Philip at 99: closer to the Queen than ever
Biographer Philip Eade pays tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh on a milestone birthday in lockdown
It came as no surprise to hear that Prince Philip has been, according to a Palace source, “characteristically taciturn” about the celebration of his 99th birthday today. Famously no-nonsense, he has reportedly asked that there be “no fuss” and has seen to it that the highlight of this deliberately low-key day will be a “simple lunch” with the Queen at Windsor Castle, where they are isolating together.
Married for a scarcely believable 72 years, the royal couple have been living at the Queen’s favourite home since the start of lockdown. It is their longest uninterrupted stint under one roof since anyone can remember – conceivably the longest since the very early days of their marriage, in 1947, when the Queen told her mother how entirely at ease they felt together on honeymoon at Lord Mountbatten’s Hampshire lodge, Broadlands.
They behaved, she wrote, “as though we had belonged to each other for years”. “Philip is an angel,” she added, “he is so kind and thoughtful, and living with him and having him around all the time is just perfect.”
In lockdown together now, those words may have taken on a new resonance. Indeed, the couple have allowed the release of a rare photograph of them together, perhaps pointing to the comfort they are taking from one another’s presence during this testing time.
While the Queen, who turned 94 in April and will mark her official birthday this coming Saturday, continues her extraordinary work as our finest monarch, Prince Philip retired from his 65-year stretch as an active consort in 2017 – having beaten the record of George III’S wife, Queen Charlotte, by eight years.
Prior to the pandemic, he had based himself at a farmhouse on the Sandringham estate, reading, painting, looking after his horses and continuing to take his notoriously quizzical interest in national and international affairs. It had been a period of well-earned rest, after a lifetime of public service.
Despite the present danger, he is reported to be feeling in more robust health now than before Christmas, when he spent some days in hospital. His cousin Lady Butter (a great friend ever since his regular long stays with her family at Luton Hoo in the Thirties) commented this week: “The secret is that he still does everything he has previously done, but slower.”
Given the couple’s great age – the Duke is now the oldest male royal ever – it seems unlikely that any members of their family will risk a visit on this auspicious birthday, even as restrictions begin to ease. In an interview last week, Prince Charles spoke about finding lockdown difficult, particularly not being about to call on members of his family and adding that he hadn’t seen his father for “a long time”.
“I’ve been doing the Facetime,” he told Sky News. “It’s all very well but it isn’t the same … you really want to give people a hug.”
Regardless, Prince Philip and the Queen will draw comfort from the fact that the crisis has seen a surge in the popularity of their children and grandchildren, especially the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Prince of Wales.
The heir to the throne is widely perceived to have had a “good pandemic”, having experienced a mild brush with the virus early on in the outbreak, and later speaking with great sensitivity and empathy about the suffering of others, while heaping much appreciated praise on overlooked key workers.
It has been observed that Prince Philip and his eldest son get along much better these days, after having a turbulent relationship for decades. None the less, one can imagine that the inability to hug one another is not something the Duke will especially regret – even today – his own emotionally bruising childhood having rendered him reticent when it comes to such displays of affection.
It is, in some ways, far easier to envisage him “doing the Facetme”, as he has always been quick to embrace new technology. In the early Fifties, he was credited with galvanising British science and industry post-war, and helping the country to see itself as modern and innovative.
Only recently, at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, he made a very rare public statement to “recognise the vital and urgent work being done by so many to tackle the pandemic; by those in the medical and scientific professions, at universities and research institutions, all united in working to protect us from Covid-19”.
His enthusiasm for all things scientific was fired by his mother’s elder brother, Georgie Milford Haven, who acted as Philip’s guardian from the age of nine. It was then, in the autumn of 1930, that the young prince first came to England, after his mother had suffered a nervous breakdown and was incarcerated in an asylum, while his father went off to live in the South of France, leaving their only son (he had four elder sisters) effectively an orphan.
As a young naval officer, Georgie had been renowned for his inventions, which included a system of fans, radiators and thermostats for air-conditioning his quarters, and a device controlled by an alarm clock for making his early morning tea.
Philip’s own stipulations to the interior designer responsible for the refurbishment of Clarence House, shortly after the war, included a closet that would eject any suit or uniform he wanted at the press of a button. This and several other time-saving devices were inspired by the gadget-strewn penthouse of Georgie’s younger brother, Dickie Mountbatten, who took over as Prince Philip’s mentor after Georgie died in 1938. Mountbatten’s desire for technical ingenuity knew no bounds. His valet recalled “a Simplex shirt with built-in Y-fronts that he could slide into like a stretch suit”.
But video calls aside on his birthday, more than anything Prince Philip is likely to be focused on supporting the Queen, and helping her to continue with her remarkable reign at this difficult time.
Having done so much to enable her to conquer her shyness after she came to the throne – in much the same way as the Queen Mother helped the stammering George VI – he has been crucial to her ever since, helping to sustain her confidence and contentment.
The future Queen first fell for her handsome blond prince more than 80 years ago on the eve of the Second World War, when she was 13 and he an 18-year-old cadet at Dartmouth naval college. The fact that they will be celebrating his 99th birthday quietly à deux at Windsor, after a rare three months alone together, ought to be a source of great happiness to them both. And it should be a cause of celebration for the nation, too.