How 400 residents of Yaoh-nanen saw Prince Philip as an honorary tribesman 

South Pacific islanders mourn for their God: How 400 residents of Yaoh-nanen saw Prince Philip as an honorary tribesman

  • Hundreds of residents of Yaohnanen saw Prince Philip as honorary tribesman
  • Livestock have been slaughtered ahead of weeks of mourning on the island
  • Tribe had been eagerly awaiting a return trip since royal couple’s visit in 1950s


For Britons, the news is immensely sad – so spare a thought for the tribesmen who regard Philip as nothing less than a deity.

The 400 residents of Yaohnanen, on the Vanuatu island of Tanna in the South Pacific, saw him as an honorary tribesman.

The duke had an open invitation to feast with them and they sent him a war club known as a nal-nal. 

Livestock including pigs, bullocks and chickens have been slaughtered ahead of weeks of mourning in Yaohnanen

Philip sent them back a photo posing with the weapon. 

Pigs, bullocks and chickens have been slaughtered ahead of weeks of mourning.

The belief began in the 1950s and was strengthened by the royal couple’s visit to Vanuatu in 1974. The tribe had been eagerly awaiting a return trip.

Joe Ketu, a leading member of the village, said: ‘We are so sad he will not come now.’