A royal joker with a military target

DURING the early years of his marriage, Philip occasionally resorted to juvenile japes — with his friend and partner-incrime, Mike Parker.

The pair were so often together that they picked up one another’s phrases, copied each other’s mannerisms and shared a sense of humour. They became well known for their elaborate practical jokes. On one occasion, during an RAF manoeuvre at the palace, they phoned the Air Ministry and played a tape of a Battle of Britain dogfight down the line.

Then they shouted: ‘Help! One of your pilots has gone berserk and he’s strafing the palace!’