HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

 

I only met him by accident, in the early years of this century at the Royal Aeronautical Society in Hamilton Place.  I had attended an early evening lecture and, afterwards, the corporate sponsor had extended generous hospitality to the participants.  A big crowd lingered after the event, wine flowed freely and the noise level rose accordingly.  During conversation with some colleagues, I caught sight of an old friend at a distance and, after due interval, shouted my excuses to my colleagues and made my way through the throng towards my old friend.  Arriving at my friend’s circle I was immediately conscious that the company was trying to tell me something, but nobody said anything.  Glancing round for a clue, the person on my right who had a decent space on his left into which I had just inserted myself, became strikingly familiar.  I remember beginning to blurt out an apology for my impertinence but HRH would have none of it – he called upon my friend to introduce me and then continued the joyful banter as though nothing had happened.  What a charming man he was!