Island tribe famous for worship of Prince Philip celebrates King Charles

The Pacific island tribe who worship Prince Philip as a god have celebrated his son’s Coronation with a portrait of the new King.

Members of the Kastom people, who live on Vanuatu’s Tanna island, declared that Charles was the “son of our power” as they were presented with his portrait ahead of the Coronation.

The tribespeople have long held Britain’s Royal family in exceptionally high regard, with an especially strong admiration for the late Duke of Edinburgh, who they believed was the son of a mountain spirit.

Following his death in 2021, the group was deeply saddened. They are believed to have marked the occasion with a ritual of wailing, ceremonial dancing and the drinking of a mildly narcotic drink called kava.

The late Duke's high status was the result of the melding of traditional customary beliefs – known in pidgin English as kastom – with some of the tenets of Christianity, including the idea of the Second Coming of Christ, which the Tannese learned from missionaries.

The life of the late consort, who served around the world with the Royal Navy during the Second World War before marrying the future Queen Elizabeth, was paralleled closely by an ancient prophecy that a man from Tanna would venture far away in search of a powerful woman to marry.

The Duke’s cult-like status received a boost when he paid a state visit to the New Hebrides, as it was then known, in 1974.

Vanuatu joined the Commonwealth after it gained independence from Britain and France in 1980.

King Charles visited the nation in 2018 on a trip to the Pacific where he drank kava and met some of the tribal leaders of Tanna.

Dressed in his typically formal attire, the then-prince laughed and blushed as tribesmen rallied round him, giving him a grass skirt and floral garland while appointing him an honorary chief.

One of the tribesmen took a coconut shell, from which the King had drunk, back to the island of Tanna.

“He told me he would build a shrine to it, almost as if it was a holy grail,” Kirk Huffman, an authority on what is known as the Prince Philip Movement, told The Telegraph in 2021.

“So a connection was made between Tanna and Charles. I suspect the beliefs of the islanders will continue with Charles.”

Across the Commonwealth

Elsewhere in the Commonwealth, events were held to mark the King’s Coronation, with famous monuments illuminated in royal purple and tea parties.

In Canada, the government held an official ceremony in Ottawa with performances, speeches, the unveiling of a new stamp, and a 21-gun salute, Canada’s Global News reported.

At the 144-year-old Union Club, around 30 people gathered in its stately reading room, festooned with flags, to watch the event on TV over breakfast.

Donna Otto told the news website she wasn’t bothered by how early she would have to wake up to watch the Coronation because it was a “moment in history” that “feels right for me”.

She added that the King has championed worthy causes such as the environment, heritage preservation and gardening that resonate with her.

“He’s done things that haven’t always been acknowledged.”

Illuminations in royal purple

In Australia, buildings and monuments were due to be illuminated in royal purple on Saturday and Sunday, including various government buildings such as the Parliament House in Canberra and Admiralty House in Sydney. The Tasman Bridge in Hobart and Flinders Street Station in Melbourne were also due to be lit up.

The sails of the Sydney Opera House were not illuminated, however, in what the government described as a cost-saving measure.

“The New South Wales Government believes it has struck the right balance in terms of meeting community expectations on commemorating the occasion while being mindful of public expense,” the government spokesperson said.

On Sunday, a 21-gun salute by Australia’s Federation Guard is due to be held at 3pm followed by a fly-past from the Royal Australian Air Force. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver an address of congratulations in Parliament when the House of Representatives returns in early May.

New Zealand took a similar approach to its neighbour, preparing to bathe the capital Auckland in royal purple along with iconic landmarks, including Harbour Bridge and the War Memorial Museum. At the Auckland Youth and Community Centre, locals celebrated with a tea party. Children were pictured sitting around a table laden with pizza and cakes holding union jack flags.

Meanwhile in Singapore, the city’s British Club was preparing to host royal chef Darren McGrady to give a masterclass on his skills and prepare a dinner for members. Mr McGrady was personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and has cooked for past US presidents.