2023-05-06 14:27:39
Not only tens of thousands of Britons attended the coronation of British King Charles III on Saturday. celebrated – even on a remote island in the South Pacific, chants rang out as hundreds of residents gathered for a big celebration in honor of the monarch. The volcanic island of Tanna in the south of the Pacific state of Vanuatu is the cradle of the Prince Philip movement, whose supporters killed Charles III’s father, who died two years ago. worship as a local deity.
And so on Saturday hundreds of men, women and children in raffia skirts sang and danced to celebrate the coronation. British diplomats presented the islanders with a framed portrait of Charles III. as a symbol of mutual respect. In the future, the photo will join a whole collection of now slightly yellowed photos of Prince Philip, which are among the most valuable possessions of the Prince Philip movement.
The UK’s acting High Commissioner in Vanuatu, Michael Watters, made a special journey to Tanna from the capital, Port Vila, to attend the celebrations. “The ceremony is a wonderful way to honor the unique relationship between the UK and Vanuatu,” he told AFP.
Although Prince Philip was notorious for putting his foot in it when it came to representatives of foreign cultures, he always treated the Prince Philip movement and its supporters with respect. He wrote letters, sent autographed photos and even hosted a delegation from the movement for a private meeting at Windsor Castle in 2007.
The Prince Philip movement began in the 1970s when Elizabeth II’s husband visited the former British colony, then known as the New Hebrides.
According to anthropologists, islanders saw it as the fulfillment of an ancient tradition that one day a fair-skinned son of the island would return there following marrying the most powerful woman in the world. “Many have been waiting for the return of this mythological figure,” says anthropologist Kirk Huffman, former curator of the National Museum of Vanuatu.
Huffmann believes that the gifts presented by British representatives on Saturday would certainly be seen as significant by the islanders: “For them, this will be a sign that King Charles wants to continue the relationship.”
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