Prince Philip Movement

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The Prince Philip Movement is a cargo cult of the Yaohnanen tribe on the southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu.

The Yaohnanen believe that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort to Queen Elizabeth II, is a divine being, the pale-skinned son of a mountain spirit and brother of John Frum. According to ancient tales the son travelled over the seas to a distant land, married a powerful lady and would in time return. The villagers had observed the respect accorded to Queen Elizabeth II by colonial officials and came to the conclusion that her husband, Prince Philip, must be the son from their legends. When the cult formed is unclear, but it is likely that it was sometime in the 1950s or 1960s. Their beliefs were strengthened by the royal couple's official visit to Vanuatu in 1974 when a few villagers had the opportunity to observe the prince from afar. At the time the Prince was not aware of the cult, but the matter was eventually brought to his attention by John Champion, the British Resident Commissioner in Vanuatu between 1975 and 1978. The Resident Commissioner suggested that the Prince send them a portrait of himself. A signed official photograph was duly dispatched. The villagers responded by sending a traditional nal-nal club. As requested the Prince in return sent them a photograph of himself posing with the weapon. Another photograph was sent in 2000. All three photographs are currently kept by Chief Jack Naiva.^[1]^[2]

On 27 September 2007, Channel 4 broadcast Meet the Natives, a programme about five Tanna natives (and members of the movement) on a visit to Britain. Their visit culminated in an off-screen audience with the Duke of Edinburgh, where gifts were exchanged.^[3] The visiting Chief Yapa asked the prince when he would return to Tanna, to which a cryptic answer was given and taken to mean the time was not yet right. The tribesmen returned to Tanna with two more photographs of the prince (one taken during their meeting, the other a gift from one of their hosts).