A black commemorative poppy on the bonnet of a car
Credit: AP
SIR – The Duke of Edinburgh, a man of private faith, also used his role to bring together different faith groups. He founded St George’s House in 1966 as a forum for civil society, faith groups and others to debate significant issues.
For many years he presented the Templeton Prize, which recognised outstanding religious and spiritual leadership. He organised an interfaith dialogue between Jews, Christians, and Muslims in 1984, together with Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and Crown Prince El Hassan of Jordan.
He built on this by founding the Alliance of Religions and Conservation in 1995 to mobilise the great faiths to work on environmental challenges. He had the foresight to see that their moral teachings, and 80 per cent of the world’s population, could be part of the solution to social problems.