the village that worships a british prince

the strange faith of vanuatu's prince philip movement

The journey to Yaohnanen village on Tanna Island in Vanuatu begins with a sense of mystery. Tanna is a place that feels untouched by time, its dense jungle hides secrets, its black sand beaches stretch endlessly, and Mount Yasur, one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes, looms large, spitting ash and fire into the sky. Here, life moves to the rhythms of the land, and the people live deeply connected to their environment and their stories.

One of those stories, passed down through generations, is about a god, a pale-skinned spirit who would leave their island, marry a powerful woman, and return to bring blessings. Prophecies like these aren’t unusual. Across the world, religions are built on belief in divine intervention, messianic figures, and sacred texts. But the faith of Yaohnanen has an unexpected twist: their god wasn’t born in myth or legend. He was born in Greece, married the Queen of England, and was known to the rest of the world as Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

This is the story of the Prince Philip Movement, a belief system that grew out of an intersection of ancient prophecy, colonial history, and the peculiarities of human faith.

To understand how it began, you must go back to the mid-20th century, when the New Hebrides (as Vanuatu was then known) was under British and French colonial rule. The villagers of Yaohnanen, nestled deep in Tanna’s forests, had heard whispers of a man who embodied their prophecy. When British officials brought photographs of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the villagers saw in Prince Philip the unmistakable signs of the spirit they had awaited.

Their faith solidified in 1974, when Prince Philip himself visited the New Hebrides. He didn’t know of their belief at the time, but his mere presence was enough to electrify the villagers. They watched from afar, certain they were in the presence of their god. After the visit, the villagers sent him a traditional nal-nal, a ceremonial club, as a gift. When Prince Philip responded with a signed photograph of himself holding the nal-nal, their faith was sealed.

To them, this was no ordinary correspondence, it was divine communication. Over the years, Prince Philip sent more letters and photographs, each one treated as a sacred object. Villagers would hold up his images during ceremonies, asking for blessings. His connection to their lives was as real and tangible as the jungle that surrounded them.

But here’s where the story takes an odd turn, if it wasn’t odd already. Prince Philip, of course, knew he wasn’t a god. He must have found it strange, even amusing, that a remote community thousands of miles away worshipped him. Yet he never corrected them. Instead, he engaged with them politely. Was it kindness? Respect for their beliefs? Or did a part of him enjoy the idea of being worshipped?

In April 2021, when Prince Philip passed away, the villagers were devastated. They held mourning ceremonies, draping his photographs in flowers, flying flags at half-mast, and speaking solemnly about the loss of their god. But the movement didn’t die with him. Some villagers now believe that his spirit lives on, while others suggest that Prince Charles, who visited Vanuatu in 2018, might inherit his father’s divine mantle.

It’s hard to know what to make of it all. From the outside, the Prince Philip Movement might seem strange, even absurd. But is it really so different from other religions? At its core, it’s a system of faith, built on stories, symbols, and the human need to find meaning in the world. What makes this belief unique and weird is how it collides with modern history, a remote village weaving the story of a British royal into the fabric of their spiritual lives.

For the villagers of Yaohnanen, their faith isn’t about politics or colonialism. It’s about connection, between the past and present, the physical and the spiritual. For the rest of us, it’s a reminder of how endlessly surprising human belief can be, taking us on a whirlwind journey from the forests of Tanna to the gilded halls of Buckingham Palace, and into the depths of what it means to believe.