‘The Crown’ revealed doting father and keen innovator

THE reputation of the Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed something of a revamp in the last year, as big-budget Netflix drama The Crown put his life as a young man on screen.

The series, starring Matt Smith as Prince Philip, tracked the early days of the Queen’s marriage, coronation and young family to critical acclaim.

Producers said they hoped to show a new generation a different kind of consort, reminding the public about his innovations and role as doting father.

Suzanne Mackie, the producer, has said of the series: “I think Philip is someone who is often misunderstood or we only see one dimension to him, and yet theirs is a marriage that has survived.

“[People will see he was] incredibly, surprisingly vital, progressive, modernising, energetic; a real alpha-male. Someone who was allegedly very, very good at more or less everything he turned his hand to.”

The series showed him as a caring father to Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Smith played the Duke as a charming and handsome innovator, pushing the Queen into modernising the royal family by televising her coronation. The Palace has never commented on the show.

The Duke has been the subject of numerous documentaries including the groundbreaking The Royal Family, aired in 1969 and showing the royals at home for the first time.

The Duke continued to participate in on-camera interviews until the end of last year.

A comically curmudgeonly final appearance saw the Duke wonder aloud about interviews: “How many more times have we got to do this?”