GRANDPA – PH HILIP’S FINEST HOUR
PRINCE WILLIAM DESCRIBED HIM AS A LEGEND AND HE EVEN MASTERED ZOOM TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH HIS GRANDCHILDREN DURING LOCKDOWN. amanDa CabLe TELLS HOW IN RECENT YEARS, ‘GRANDPA’ BECAME PRINCE PHILIP’S MOST VITAL ROLE
Beloved: Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank with their baby, August Philip Hawke, who is named after Philip
AS A YOUNG sailor in battle, Prince Philip threw a lifeline to drowning men. As a grandfather caring for two grief-stricken grandsons reeling from the death of their mother, he turned saviour again – forging a bond with William and Harry that sealed him as their closest male role model. Strict as a father, Prince Philip instead became the rock to his children’s children as they weathered many storms. Indeed, to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he remained a hero to the very end.
When Matt Smith told Prince William he was going to play his grandfather in Netflix’s The Crown, he asked for advice. ‘One word – legend,’ was William’s instant reply. As Princess Eugenie said: ‘I think Grandpa is incredible… he really is strong and consistent. He’s been there for all these years and I think he’s the rock, you know, for all of us.’
‘There’s no doubt he was a better grandfather than he was father,’ says royal expert Charles Rae. ‘He had been raised by different uncles and aunts, and had no role model himself. He raised his own children with strict Victorian values but when it came to the grandchildren, he mellowed.’
The public break-up of Charles and Diana’s marriage marked out the importance of Philip’s new role.
‘He was no longer the crusty old duke,’ recalls Rae. ‘He was Grandpa, and he represented calm to the boys as the marriage fell apart. When their mum died in a car crash on August 31, 1997, the boys were staying with the Queen and Prince Philip in Balmoral. Philip looked after them, taking them on hikes and fishing. He became – and remained – their constant. He is close to all his grandchildren but always particularly to William and Harry.’
When the princes – aged just 15 and 12 – were asked to walk behind their
mother’s coffin at her funeral, William at first refused. His grandfather said: ‘If I walk, will you walk with me?’ William agreed. Standing beside his grandfather during the ordeal, it sealed their closeness. When William returned to Eton, he met the Queen and Prince Philip most Sundays for tea – and the Duke became his closest male role model.
It is even said that at one stage, William became unhappy at St Andrew’s University but was persuaded to stay after a phone call to his grandfather.
But Harry remained a favourite grandson. Royal photographer Ken Lennox says that ‘when William and Harry were small, William mentioned the Queen to his little brother. Harry asked, “But who is the Queen?” and Philip roared with laughter, racing off to tell Her Majesty.
‘There was such a strong link between Harry and Philip, with their shared love of the outdoors, which was strengthened even deeper through the military.’
So keen was Philip to attend Harry’s wedding to Meghan that he endured a hip replacement surgery in April and was out of bed, undergoing physio, the next day. He attended the Windsor wedding on May 19, 2018.
Recently, Harry revealed to James Corden that lockdown hadn’t foxed Prince Philip, who mastered Zoom calls, shutting the laptop down at the end of chats with his customary impatience.
But Philip’s warmth extended to all the next generation of royals. A particular favourite was Zara Tindall, second child of Princess Anne.
‘Zara has always been just like her mother,’ says Lennox. ‘She’s instantly likeable, down to earth and tough, and she curses if she comes off a horse. She has exactly the sort of personality Philip liked.’
Another grandchild who enjoyed much of Philip’s time was Prince Edward’s daughter, Lady Louise. She shared her grandfather’s love of carriage driving, a sport that became Philip’s passion when arthritis forced him to give up polo.
‘There’s no doubt Philip enjoyed a far closer relationship with his grandchildren than with his own children,’ says Rae. ‘A really moving recent image was the picture of the Queen and Prince Philip reading notes from Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. There was a sense of obvious joy.’
Philip found new contentment in lockdown and to his grandchildren he was only ever a phone call away. Grumpy? Sometimes. Honest? Brutally. But dependable? Always.
‘The people who will miss him the most will be his grandchildren,’ says Rae. ‘To them, he was stability. They have to pick up their lives and carry on, just as he would have wished.’