BUCKINGHAM PALACE
                                                12th March, 1998 
                          Buckingham Palace 
 
     His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, President and 
Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of 
Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, chaired the 1998 Prince Philip 
Lecture and attended a dinner held by the Society in London on 12th 
March. 
 
     Introducing this year's speaker, Mr Gyles Brandreth, His Royal 
Highness said: 
 
     "Five years ago, in its infinite wisdom, the RSA inaugurated 
what it decided to call a series of Prince Philip Lectures. I was 
prevailed upon to give the first one and this evening the Lecture 
is to be given by Mr Gyles Brandreth, who has chosen to talk about 
`Child's Play in a Changing World.' 
 
     As a former Oxford scholar and President of the Oxford Union; 
the former MP for the City of Chester and a former Lord 
Commissioner of the Treasury, it may be a bit difficult, at first 
sight, to see what possible qualifications he has to tackle this 
issue. 
 
     However, he claims, amongst other qualifications, that he was 
once a child himself, that he once played Baron Hardup in 
`Cinderella'; that he has three children of his own, that he has 
written many books for children and is married to a publisher of 
children's books. (It sounds like a most convenient arrangement.) 
 
     More  to the point, as far as this Lecture is concerned, he is 
a former Chairman of the Appeals for the NPFA [National Playing 
Fields Association] and later became its Chairman. To  take on that 
sort of responsibility, you really do need to be committed to the 
cause. 
 
     Ladies and Gentlemen; Gyles Brandreth."