Prince Philip in Hong Kong: from laying a foundation stone at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and launching the WWF office, to garden parties at the governor’s house
- Royal Yacht Britannia delivered the Duke of Edinburgh from Singapore to Hong Kong in March 1959 for his first official visit as the husband of Queen Elizabeth
- He joked that he enjoyed renewing his ‘limited acquaintance with Chinese food’ and toured Aberdeen Fish Market, as well as meeting Hong Kong football players
Prince Philip made headlines wherever he went, and thanks to Hong Kong’s historic role as a British colonial possession, he had plenty of occasions to visit our Fragrant Harbour. Following the recent death of Queen Elizabeth’s husband of 73 years, we celebrate the Duke of Edinburgh’s life with a look back at some the most memorable occasions he visited Hong Kong.
In March 1959, the Duke of Edinburgh came to Hong Kong on a two-day visit, arriving from Singapore on the Royal Yacht Britannia, escorted by both Britain’s Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy
On March 6, 1959, the South China Morning Post’s headline read: “Colony Awaits The Duke. Princely Welcome Prepared for royal Visitor.”
On this visit to the then colony, Prince Philip laid the foundation stone at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon.
“I’m looking forward to laying the foundation stone of the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital,” he said in a televised address to Hong Kong. “Of course, I would like to have opened the hospital instead, but I gather there wasn’t quite enough time, even at Hong Kong building speeds, to get it up for this occasion,” he joked.
That same day he also attended a garden party at Government House, the residence of the then Hong Kong Governor Sir Robert Black. Later, in the evening, he attended a Chinese dinner, about which he later remarked that he had “particularly enjoyed renewing my rather limited acquaintance with Chinese food”.
