I met him many times, but the first time was on the occasion of his and The Queen’s 50th Wedding Anniversary, which happened also to be the 50th Wedding anniversary of my own parents. It was just a “receiving line” after the performance, at the Royal Tournament, of my commissioned piece for the Massed Bands and Pipes of the Guards, in celebration of the Golden Wedding anniversary, “Royal Gold”. It had been a thrilling evening for me, with the 250 musicians of the massed bands plus 100 pipe majors, serving and retired, who had been recruited from all over the UK, to take part. I gave The Queen a CD of the piece. She was brief and gracious about it. Prince Philip, stepping in behind her, asked me “So what do you usually do?”. I thought it was delightfully naive, - that he would think composing wasn’t my job, and if I’d been more sensitive I might have been offended. “Oh I do this all the time, Sir” I said, “it’s my day job!”. He laughed and moved on. Actually, tell a lie, I had met his toecaps once when I was 13. He came to visit our school. Peter Symonds, in Winchester. I was part of a group of cadets demonstrating lifesaving around the pool. I was giving fake mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to another guy! We were told to keep doing our activities until or unless spoken to. Having seen and heard HRH’s red helicopter land on the upper field, we felt his presence approaching, and I dutifully kept my head down, my face an inch away from my “victim”, and looked steadfastly at the floor. As he entered the outdoor pool area, he and his party walked along past me, and I got a very good look at his shoes, which were black and shiny, That was it. Just the shoes. Years later I told him this story and he seemed amused. I think he was quite good at seeming to be amused!
We’ve all heard, and sometimes experienced his sardonic side. He was really quite superior in his manner, while simultaneously genuinely wanting to connect with us, lesser mortals. But it was clear we were in his eyes, lesser mortals, and that his interest in us was a favour, a kindness that he was performing. He was affable and clubable (so I’ve heard, as I never “clubbed” with him), and he once told me a joke about an octopus fucking a set of bagpipes. He didn’t shy away from the language, and there were two ladies present. He then leant in towards me, and quietly said – “It wasn’t me who told you that joke, was it, Mike!”. He had known that I was looking for a good joke to tell at SODS (Society of Distingished Songwriters) and The Grand Order Of Water Rats, of which he and I were both members – although one never saw him at meetings. Actually one never saw me at meetings either. I managed one Water Rats meeting when I was elected, and one more after that - but it didn’t suit me, being too much based in ritual, and giving off an air of quasi-Freemasonry that didn’t appeal to me.
The reason our paths crossed reasonably often within a period of a few years between about 2000 and 2012 was that I had been at the Palace for an occasion in the early 2000’s and had got to know Air Vice Marshall (Now Air Marshall, rtd) Sir David Walker, the head of the Royal Household. He and I became good friends, and if ever he needed any help that involved party planning, entertainment or music I was his most convenient call. Once, he asked me to record a private classical piano performance in the music room by Condaleezza Rice, the US Secretary Of State, (who was an excellent concert pianist) - for the Queen, some corgis and a handful of American generals. I particularly enjoyed organising a production in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace called ‘A celebration Of Youth in The Arts” to which the Great and the Good from the entertainment were invited, and at which the Queen was present. [I remember my wife, Julianne sat next to Kevin Spacey, who spent all of their conversation time telling her how much more important he was than her]. It was quite an effort and involved Royal National Ballet, theatre students and many other youth groups, Even the symphony orchestra was a young orchestra from Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived areas of the country. The Queen insisted the orchestra be paid properly and it was all very much part of the effort to use the Palace for good purpose and to reach and involve “real people”.
The Duke sometimes used to tease me by (I hope) pretending to forget who I was. At a drinks reception after an event, we found ourselves face to face, and he had a courtier in tow. The courtier, said “Mr Mike Batt, Sir”. Prince Philip barked ‘Who?” in a manner that was clearly jocular, - the way one might say “Not today thank you!” when a friend comes to the door; but the courtier was taken aback. “You know Mike, Sir, he’s often conducted the orchestras here”. Quick as a flash, the Duke walked around me, took a look at my back, came round to the front and said, “Oh yes, now I recognise you!”.
It’s a sad moment to see him go. The Queen must be feeling awfully empty at the moment. The death of one so close is not only a loss but also a reminder of one’s own inevitable demise as the years pass. Her Majesty is one of the most stoical people I have ever met, and she will “just get on with it” in the true Royal tradition. But she’ll miss him terribly – and partly because he brought a twinkle to her eye and made her laugh. God bless him.
Here’s a link to “Royal Gold” - the piece was commissioned to write for the golden wedding anniversary of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness. Coincidentally, it was the golden wedding anniversary of my own parents in the same year, and so it was my tribute to the too. Sadly, my dad died the week before the performance took place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqdxU3yaRck&ab_channel=MikeBatt