The Queen watches on as Australia’s then high commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer presents the insignia to Prince Philip.

The Queen watches on as Australia’s then high commissioner to the UK Alexander Downer presents the insignia to Prince Philip.Credit:Getty

Abbott said at the time that the Duke of Edinburgh had been “a great servant of Australia” and noted Malcolm Fraser had also handed the award to Prince Charles in 1981.

But the devoted monarchist’s best intentions were a political disaster. Abbott was widely mocked by colleagues who suspected the furore might be the beginning of the end of his leadership. They were right:Abbott was gone by September that year.

But in a final twist to the saga,the insignia presented to Philip at Windsor Castle that day six years ago will now take pride of place at his funeral on Saturday.

The 60-millimetre wide shoulder badge and 80-millimetre wide breast badge have been selected to rest on the altar of St George’s Chapel where the intimate service for just 30 mourners will be held. Both pieces,made of gold and jewels,feature the Australian Coat of Arms.

They will sit on one of nine cushions made to display some of the duke’s best-loved honours.

Advertisement

Other insignia to be displayed include Philip’s Order of the Garter,Order of the Thistle,Royal Victorian Order and Order of the British Empire. There will also be a few honours from other Commonwealth countries.

One cushion will hold Philip’s Field Marshal Baton and Royal Air Force Wings.

Flags fly at half-mast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge following Prince Philip’s death.

Flags fly at half-mast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge following Prince Philip’s death.Credit:Getty

Knights and dames in the Order of Australia existed between 1976 and 1986. Abbott reinstated them in 2014 but his successor Malcolm Turnbull abolished them again the following year.

Abbott knows the insignia will be displayed at the funeral and is chuffed.

In an opinion piece for News Corp papers over the weekend,the former prime minister said “what’s now belatedly being recognised is how good and decent a man we have lost”.

Loading

“Part of the human stain is our tendency to look for the minor flaws in people rather than try to discern their fundamental strengths,” Abbott said. “At times,he suffered at the hands of the media,for supposed gaffes.

“How small-minded that all seems,now that this pillar of duty and service has joined the spirit world;and those of us who scoffed at his humour or scorned the Crown he served have to face the awkward reality that he was almost certainly a better man than any of us.”

Abbott said Philip waspartly responsible for making Queen Elizabeth II’s reign the most distinguished in the British monarchy’s 1200-year history.

“Prince Philip had been part of the wartime naval defence of Australia,he’d opened the 1956 Melbourne Olympics,visited our country more than 20 times,and inspired the award gained by three quarters of a million young Australians,” Abbott said.

“If that wasn’t service to our country,what was?”

And of the knighthood that caused so much grief? “I hope it gave him some satisfaction in his last years,especially as it’s so clear now – if not to everyone then – how much he deserved it.”

What in the World

A note direct from our foreign correspondents about what’s making headlines around the world.Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

Most Viewed in World

Loading