The late duke of edinburgh dedicated his life to public duty, but he was a pioneer too nowhere is that clearer than in his international charity work, I'm kate, humble a documentary broadcaster and in this programme, all be looking back at the impact prince fill it made on the world through the duke of edinburgh award celebrating youth achievement on his work the world wide fund for nature, championing conservation of the environment. On an island called tanner part of the remote pacific archipelago that is vanuatu is an isolated one. at the end of a long multi track. It's a village that's held on its customs and traditions, despite pressure from the side world to change legion of the people here, is unique deity. They worship is the duke of edinburgh

in two thousand and fifteen. I went to china to meet the chief of the an tribe. Why do you think the queen wanted to be married to prince philip were not soon we may mean leaving him ass. The queen is the head in the west brain, so is the head Yet what do you want to be again? Look I'm more prominent to give out will have not only when they live. Another believes that one man in your mama principle, my heart I love you more than anyone else. Certainly, there's a lot to admire, I mean tim on several occasions I was always struck by his energy shop, wit and sense of humour he might and to be part of an establishment and yet very much his own man with ideas that were off the ahead of his time and his international charity work, focusing on the conservation of the environment with the world wide fund for nature and the development of young people through

the duke of edinburgh award, is testament to that. I don't think that prince philip imagined back in nineteen fifty six that he was going to create what become a global phenomenon, but there are millions of young people around the world today who can thank prince philip for having quite simply change their lives to understand how he became who he was. We have to go back to his childhood principle of always denied that is unusual. Childhood had any influence on him at all, but it was a most unusual childhood giles. Brandreth is the author of royal biography, philip and elizabeth portrayal of a marriage. Before principle it was ten. The family disintegrated, his mother was confined to a psychiatric hospital with a nervous breakdown of some kind.

his father, disappear to the south of france. Ventured to set up a house with a mistress on a boat for several years. He had no word from his mother at all, not opposed I'm not a christmas card, no communication. He resolutely refused complain about any of this. But this meant when he was at school. The head master of the school had a disproportionate influence on him Princeton. Move from germany to the uk in nineteen. Thirty four to attend gordon stand a boarding school in scotland, the founder and had maastricht, the school was Kurt Hon a job. jus who opposed and fled the nazis. He believed in the development

the individual through learning. By doing speaking, overgrown some practice. I would like to make it clear: we teach less hours in the week without damaging the academic prospects of our boys. In this way, we make room for certain healthy experiences such as the mid morning, athletic break five times a week, expedition training by sea and by land projects of craftsmanship exploration and research, the growth of gaunt paths, jan The resulting gain and vitality outweighs the loss in teaching us the values of the school placed emphasis on mind, body and spirit. A healthy outward. Looking outward bound approach, life not being so much easier in yourself as being interested in other people. Those values were ones that prince philip acquired during his teenage years.

Gordon stone and they stayed with him for the rest of his life? Hans belief was the normal learning happen in the classroom. John may is the secretary general of the duke of edinburgh international award foundation, the action in order for young people to grow and flourish they need the experience of learning to help other people a bit of adventure sport. An building skills that perhaps on academic prince philip spoke bout, hans, insightful teaching philosophy in an entity, in nineteen. Eighty seven curve harmful is strongly that in the modern world, with so many young,

if living in cities and being so constrained by the structure of school and qualification and occupation and profession, and so on that they never rarely had a chance to develop all their other or the other sides of human activities and to have in a sense smoke. Nowadays. I think one would describe as the right brain activities the aesthetic and the sporting and the and the general conceptual as opposed to the practical and it was Kurt Hahn who led the young prince philip at just thirty five years of age, to set up a charity that would show form the lives of millions. He came to me. Lol is out of the blue raw lost touch with it, said my boy, I want you to start the world's givens. I suggest that you could edinburgh the ward, was founded in nineteen fifty six to impose

a young boys to develop life skills outside the classroom? Lord both hangs admiration for prints, philip goes back to his childhood days I was brought up in the gulf coast in ghana in west africa, and I, an early rita, and some of my earliest experiences are going to thee children's library in accra and enjoying the books of the time, and only later did I discover that It was the first dedicated children's library in sub saharan africa and that library, came about as a result of the patronage of the duke of edinburgh. Today he's a trusty b of the duke of edinburgh international award foundation prince philip, had the opportunity to create an award that is about

out meeting, what a young person most needs and most wants to do, and that is actually to be challenged to give of themselves and in different situations. The award is about self improvement. Yes, the award is about adventure, yes, the ward is about service and all those things brought together in the bronze, silver and gold stages in a way that meets the needs of young people and which produces a response from young people wherever they are. Two years later in nineteen fifty eight, it was acknowledged that focusing this on boys alone was old fashioned and the award was opened up to girls. What's your name in it carter? How long did it take you to get the duke of invisible to go to war just ended.

He is, and in those two years want subjects, have you followed fashion basket, work hooker, lendings to speak, german first aid to advanced adventure, home nursing to advance hockey pony checking and the fashion to advanced level, certainly a very long list, and then having done all that, you got the biggest thrill of all what happened right, backing and palace in december, and what was it like the ceremony, where you will give them your award. Well, that was wonderful. It is something I can't ever remember cat saying to prince philip, although I was told that that's I did and now to the future. What you're going to do your had? All this experience, you've got the gold award. The highest award

it's possible. How are you going to use it only had the duke vendors words has given me a lot of pleasure and I've got so much experience and friendship and from it the time I want to go and help the people and in fact, I'm going to help three young people who had just starting out on their toward the duke of edinburgh characteristically delighted when girls were able to join the scheme. Runs who asked the issues as well do for interests, you wanna, go bull fighting and that that three ever they took a deep breath and said well, go learn spanish for that, and it wasn't long before the award went global. John may again, we got picked up first of all, in commonwealth countries and

what was interesting was the way in which individual heads of state wanted the award also to reflect themselves and their pride in their countries. So in many countries the award is known as the president's award and in fact it was introduced to south africa by nelson mandela and is the president The word for youth empowerment there, so, although the name may change the things that the young people do remain pretty constant wherever you are in the world today, over six years since the duke of edinburgh founded the scheme, the awards, Continue to be handed out across the globe from new delhi have you swore de makes. You feel you ve done things other than just economic. Would it encompasses all sawdust in terms of adventure service, hobbes sports, it helped me grow opposing over

a milestone for in my life, it made me more confident we will do interact with new people know how to interact with new people. It's something that's made me go to london receiving her so this evening. I really enjoyed the tibetan reward because of the sense of accomplishment and achievement. I got from light as hard as the expedition was in as much as like some points is wanted to quit. Installing it's all work, because we did something didn't think you could do the tested my resilience, because we had to walk for a long time, get tired, stressed and tested team work and mental strength as well, in an interview prince philip gave in two thousand and five he sound The genuinely surprised and delighted that young people, the world over, have embraced his awards

in your curiosity is that the pony, the highest proportion of young people doing there, in any community is in singapore in Hong kong is probably more people per head of population getting involved in the scheme around this country and it in a day in pakistan. Where do you to china is taking an interest in it, because it's rubbing in hong kong, what you select do depends on what community or in I mean, for instance, one skills in pakistan is catholic dancing well If pakistan is going to do that, I mean in scotland they might do a country darcy or highland dancing, but they're not going to do catholic darcy, but the opportunities that it's tailored to that particular community. The extraordinary thing

about this simple educational framework that his royal highness came up with more than sixty years ago, is that it works wherever you are in the world hundred and thirty different countries. One point three million in young people and their young people from every salts of background. I've met street children from delhi who have done the award. I've met young people in some of the smartest schools in new zealand and then at the voting time. I've managed to get me

and people who are in youth offender institutions just down the road from that smartest school who are also benefitting from the award. There are young people in the caribbean who have discovered their love of service to others through the award. Recently, his excellency, the president of Ghana announced that he wanted to see the award being taken. By up to half a million young ghanaians. It's it's a really really extraordinary thing, and we have we have so much to thank his royal highness for lord boating. I myself have seen in south africa the award in

separation transforming lives, transforming people's sense of what they as young people can achieve and making a difference. That's what the award seeks to do to make a difference in the life of a a young person and importantly through that to enable that young person to become a better citizen, better employee to feel better about themselves and that's a very valuable gift that the duke of ETA it has always had and the award in all its different forms in all these many countries, all the world will be his enduring and lasting legacy being the secretary general of an organization like the chick yvette to national. All this is a really strange thing and I get the opportunity to to meet. some really amazing people and one of them

been his royal highness situ duke, and I I got there juanita to meet him on a one to one basis. Every so often- and I was always struck by the way in which he had the detail of the award always completely to his fingertips. So I would ask him I some what we might do in in starting the award in a particular country, and he would know exactly who I should talk to I things might go wrong. What opportunities there would be. He always gave the very, very best of advice. He never interfered. He was the most stir, the most wonderful advisor and guru? The duke of edinburgh ward was not the only pioneering charity. The prince was involved in, he became press,

then, to the? U k branch of the world wide fund for nature at its inception, Nineteen sixty one and later was made president of w w F international. He is called marta, the former director general of the w w EF. I think it is fair to say he was her head. of his time, because in the nineteen sixty step was just doing the the growth period after me, the second world war and everybody thought in terms of economic growth. Primarily and- and he had a concern already about the threat to nature, which was already then a big issue. Jars Brandreth agrees He was ahead of the game in so many areas. He was ahead of the game. He taught us about the environment law. long before other charities came. Banging on about the around. He was there ahead of the curve we are facing extremely dangerous situation,

actual environment is being assaulted as never before, and the survival of whole echoes in flora and fauna is seriously threaten. The human population continues to explode, and its sheer size demands more development, more space and more exploitation of the resources of nature, and if it continues to increase at this rate for much longer, the natural world will be destroyed and the collapse of the human world will inevitably follow fritz philip had an interest in nature of a right from his early days from youth. He often cited things tat. He had seen

I was interested in and if you heard him talk, he would often have that sort of curiosity in nature which a lot of scientists have as well, and even though you it wasn't a scientist, he had his interest and he learn as he was going and became actually quite knowledgeable in conservation. Does- and he was knowledgeable here- he is in a nineteen eighty, six bbc phone in taking calls from the public on everything from drought the last fifteen years during which it has been more or less of a trojan central west africa. Drought has killed off a lot of the natural grasses and, of course, a lot of the trees are dying. Visit. Encroachment of Two wailing in japan the argument is between the whale catches, who say there are plenty of wales and between the scientists who say that the rate at which Whales are being killed, is faster than they can breed. The whole effort at the moment is to try

and persuade the governments of those comes Is that have wailing fleets to stop whale? until we know for sure what the species population is like and even snakeskin smuggling, the smuggling of snow skins. Reminders is a very, very serious business and, of course, the furs of small cats. The duke threw himself into the role huddling around the world to see things? himself. Prince philip did many trips for dublin debate. I was on a trip with him to north and Norway, which was a whale. Why King tour wherever whole board of doubly debris of international law done about? And everybody got sick except prince philip, who was a seafarer of course I was in born as irish swear. We had also an annual conference that was stupid

at a time when I remember he one stood in the reception of that hotel. We were where we were lodged and there was a call from buckingham palace and the receptionist was very excited. They said is the queen on your phone is the queen and she was apparently asking forwards. Philip. And prince philip, listen and said yes, yes to bad. Yes, yes, and he put the receiver down and looked at me and said: windsor is on fire. That was the year when a fire. Look out after renovation of winter castle, don't a year later

was with him in Pakistan visited ii, the head of state of pakistan in lahore must cut with the sultan of her mom, just the two of us, sir. He was still on the queen's flight at a time flying himself, I didn't travelled with prince philip burn, a small plain to the southern part of cameroon. We camped intended comes from there. We we went to the southern tipp of the central african a black to disasters unger reserve. I break philip said to me. Well, I will be great if we would see some wild life here and not only policemen standing behind trees or We organised a foot walk out to one of these open areas which are natural, open areas in the middle of this tropical rainforest area which have

a very rich soil in terms of minerals and hundreds of forest elephants gather to suck out the minerals out of this muddy soil, and we walked together for one and a half hours with ranger prince philip, had only very light, choose no socks and we walked through mud and smile. Larry was identified trees. He was great and ultimately leeched that open area and climbed on a lookout, prince philip spent about one and a half hours on this tower. He has. He said he had never seen a thing like this in his life it was absolutely wonderful, he was. He was fascinated by the dozens and dozens of forest elephants, forest buffalo bush buck. and bongos we saw in this open area jean banner jerry said the count

the leader of w w F in the central african republic, remembers prince Phillips visit well, but it took a walk for him and his staff to believe it was really happening the news as it looked like a joke because nobody, imagine that is so high vip can come to us corner of the kind words not new we highway, illiteracy, so remote. But finally, there was a reality when gee especial are, we came to unless under in order to prepare, this visit. They wanted to know what the do. We were we see also for the cock, has been taking addition to either. Thanks when the two

landed in sang as anger in march nineteen. Ninety nine. He was welcomed in true local style. Many people coming from the village as a villages composed of let's say to dozens of people, was wonderful. very festive movement for people, then seeing singing welcoming now things are It was very, very happy at the points that you decided to boot the security lines into shake hands off some people and his visits made a positive and tangible impact. The lizard it to the creation of the southern african forest commission- and this is because

kim's head, and he makes that all the Google buzz and goodman sick to go to a table and discuss about concept. Russia. This show to combine the ingredients that we have a important things to preserve their good has to do their best to cosette over the years. The duke of Edinburgh lobbied and campaigned for the conservation of the environment. Tirelessly Well little brother large number of species are going to become extinct in spite of our best efforts. In fact, we know that that becoming extinct at a very rapid rate here and now- and all we can do- is to delay the disaster for as long as possible, in the hope that the human population will come to its senses and begin to realise that we share this planet with the rest of my life.

I plan to, and inhabitants of this planet we don't that our own days will be numbered after the trial. laser. He even persuaded the w w F to look at the dangers of over fishing. The marine programme was very much he's idea in his instigation, india, early nineties when he said This organisation should do something serious about fisheries, because fisheries are going to be in great trouble. So again he was afford think of what we are seeing now the the fishing of the oceans and out of this came the marine programme of of w W. Despite all the serious issues he tackled, he was who never took himself to seriously prince philip had a wonderful sense of humour. He had a wonderful sense of,

let I remember once in a while. We had a policy in in a board meeting, which was actually my first or second board meeting has died, the general and we had a long discussion about this policy. He did not quite agree with That policy and all the board members were of a country or opinion, and on pointy time. He looked at me and said who's the idea to put this point on the agenda,

I looked at him and said: well, sir, he was you asked me and he laughed he had so much energy. You couldn't believe he crackled with energy. He cut through the waffle. If you had a problem in a charity, he came and he solved it. A human dynamo, lord Boateng, my own experience of the duke over the years has been of a man with a profound sense of responsibility and public duty that he lived on his long life and importantly, a great sense of fun and mischief that enabled him in any personal. counter to re. It's a laugh to raise a laugh with a purpose he inspired service in others throughout his life. as well as demonstrating that in his life, that's the legacy of the duke of edinburgh war,

that also in terms of care and nurturing of the environment is the legacy of the world wildlife fund, enabling individuals to none their own lives and the environment in which they find themselves