Let Philip's spirit and selflessness light our future

THAT the coffin of Prince Philip will be transported to his funeral today not on a gun carriage but on the back of a Land Rover that he adapted for the purpose tells us a lot about him.

- Patrick O'Flynn

First off, it gives the lie to any idea of him as a stuffy relic from an ancient regime addicted to formality. The Queen’s decision that male family members wear dark suits rather than military uniforms – no admiral’s epaulettes for Andrew – is also in keeping with the outlook of her husband of 73 years.

The flat-backed Land Rover also signals Philip’s links to the British countryside – a reminder of happy times spent at Sandringham and Balmoral. And it highlights his lifelong interest in advances in engineering too. Philip the modernist is surely telling us, as well as his own family, to innovate and embrace the future.

The man who ensured the Queen’s coronation in 1953 was televised and who followed avidly every twist and turn of the “space race” in the 1960s would not wish for Britain to be frozen in aspic now.

WHILE his death inevitably marks the end of one era, we can best show our respect for him by making the most of the new opportunities facing us.

The Royal Family itself must adapt to his absence, with senior members stepping forward to assist the Queen in the final phase of her reign.