On this, the day of Queen Elizabeth’s ninety-fifth birthday, the loss of her husband of more years than I have been alive is especially poignant. My mother adored the queen. Maybe sharing the war years of my mother’s formative teens created a bond. Or it could have been their astrological birth sign.
Until I uncovered more information about the Queen’s husband, I had been uninformed about the Prince’s extensive efforts on behalf of the Environment. I had little idea the first time and little more the second I climbed the steps named after Philip, of what we shared. He left his name on those steps nine years before I first encountered them. I only learned this week what an indelible mark that climb made on him. It profoundly influenced me.
Not so much the dramatic and precipitous nature of the rock steps as what I encountered at the top struck and stayed with me.
In his book “Wildlife Crisis,” published in 1970 and unknown to me when I went there three years later, he stated, “It is here, above all, that the whole problem of conservation becomes most obvious.” The tenuous nature of the life that clings to that windswept bluff isolated in the blistering heat of the equator was astonishing.
Shortly after the Galapagos Conservation Trust was created in 1995, Prince Philip took an active interest and became a regular supporter of the Trust’s work.
An outspoken champion
While I have mixed feelings about monarchy, royalty and all the fal de ral and pomp involved, I have no interest in delving into that controversy. I am compelled to express the sadness I feel that in spite of public figures such as the Duke of Edinburgh making high profile efforts to call the fossil fuel industry out for the damage it does, they continue unabated.
Even with the Duke of Edinburgh’s outspokenness, we are still in dire straits. The climate crisis gets worse instead of better. There seems to be little genuine concern and willingness to make the changes needed by those who need to make them most. As steep and arduous a climb as the steps named after the Prince are, the struggle to right the damage we have done to nature remains even more daunting.
Species are going extinct at alarming rates and the juggernaut seems unstoppable. In recent days, the news has been so full of reports of worsening pollution, rising temperatures, increased CO2 emissions and more that I have lost track of the references and abandoned trying to track them down for the sake of verification. Instead I present this as my own lament at all we are losing and have lost. With it a plea, to redouble our efforts before all hope is lost. This effort is not limited to high profile names. It requires you and me and everyone we know doing all we can and then some more. And not ceasing to speak up whenever we can, for those who cannot.
Words fail me. More another time.
Good Night.
Lora-Thank you for this informative and inspiring article.
Thank you, Mary Lou for being a stalwart reader! I have been unable to find out what time of year Prince Philip visited the islands on each of his visits. All I can find is the years. I am very curious if he was there during the drab garua season or the lusher green of the rainy season.
A very interesting article Lora. In respects to the time of year that Prince Philip visited the islands, I came across an article from CNH Tours. Please see a small excerpt of it below.
WHEN PRINCE PHILIP BECAME ENAMORED WITH ECUADOR AND GALAPAGOS
On the morning of Saturday, February 17, 1964, an unexpected commotion broke out in the streets of Quito. It was about the arrival of a figure who had never been to the country before and who, at that time, was surrounded by an extremely romantic aura, as the chronicles of that time narrate. Ecuador welcomed Prince Philip, consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom with open arms.
Philip spent a few days in Quito and then went to the Galapagos Islands, one of the country’s greatest heritages, and the cradle of Charles Darwin’s wildlife exploration, which led him to create the recognized theory of human evolution.
The prince, very interested in the conservation and research of wildlife, decided to visit the territory, of which today there is a tangible memory: on Genovesa Island, some steps were baptized under the name of Prince Philip’s Steps.
Ingrid, Thank you so much for this information. That tells me he would have been there during the rainy season, 3 months (or so) after I was, nine years later. He may have seen a slightly greener and lusher landscape, although, depending on the behavior of El Niño that year, the Bird populations may or may not have been as prolific.
Now if I could just find out what time of year his additional two visits were. Do you have a link for the article that you could send me?
By the Way, credit is due to the blogger who posted the two images of the steps, from below and above: https://www.phillipsnaturalworld.com/home/an-american-s-guide-to-galapagos-islands-prince-philip-s-steps-and-el-barranco
An interesting account that illustrates the physically challenging nature of the islands, even for those traveling in a more “civilized” manner than the voyage I took over 47 years ago.
I just read through that blog post and would love to hear of your experience on that island, and see the photos (finally!).
Thanks, Kristi, SOON the beta will be available and you can learn all about the three days we spent on Genovesa. I have a few pictures from my 2018 visit, including what could be very boring video of boobies snoozing with the wind in the background. I did capture some video of mated pairs displaying to each other with fuzzy chicks waiting to be fed. I m assaying those to use for a book trailer, but I could give you a sneak peek!
Good article. After watching the Crown I went through a royal fascination phase. Mostly fascinated on why they even exist but using that powerful voice for good is admirable.
Patricia, even though I grew up with Mom’s fascination with everything related to the Queen and Princess Anne who shares her birth year with me, I had no knowledge of Prince Philip’s activities. The fact that thee steeps were named for him did not even register when I was there the first time. So many elements in the islands were referred to by their British names at that time I did not connect them with a visit too that spot by the Duke of Edinburgh.
So interesting, Lora! Until this blog post, I had no idea Prince Philip had been in the Galapagos. I never paid much attention to any of the royal family, so until his death, I had no idea, either, about his involvement with the environment. Thanks for shining a light on it, here. With regard to how little (or much) has been done and how much remains, I confess my pessimism has taken a blow at some of the pledges made at the Earth day summit. I’m not convinced the goals will be met, but I’m optimistic in that I see concern widened and heightened.
Glad to be sharing new information, Saskia; that was what intrigued me when I learned what a supporter of. the environment Prince Philip was. When I heard reference to his “gaffs” and then saw clips of him blatantly pinning blame on corporate fossil fuel interests, I thought, that’s no gaff, that’s truth telling. We need more voices speaking out and speaking up as he did. And we need action to back the words. They say the first step is admitting the problem. We need to get more steps forward fast.