Prince Philip is a dedicated father

The argument

As his wife is the Queen of England, some have argued that her role as head of State has meant that a lot of the family duties have been transferred to Prince Philip. As a result, he has been the parent who has had the most time to dedicate to bringing up his children. Historian Sally Bedell-Smith has argued that the Queen ''relied increasingly on her husband to make the major family decisions''. Although there has been much media speculation regarding his relationship with his son Charles, there has been lots of positive media attention regarding his relationship with his only daughter Anne. The wife of a close friend of Prince Philip was quoted as saying ''[Philip] always had more fun with Anne. Charles is more like the Queen, while Anne is very like Prince Philip." Prince Philip was especially involved with his youngest son's upbringing, and was even present at the birth itself, an unusual move at the time. According to Ingrid Seward's book, the Queen wanted Prince Philip present at the birth of their youngest son Edward, and in doing so they broke a royal tradition. This illustrates that Philip was willing to approach fatherhood in a more progressive way, by becoming the first royal father to witness the birth of his child.

Context

Prince Philip is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, the current Queen of England. In the past couple of years he has taken a step back from Royal duties and therefore his relationship with his wife and his family has become even more unknown. As the patriarch of the Royal Family, Prince Philip is undoubtedly a man who commands respect and authority. Whether this translates into a good relationship with his children is, however, up for debate from different parties.

Premises

Counter-arguments

In Jonathan Dimbleby's 1994 biography of Prince Charles, Prince Charles was quoted as saying that it was ''inevitably the nursery staff'' who essentially brought him up. This suggests that Prince Philip was not as much of a hands on, dedicated father after all. It has been argued that Prince Philip was too harsh in his insistence that Charles attend his alma mater Gordonstoun instead of Eton. Charles reportedly hated the school and was subjected to bullying there. This suggests that Prince Philip is perhaps not such a dedicated father, as he did not listen to his child's wishes or understand his unhappiness.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Availability is not dedication, and the support offered is about authority rather than care: the claim that the Queen relied on her husband for major family decisions describes who decided, not who did the raising. A royal household of the period also delegated day-to-day upbringing to staff, which is precisely what Charles's account in Dimbleby's biography states. [Rejecting P2] Both illustrations are narrow. A friend's remark that he 'had more fun with Anne' describes a closer bond with one child, and sits alongside the widely reported difficulty with the eldest, including the insistence on Gordonstoun against Charles's wishes. Attending a birth is a single unconventional act rather than evidence of sustained involvement.