Scott Morrison was supported by his wife Jenny during the Sunday service at St Andrews Cathedral in Sydney

New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian arrived at St Andrews Cathedral for the Sunday service

New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian arrived at St Andrews Cathedral for the Sunday service

A special Sunday service was held at St Andrews Cathedral to honour the late Prince Philip

A special Sunday service was held at St Andrews Cathedral to honour the late Prince Philip

‘Prince Philip was always destined to be two or three steps behind (the Queen), but he did that with extraordinary grace and flair and intelligence,’ Mr Howard told reporters.

Prince Philip visited Australia 21 times, the first in 1940, before his marriage, as a midshipman aboard the battleship Ramillies.

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?’.

But Mr Howard said it was his so-called ‘gaffes’ that made people warm to him, particularly Australians.

‘He gave short shrift to political correctness when he encountered it, and that endeared him to millions of people,’ he said.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, who was criticised for appointing the Duke as a Knight of the Order of Australia – an award no longer presented – said the world seemed ‘a little emptier’ after his death.

Prince Philip died in his sleep on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday and a short time after a month-long stay in hospital

Prince Philip died in his sleep on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday and a short time after a month-long stay in hospital

'I am sure her Prince would join me in saying, God save our gracious Queen. Long live our noble Queen. God save our Queen'

‘I am sure her Prince would join me in saying, God save our gracious Queen. Long live our noble Queen. God save our Queen’

Prince Philip accepts flowers from the crowd at the Great Aussie Barbecue in Perth, 2011

Prince Philip accepts flowers from the crowd at the Great Aussie Barbecue in Perth, 2011

‘He combined great character with being a dutiful royal and demonstrated over eight decades there is no better life than one lived in service to others,’ Mr Abbott wrote.

The Australian Republic Movement offered its condolences to the royal family, as did former prime minister and republican Malcolm Turnbull.

Asked for his reflections on the man, Mr Turnbull shared how Prince Philip once identified him as ‘the Republican fellow’ and then quipped: ‘You should have been a republic years ago!’

Federal Labor opposition leader Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Prince Philip for establishing the Duke of Edinburgh Award in which more than 775,000 Australians, including his son, have participated.

Prince Philip had not wanted a state funeral in the UK, but will be farewelled formally in Australia.

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