Steady Eddie steps into the limelight at 60! On his milestone birthday, the Duke of Edinburgh opens up on the King’s illness, refugees in Britain… and tells school pupils: Exams aren’t everything

It’s 6pm on a wet, windy Wednesday and a very animated Duke of Edinburgh (no, not that one!) is talking about everything from schoolchildren’s exam results to the plight of refugees.

Perched on a rickety chair in the kitchen of a youth center, drinking water from a child’s pink plastic cup, Prince Edward reveals that he and his wife Sophie recently visited several organizations that support families who have come to Britain – and admit that they were ‘somewhat surprised’. to see us there’.

He makes it clear that the modern monarchy must embrace issues such as immigration and diversity in their complexity.

Our country, he says, has long been shaped by the communities that have chosen to make it their home.

“I’m always intrigued that when you look at the surface of a British one, you find that there’s usually a lot more to it than just, you know, ‘Made in Britain,'” he says. “So our role – as part of the monarchy – in trying to bring people together is as important as ever, if not more important today.”

He adds: ‘I think we’re all asking ourselves how we can reach those communities who might not always think that this, the monarchy, is for them.’ It’s a rather unexpected statement from this most cautious of royals, and one that perhaps hints at his private passions.

Steady Eddie – a nickname given to the Duke of Kent but equally appropriate for the late Queen’s youngest son – has toiled quietly for most of his royal career, completing hundreds of commissions a year that barely make the front pages to appear.

But this weekend marks a milestone for the quiet duke, who celebrates his 60th birthday tomorrow.

Yesterday, during a visit to Headingley Stadium in Leeds, Edward – who like many Windsor men is not always one to show his feelings – looked visibly emotional as Sophie paid tribute to her ‘lovely’ husband.

The couple, who will celebrate their 25th anniversary in June, lovingly embraced following the Duchess of Edinburgh’s moving speech in which she praised the Duke as “the best father, the most loving husband and yet… my best friend.” ‘

Edward, who was made Duke of Edinburgh by the king last year, was then presented with a cake in the shape of a ‘real tennis court’ with images of himself and his wife, who he met through sport.

As we sit down for an exclusive interview at the Salmon Youth Center in Bermondsey (he is a patron of London Youth), there is one subject that makes the prince very nervous, and that is his wife.

‘Well, you need a really good support network in this and family is incredibly important. I’m just very lucky that Sophie is a brilliant, brilliant person in her own right,” he tells me, smiling from ear to ear. It is worth noting that he is the only one of the late queen’s children who was never divorced.

Edward is, to be fair, not the most immediately recognizable royal, but his bread-and-butter work for the family business is becoming more valuable than ever.

The acrimonious departure of his brother Prince Andrew, along with Harry and his wife Meghan – not to mention His Majesty’s recent cancer diagnosis – means that royal responsibilities will increasingly fall on the shoulders of ‘younger’ family members, including that of Edward and Sophie.

But he doesn’t seem to find this role a burden at all. During the visit to the youth center, the Duke becomes involved in playing table tennis with the teenagers, takes them to a mixing studio and discusses the benefits of trampolining (his children, Lady Louise, and James, Earl of Wessex, had one in the garden. ) “He is incredibly supportive in terms of the work we do, generous with his time and makes things happen,” says Pauline Daniyan, CEO of London Youth.

It’s a reminder that Edward is now almost an empty nest, with Louise, 20, studying English Literature at St Andrews, and 16-year-old James due to take his GCSEs this summer.

The idea that children benefit as much from what they do outside the classroom as inside it is why he is so passionate about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which is presented in 130 countries around the world, with him at the helm.

He says parents may not be willing to accept that formal exams aren’t everything, saying: ‘Qualifications get you a job interview. But they won’t get you the job… They’re the other strings to your bow.”

Some may wonder why anyone should listen to a prince whose life has been softened by the luxury of a steady job at the Firm. But Howard Williamson, professor of European Youth Policy at the University of South Wales and curator of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, thinks he knows what he is talking about.

He says: ‘I’m not easily impressed, but I’ve worked with him for years and can tell you what a fundamentally decent human being he is. He is passionate and knowledgeable about his work with young people.”

It’s a sentiment I hear again and again as I join the prince on a day of engagements, starting at the King’s Hospital in south London, where the Duke of Edinburgh’s charity runs a volunteer programme.

Edward’s manners are excellent, a long-time royal servant tells me: ‘He was always the late Queen’s most polite child – and that has never changed.’

Up close, he is the spitting image of Prince Philip, wearing the same turned-up trousers, but with his mother’s elegant features. But he has his own, almost theatrical, way of speaking. ‘Excellent! Fantastic!’ he enthusiastically after every conversation. However, he does not adhere to any ceremony: he rolls up his sleeves, puts on a plastic apron and drives through the departments with a meal cart.

Although the prince drives during our day together, he is one of the few royals who often travels to work on foot – and even by metro. A friend who has been on holiday with the Edinburghs tells me that the couple likes to go to the local co-op to get supplies.

Edward’s favorite pastime is walking alone in the countryside with his beloved spaniel, Mole. But he is also, I am also told, a ‘demon’ BBQer, and can often be found outside in the dark at parties wearing a head torch. creating ‘truly amazing’ culinary delights – a talent he inherited from his late father.

I comment to another friend that the Duke has lost significant weight and wonder if he has embraced a new fitness regime as he approaches his sixties.

“I hate to bore you, but he’s just remarkably disciplined. He is not a big eater or drinker and certainly not a smoker. He’s just not a pudding man, they say.

When we meet, I ask Edward about the health of his brother, the king. He smiles faintly, understandably emotional considering how raw the news is. “We were all extremely grateful for everyone’s extraordinary support. I know he is very affected by all this. He is doing well, we keep our fingers crossed that everything goes very well,” he says.

Edward may not be living on the edge – aside from flipping burgers by torchlight – but after recent events, Steady Eddie Mk2 may be just what the royal family and his brother desperately need.