When a man opens a car door for his wife, it's either a new car

When Prince Philip quipped, “When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife,” he spoke with the sharp wit for which he was famous — yet beneath the laughter lies a subtle wisdom about love, familiarity, and the nature of care. The humor hides a deeper truth: that over time, many take for granted what was once treasured, and the gestures of tenderness that mark the beginning of love often fade into the ordinary rhythm of life. Philip’s jest was not merely cynical; it was a reflection of the human condition — that passion must be tended like a flame, or else it dims, leaving only smoke where fire once burned.

In the style of the ancients, one might say: “Habit dulls the edge of reverence.” When two souls first unite, their every action shines with devotion — a door opened, a hand offered, a glance exchanged. Yet as days become years, love too easily settles into comfort, and comfort, though sweet, can become neglect. Prince Philip, speaking from a lifetime beside Queen Elizabeth II, understood both the constancy and the fragility of affection. His humor carried the wisdom of one who knew that gestures, however small, are the rituals by which love is kept alive. The car door in his saying is not about luxury or ceremony — it is a symbol of attentiveness, of the willingness to serve the one you love, not from obligation, but from grace.

The origin of this quote springs from Philip’s long-standing reputation as a man of humor — blunt, quick, and often mischievous. Yet behind his words was the truth of a marriage that endured for more than seventy years, a union tested by duty, distance, and time. In their partnership, the Duke and the Queen embodied an ancient form of mutual respect. Though he often joked about the absurdities of married life, his wit masked a deeper lesson: that love, once won, must not be left untended. In his jest, there is a warning as ancient as love itself — that familiarity, if not guarded by gratitude, can erode reverence.

To “open the car door” is, in this sense, a symbolic act of remembrance. It recalls the early days of courtship, when love was new and untested, when small acts carried great meaning. Over time, such acts become rare — not because love has died, but because routine makes us forget to express it. Philip’s quip reminds us that it is easy to show kindness to the new — a new car, a new romance, a new beginning — but it is the mark of true devotion to bring the same care to what is familiar, to love the old with the same heart that once adored the new.

History offers us many examples of this truth. Consider the love of John and Abigail Adams, whose letters across oceans and years were filled with wit, respect, and affection. They did not take each other for granted; they worked to preserve wonder through words, humor, and attention. Their marriage thrived not because it was new, but because it was constantly renewed through care. Like Prince Philip, they knew that enduring love must be cultivated with daily gestures of thoughtfulness — small courtesies that say, “You are still worthy of wonder.”

The lesson Prince Philip leaves us is simple yet profound: do not let time dull your tenderness. The gestures that seem small — opening a door, sharing a smile, listening with patience — are the very fibers that weave the tapestry of a lasting bond. When love is no longer expressed, it begins to sleep; when it is expressed daily, it grows into something immortal. To keep a marriage alive is to keep gratitude alive, to see one’s partner anew with each dawn, as though the heart were meeting them for the first time.

So, let his humorous wisdom become a living teaching: never let your love grow so old that it forgets the manners of its youth. Whether you open a door, speak a kind word, or give your time, do it not from habit but from heart. For there is no gesture too small when it is done with sincerity. In this way, the ordinary becomes noble — and what was once “a new car” or “a new wife” remains ever new in the eyes of love. Thus, in laughter and truth, Prince Philip teaches that love’s greatest courtesy is not found in novelty, but in constancy — the art of cherishing what time has already blessed.