‘The only man who treated the Queen simply as another human being’
She was the Queen, but the Duke of Edinburgh never shied away from telling his wife exactly what was what.
Lord Charteris, the monarch’s former private secretary, once recalled: “Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being.
“He’s the only man who can. Strange as it may seem, I believe she values that,” he told royal writer Gyles Brandreth.
The success of the couple’s long-lasting marriage, which spanned more than 70 years, was put down to their compatibility. They shared interests and had the same dutiful royal training.
Both loved horses and the outdoor life; both were undemonstrative by nature, regarding displays of emotion as something to be kept private.
Yet in character, the Queen and Philip were markedly different. She was passive, cautious and conventional; he was more adventurous, tempestuous and active.
Their partnership was a traditional one and the Queen grew up in a world where it was the man who was in charge behind closed doors.
A friend of the royals once
told biographer Sarah Bradford: “He shouts at the Queen sometimes like he shouts at other people and she doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’s as if she thinks that’s how husbands behave.”
There were moments when Philip’s bluntness would embarrass the Queen, but she was not averse to telling him herself to “Shut up”.
She knew how to handle him and would retort: “Oh, Philip, do shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
When he shouted at her in private, she would calmly ignore it.
The Queen clearly adored the duke. During public engagements, she could sometimes be seen waiting for him to catch up with her as he lingered behind entertaining the guests.
“Where’s Philip?” she would ask and, on catching sight of him walking towards her, she would give a small chuckle and flash him a beaming smile.
In the early days of their marriage, Philip was sometimes strident and, according to close friends, Elizabeth would not fight back. Later she learned to resist and, in the end, the royal couple achieved a kind of harmony, said the Queen’s biographer, Ben Pimlott.
But their domestic relationship could perhaps best be illustrated by an anecdote recounted by Lord Mountbatten.
Philip, who had a record of minor motoring accidents, was driving his wife and Uncle Dickie to Cowdray Park in Sussex. The Queen, worried about the speed at which Philip was going, started to tense herself and draw in breath.
Eventually her husband turned to her and barked: “If you do that once more I shall put you out of the car.” She stopped immediately.
When they arrived, Lord Mountbatten asked her: “Why didn’t you protest? You were quite right – he was going much too fast.”
The Queen looked puzzled and replied: “But you heard what he said.”
The difficulties faced by the Royal Family during 1992, the Queen’s “annus horribilis”, were said to have brought the couple closer together. The duke, who had mellowed with age, became noticeably more considerate and supportive.
While on honeymoon Princess Elizabeth wrote to the Queen Mother, in letters seen by biographer William Shawcross, and declared: “Philip is an angel – he is so kind and thoughtful and living with him and having him around all the time is just perfect.”
Philip in turn wrote to tell his mother-in-law of his deep love for his new wife. “Lilibet is the only ‘thing’ in the world which is absolutely real to me and my ambition is to weld the two of us into a new combined existence that will not only be able to withstand the shocks directed at us but will have a positive existence for the good,” he said.
On the Queen’s accession, Philip watched her become the single most important woman in the country and discovered that his own children would not be allowed to take his name.
He later won a part-concession when in 1960 it was announced that the Queen’s descendants, when they needed a surname, would use Mountbatten-windsor.
He devoted his married life to supporting his wife, giving up his naval career to be by her side.
At the start of her reign, he helped her in particular with her public speaking, encouraging her to lower her voice when she spoke.
On their golden wedding anniversary in 1997, the duke praised his wife for her abundance of tolerance.
He said: “It may not be quite so important when things are going well, but it is absolutely vital when the going gets difficult.”
The Queen spoke of him fondly in return. She said: “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.”
Parliaments recalled to pay tribute to prince
Both the Scottish Parliament and Westminster will be recalled to allow members to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Scottish parliament will be recalled at 11am on Monday so party leaders can express their condolences.
Meanwhile, the Commons is expected to meet from 2.30pm on Monday, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson leading the tributes. Announcing the recall of Holyrood, presiding officer Ken Macintosh said: “I have this afternoon decided that the parliament should be recalled to show our respect to the Duke of Edinburgh following today’s sad announcement.
“His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, lived a life dedicated to duty and public service and his support for this institu
tion was clear.
“This is why I have taken the decision to recall in order that we may take the time to pause, remember and pay tribute to his work.”
He added: “Party leaders will be given the opportunity to speak to a motion of condolence.”
The motion will be the only item of business and will last for about 25 minutes.
In Scotland, this will be the sixth time parliament has been recalled in its history.
Most recently, it was recalled on January 4 to discuss the pandemic.
The other recalls were for the death of former first minister Donald Dewar in 2000, the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, a ministerial statement on the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-megrahi in 2009 and in 2020, for a debate on the trade and co-operation agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The UK Parliament will also be recalled from its Easter recess to allow MPS and peers to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.
Downing Street and parliamentary officials confirmed the move to reconvene the House of Commons a day earlier than scheduled.
The House of Lords was already scheduled to return from recess on Monday, and officials spent Friday finalising adjustments to business.
They confirmed the Lords will pay tribute to Philip shortly after 1pm.
The House of Lords will also not sit on the day of Philip’s funeral.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay
Hoyle said: “This is obviously a very sad day for Her Majesty, the Royal Family and the whole country.
“The Duke of Edinburgh has given his unwavering support to the Queen, both as a husband and as a consort.
“Described by Her Majesty as ‘my constant strength’, he served this country too, first with distinction during the Second World War and selflessly throughout eight decades during peacetime.
“Prince Philip has performed wide-ranging official roles, carrying out thousands of engagements and overseas visits on behalf of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
“He will be remembered for his loyal devotion to service and his leadership of hundreds of ideals and causes close to his heart.”