David Prince (31 Oct 1954 - 9 Jan 2024)

In loving memory of David Prince who sadly passed away on 9th January 2024

David Robert Prince

David Robert Prince (known as D.P. to many of his friends) has died peacefully at home in Silsden, North Yorkshire, on 9 January 2024 at the age of 69.
Although born in Surrey on 31 October 1954, David was a Yorkshire man through and through. An only son, he was brought up in Silsden by his mother Shirley and his grandparents, who proudly instilled in David their own passionate sense of place and belonging. So it was that the distinctive landscape and heritage of the North York Moors provided the subject matter for his academic studies – BEd in Psychology at Durham and his PhD at Hull – through which he honed his understanding as to how and why people perceive the landscape around them. In later years David would be known for his ability to be concise and scintillating in his prose but this was not always the case. After reviewing the first draft of his thesis, David’s PhD supervisor Professor Jay Appleton asked him if he read Greek. On David’s perplexed “No”, Jay placed the draft in front of David saying “Well don’t write it then”!
David moved to London, taking up a position at the British Museum at which time he co-edited the Manual of Curatorship: A Guide to Museum Practice with John Thompson and set up his heritage consultancy, Prince Research Consultants (PRC), in 1983, which focused on the strategic development of museums and archaeological and heritage sites.
He married and divorced twice before meeting Caroline Humby-Teck with whom he shared his love of theatre, fishing, the English landscape, the Classics, Shakespeare and, not least, the significance of museum collections, until her untimely death in 2001.
David then invested his energies in the consultancy Prince Research, building the team of associates and consultants over the years. The PRC ethos was inclusive, holistic, thorough and fun. With DP at the helm, PRC delivered significant projects in the UK and overseas, the legacy of which will survive through them and those of us who were lucky enough to be part of them.
Through his longstanding personal and professional connection with the late Tim Schadla-Hall, David was a regular and popular guest lecturer at University College London’s Institute of Archaeology. Positively challenging the minds of those doing the MAs in Public Archaeology, and Museum Studies, David also took on the role of PhD supervisor for several UCL students. This contribution to the education of the next generation of inspiring practitioners and thinkers was rewarded by his being recognised as Visiting Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences. Students at several other academic institutions also benefitted from David’s energetic and assured approach to his role of visiting lecturer at the Universities of Birmingham and Göteborg.
More recently, David worked with the United Nations on a number of initiatives in the Middle East and Albania and partnered with long-time colleague Simon Pearce to form Prince & Pearce (P+P) in 2010, with whom he was working on a number of heritage and museums projects in the UK and a major landscape heritage project in Oman. While his musical leanings remained firmly rooted in the rock and folk of the 70s, David exhibited a visionary sensibility to the impact of current affairs on heritage and the continuing influence of heritage on contemporary society. This is captured brilliantly in the recent articles that he co-wrote with P+P associates professors Daniel Laven, and Richard Hodges, which are concerned with the role of heritage and museums in this age of AI, climate change and mass tourism.
In 2022, David was appointed Special Advisor to the UN on Albania: a role of which he was immensely proud – perhaps most proud – over any other of his great achievements to date.
This obituary would not in any way reflect the man if there were no reference to David’s passion for sport – particularly rugby, cricket and football – which was infectious. His loyalty to Man United, Wasps and England never wavered despite being tested, many times!
A talented raconteur with an encyclopaedic mind, David was a dynamic social being and he will be sorely missed by his extended and eclectic group of friends. Generous with his time and intellect, David was, until the day he died, a beloved friend, mentor, and mate.