His Royal Hide-ness!
Who needs a palace? TV documentary shows Philip has his ’n’ hers birding huts
THEY say a man’s shed is his castle – and that seems to hold true even you have a real castle or two to your name.
For it has been revealed that Prince Philip has a simple wooden shack in the grounds of Sandringham where he pursues one of his favourite hobbies: birdwatching.
The hide is one of a matching ‘his and hers’ pair on the 20,000-acre Norfolk estate, with the other reserved for the Queen to observe wildfowl, waders and birds of prey.
They are far from the palatial splendour the Royal couple are used to, but Sandringham’s head gamekeeper, David Clark, says: ‘You’re not here for comfort – it’s to see what’s on the water out there.’
The hides are disclosed in a BBC Countryfile series about the Royal residences. In the programme, Mr Clark explains how the estate was landscaped to reflect the interests of the Duke of Edinburgh, who is patron of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
He says: ‘You get thousands of birds here in the winter. I thought it would be good to have wetlands as we have so many migrating and wild fowl waders and we could make something really special.’
Royal twitchers can also watch buzzards, marsh harriers, kestrels, owls and goshawks on the estate.
Countryside reveals that Philip also designed a barbecue in the grounds of Balmoral. The device comprises a collapsible iron brazier with three grills at varying heights for different cooking temperatures.
It is set up near a bothy where the couple like to barbecue, with the Duke usually arriving first to light the coals and the Queen driving herself to the spot about 30 minutes later with the salads.
Balmoral housekeeper Sheena Stuart says: ‘The Prince, he barbecues, and this is his design. They come out here themselves with their guests. There are no staff. He cooks and the Queen sets up the table and serves the salad.’
The couple have entertained Prime Ministers in this way since Winston Churchill, and Ms Stuart adds: ‘They all come back smiling.’
Countryfile has made three Royal specials to mark its 30th anniversary. The first, about Windsor, airs at 6.30pm tonight, with Balmoral next week and Sandringham on June 10.