Having rumors printed about you in the media is par for the course when it comes to being a member of the Royal Family, as everyone from Princess Diana to Meghan Markle has discovered over the years. Multiple stories about Prince Philip's alleged infidelities were printed throughout his marriage to Queen Elizabeth, but unlike Prince William or Prince Harry, he opted to stick by the old “never complain, never explain” motto.

Author Gyles Brandreth, who once worked alongside Prince Philip at one of his patronages, wrote about the late duke at length in his book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait. The biographer noted that although Philip “was never accused of sexual assault in the way that Prince Andrew was by Virginia Roberts Giuffre,” Queen Elizabeth’s husband was often accused of infidelity.

As Brandreth wrote, Prince Philip “was subjected to a steady stream of newspaper and magazine stories about his supposed extra-marital love life” over the years. The rumors, which were addressed on The Crown, included multiple women, including his close friend, Penelope Knatchbull, Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

However, unlike Prince Harry and Prince William, who have both taken legal action against the press, Philip chose a different approach. “As he saw it, suing the newspapers was not the answer,” Brandreth wrote, adding that Philip himself called it “a cumbersome and costly process” that “gives more coverage to the libel.”

“Queen’s husband in court—oh, yes? No smoke without fire…” Prince Philip added.

Philip died in 2021, so he never got to see his grandson Harry appear at the Royal Courts of Justice in his high-profile libel case, or for his ongoing security battle. But it's safe to say the late duke wouldn't have been thrilled about the resulting press.

Discussing the accusations made against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Brandreth wrote that Prince Philip once said to him, “Appearing in court as a member of the Royal Family simply isn't on.”

As Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip lived his life in the spotlight. The former Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 99, just two months shy of his 100th birthday. And according to one royal biographer, the very active Prince Philip reportedly needed one thing to help him deal with his "pent-up frustrations."

In the book The Last Queen: Elizabeth II's Seventy Year Battle to Save the House of Windsor, royal biographer Clive Irving discussed how Prince Philip handled living in his wife's shadow.

"Behind Philip's life of 'many activities and interests,' there were persisting frustrations," Irving shared.

As for how the prince mitigated those frustrations, the biographer explained, "[Artist and osteopath Stephen] Ward had mentioned seeing [Philip] play polo. People who watched him were struck by the merciless way he treated his ponies."

One polo player described Philip's behavior, saying, "He drives it, and he wants a machine out in front of him so when he steps on the throttle it goes, when he brakes, it stops, and it goes fast left or right."

Irving continued, "Another noted that he 'needed to play polo to get rid of all of his pent-up frustrations...but after a few games he would be a different man—the frustration gone.'"

According to Irving, Philip had a plethora of different frustrations, including the direction of his son, King Charles.

"The Queen had ceded to Philip all decisions on the education that her children should receive, believing this to be the natural order of family responsibilities," the biographer explained.

Irving continued, "In one respect Philip did not follow the customary choice of the upper-class and the most socially ambitious parents by sending his son to Eton. Philip believed that his own education, Cheam followed by Gordonstoun, would produce the best outcome—which was, apparently, a replica of himself, or what could be called the Mountbatten model of manliness."

Unfortunately, King Charles "did not fit happily into" his father's model of what his schooling and future should look like, allegedly causing Philip additional frustration.

After marrying King Charles on July 29, 1981, Princess Diana became a member of the British Royal Family. As a result, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip became her in-laws. After Charles and Diana separated, Elizabeth and Philip reportedly weighed in on the couple's issues, and some of their comments allegedly made the former Princess of Wales's "blood boil."

In the book A Royal Duty, former butler Paul Burrell recalled Princess Diana's reaction to some of Prince Philip's accusations about her marriage.

"But what stunned the princess was when Prince Philip raised the thorny issue of her husband’s mistress," Burrell shared in his book. "He wrote that she should have been grateful that her husband had, initially, cut himself off from Camilla Parker Bowles. Prince Charles felt he had made 'a considerable sacrifice' in cutting ties with her and that the princess had 'not appreciated what he had done.'"

According to Burrell, Prince Philip seemingly delivered a "knock-out blow that had left the princess sobbing."

In a letter to Princess Diana, the former Duke of Edinburgh reportedly wrote, "Can you honestly look into your heart and say that Charles's relationship with Camilla had nothing to do with your behavior towards him in your marriage?"

As noted by the former royal butler, "The princess was being accused of driving Prince Charles into the arms of the one woman she had tried to keep him away from. Even a year on, the idea made her blood boil."

Per Burrell, the accusation caused Princess Diana to rant, "They are all the bloody same—looking after one another!"

Queen Margrethe was hospitalized for the second time in a month after suffering from a blood clot this week, but the former queen of Denmark has weathered many storms during her 86 years. The Danish royal opened up about her royal life and her late husband, Prince Henrik, to royal author Gyles Brandreth, who included his conversation with Margrethe in his recent biography of Queen Elizabeth II.

In Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, Brandreth wrote that Queen Margrethe told him “how much she admired Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh,” while also noting that she “was related to both.” The former Danish queen—who abdicated her throne to her son, King Frederik, in 2024—was one of Queen Elizabeth’s third cousins, as they both were descendants of Queen Victoria as well as King Christian IX of Denmark.

“I love coming to their parties in London, especially when they are just family gatherings, for wedding anniversaries and that sort of thing,” Queen Margrethe told the author of Elizabeth and Philip. The best thing about the parties, she said, was that sense of being able to “be yourself” among other people who understand what it’s like to be a royal.

“If it’s just royalty in the room, once the door is closed you know you’re all there because you are related, however distantly. You feel safe,” she said. “You can say what you like, you can be yourself. Royals understand other royals.”

During their conversation, which took place a few years before Queen Elizabeth's 2022 death, the former Danish queen admitted that it was tough for outsiders like her late husband, Prince Henrik, to adjust to royal life.

“In the old days when royals married other royals, there were disadvantages, of course, but there were advantages, too,” she said. “Everyone had been brought up in the same sort of way. It can be difficult if you're an outsider. My husband has found it difficult, I know.”

Queen Margrethe told Brandreth that her marriage to the French-born diplomat had “many ups and downs” over their 50-plus-year relationship until he died in 2018. “Your Queen and Prince Philip are cousins,” she added “while lighting another cigarette,” Brandreth wrote. “I think that helps.”

Since his death in April 2021, Prince Philip has been remembered for a plethora of things. For instance, the former Duke of Edinburgh reportedly told grandson Prince Harry that "everything crumbles" in life without work. He also allegedly disliked Sarah Ferguson's "attitude to royal life." And according to a former royal butler, Philip was vocal about his disappointment following the release of a book about Princess Diana.

In the book A Royal Duty, former butler Paul Burrell recalled the Royal Family's reaction to the release of Andrew Morton's famous Princess Diana biography.

"At Windsor, Prince Philip made it clear that everyone was upset by the biased account in the Morton book," Burrell explained. "He told [Princess Diana] that everyone was suspicious of her involvement."

Burrell continued, "The princess, by then in denial, insisted that she had not assisted the author. I honestly believe that she was taken aback by the scale of what she had unleashed."

Princess Diana famously collaborated with Morton for the book, secretly recording herself answering questions for the author. Following her death, Morton released an updated version of the biography and confirmed the former Princess of Wales's involvement. But during her life, both Morton and Diana staunchly denied that she'd contributed to the book, presumably due to the backlash from the Royal Family and the general public.

According to Burrell, Diana had said, "The publication of that book was an unbearable time. Only my friends guided me through." The royal butler also alleged that Diana's behavior had been "rash, impulsive, and confused." But, without a doubt, Morton's biography remains a unique insight into the life of a much-loved royal who died too young.

Prince Philip was an integral part of the Royal Family for decades, until his death on April 9, 2021. But according to one royal biographer, Queen Elizabeth's husband didn't have much affection for one particular family member.

During an appearance on the podcast, "The Firm: Blood, Lies, and Royal Succession," royal expert and biographer Jane Dismore shared (via Hello! magazine), "[Philip] didn't like Fergie [Sarah Ferguson]—she knew that she wasn't welcome when Prince Philip was around." Dismore further explained, "She's the one person that Prince Philip would not have anything to do with."

According to Dismore, many royal staff members shared Prince Philip's view of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's then-wife.

"Ferguson's idea of being royal was best summed up by one of the courtiers who said, 'Vulgar, vulgar, vulgar,'" Dismore explained. "She hadn't an idea of what being royal really meant. It wasn't just the awful lapses of judgment. It was an attitude to royal life."

This isn't the first time Prince Philip's alleged hatred of Ferguson has been raised.

When Ferguson's daughter, Princess Eugenie, got married in October 2018, there were rumors that Prince Philip might skip the nuptials in order to avoid his ex-daughter-in-law.

"[H]e hates Fergie so much he can't stand to be in the same place as her," a source told the Express at the time.

While Prince Philip did attend granddaughter Eugenie's royal wedding to Jack Brooksbank, he allegedly avoided Ferguson for the duration of the event.

Basically, it's pretty safe to say there was no love lost between Prince Philip and his son Andrew's ex-wife.

Prince Philip officially retired from his public Royal Family role in August 2017. But according to one royal author, the ex-Duke of Edinburgh wasn't necessarily happy about needing to step back from his career.

In her book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward revealed that Prince Philip began to reflect on his life and career before he died. In fact, Queen Elizabeth's husband even spoke to some of his family members about his outlook on death.

"Harry had previously spoken to his grandfather about death and Philip had explained to him that although he was no longer capable of 'pursuing his passions,' the one thing he missed most was work," Seward shared.

As recounted by Seward, Philip told Harry, "Without work...everything crumbles."

By the time Prince Philip retired in 2017, he'd carried out a rather impressive 22,219 solo engagements on behalf of the Royal Family, per CNN. After a life of service, it's unsurprising that the duke found himself somewhat bereft in retirement.

Prince Philip died at Windsor Castle on April 9, 2021, and he was fondly remembered in obituaries.

As Seward shared, "He was a man of many outstanding qualities: intelligent, dutiful, hardworking, and capable of making a success out of anything he turned his hand to."

The royal author continued, "In many ways, Philip was somewhat the opposite of his wife, being outspoken on various subjects because he wasn't bound by the rules of impartiality. He was always forthright in expressing himself, even on occasions when his own actions might have appeared contrary to his stated views."

Based upon his own words, it's clear that Prince Philip took his role as a senior member of the Royal Family very seriously indeed.

Much has been written about King Charles's relationship with his father, Prince Philip. According to one royal biographer, there was a specific reason why Charles and Philip didn't always agree with one another.

In the book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward discussed Charles and Philip's rather differing outlooks on life.

"Charles and his father were so totally opposite that they never completely trusted one another," Seward wrote. "Prince Philip was brought up in a world run almost entirely by men and Charles was brought up in a world run almost entirely by women." As a result, the father and son apparently ended up at odds and with different expectations.

Per Seward, "Charles was forever trying to please his father, but had a perverse knack of doing exactly the opposite."

The royal biographer continued, "On the polo field, Philip would be particularly brutal to Charles when they played together, and polo player Johnny Kidd...remembers Philip screaming abuse at his son when he made some minor mistake or missed a shot."

While Philip was known to lose his temper with just about "everyone," Seward revealed "it was particularly embarrassing for the other players to hear him rant and rave at his son."

Sadly, Charles and Philip's relationship was never totally repaired and the pair allegedly found it difficult to talk openly to one another.

"Unfortunately, Prince Philip was never able to communicate with Charles in the way he was able to with God," Seward wrote.

The royal author continued, "The lines of communication between them were far too tenuous and they were not used to speaking about their feelings until it was too late. Charles loved his father, but I am not sure he ever liked him."

Queen Elizabeth famously called Prince Philip “her strength and stay,” and despite being vastly different people, the couple’s 73-year marriage served as a strong example to her children and grandchildren. However, that doesn’t mean the late Queen shared the same interests as her husband—or that he was a huge fan of hers.

In his biography Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, author and friend of the Royal Family Gyles Brandreth wrote that “Philip regularly boosted the Queen’s morale by telling her how lovely she looked and how well she was doing.” But Brandreth added that the two “had separate hobbies and enthusiasms” over the course of their marriage.

Noting that Queen Camilla and King Charles “have more in common” than the late Queen and Prince Philip, he wrote that the late Duke of Edinburgh “found his wife’s corgis infuriating.”

Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, also worked for the late Queen in the early days of his career. In his second memoir, The Royal Insider, he weighed in on Prince Philip's opinion on the corgis.

“Like many animal lovers, The Queen liked having her dogs in the bedroom—even in bed with her. Prince Philip, who did share a bed with his wife, was not so keen and would mumble about 'those bloody dogs',” Burrell wrote.

As for the late Queen’s equestrian pursuits, Prince Philip might have been a competitive carriage driver, but “did not share her passion for horse racing,” Brandreth wrote. One of the biggest events on Queen Elizabeth’s calendar was Royal Ascot, and she would attend multiple days of the British horse racing spectacle. The late Duke of Edinburgh, however, wasn’t as enthusiastic.

“At Royal Ascot he would do his duty, accompanying the Queen along the course in her open carriage, but once they were there, he would either race back to Windsor Castle by car or disappear into a room at the back of the Royal Box to watch the cricket,” the author revealed.

However, as Prince Philip himself once told Brandreth, the late Queen took it all in stride. “She is infinitely tolerant,” the Duke of Edinburgh said, “and forgiving.”

Not all relationships between parents and their children are easy. For King Charles, growing up in the Royal Family meant spending most of his time apart from his mom, Queen Elizabeth II, and dad, Prince Philip. But according to one royal expert, when Charles did interact with his father, it often resulted in tears.

In the book My Mother and I, royal expert Ingrid Seward discussed Charles's challenging childhood, including his sometimes tricky relationship with Prince Philip.

"The Queen, being averse to confrontation of any kind, would go along with whatever Philip decided, and Charles, unlike his feisty sister Anne, did not have the personality to stand up to his father," the royal expert and biographer shared.

Seward continued, "As a child, the sensitive and shy Prince Charles was reduced to tears when upbraided by his father for some aspect of his behavior. And it was not only when correcting Charles that Philip brought tears to his son's eyes—he would often belittle him in front of guests."

As noted by Seward, some people were critical of the "rough and bullying way in which the father addressed his son in public, which had the effect of driving Charles more and more back into his shell."

The biographer also referenced a telling interview King Charles gave to the BBC in 1969, in which he was asked whether Prince Philip was "a tough disciplinarian." The King responded, "The whole time, yes! I think he had quite a strong influence on me, particularly in my younger days."

With age, Philip and Charles's relationship appeared to improve, but it's hard to ignore the difficulties The King must have faced as a young child.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's marriage was a cornerstone of the monarch's 70-year reign. After tying the knot in November 1947, Elizabeth and Philip remained together until the prince's death in April 2021. And according to one royal biographer, Queen Elizabeth believed she owed a huge "debt" to her husband.

In his book The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, author Ian Lloyd shared, "Neither of them was ever comfortable wearing their hearts on their sleeves but on the day they celebrated their Golden Wedding in November 1997, The Queen paid a rare public tribute to her husband."

Per Lloyd, Elizabeth said of her husband, "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."

Lloyd also noted that, when Prince Philip turned 90, Queen Elizabeth honored her husband in a more concrete way—by giving him "the title of Lord High Admiral, a position only ever held by the sovereign."

As the royal biographer explained, "For the man who had given up his own promising career to help support her for the rest of his life, it was a touching gesture and one that apparently moved him close to tears."

It's safe to say that Queen Elizabeth most definitely appreciated Prince Philip's support, particularly as he was by her side throughout her impressive reign.

Queen Camilla is said to have given King Charles a new confidence as he takes on his role as monarch, and according to biographer Gyles Brandreth, their relationship brings to mind another successful royal couple. In his book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, the author wrote that observing Camilla has convinced him that she’ll be “the co-author” of The King’s success, just like Prince Philip was for Queen Elizabeth.

Brandreth worked alongside the late Duke of Edinburgh with the National Playing Fields Association, now known as Fields Trust, beginning in the 1970s, and wrote that he “liked his style.”

Much like Queen Camilla with her royal work, Prince Philip “wanted to make a difference where others, often, only make a noise,” Brandreth wrote. “He wasn’t one for honeyed words and empty gestures.”

When discussing Prince Philip, Brandreth—who was writing the section of his book shortly after Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022—added, “Until this week I thought he was irreplaceable. I was wrong.”

While watching Queen Camilla interact with the public alongside King Charles in the days following the late Queen's passing, Brandreth mused that he saw his “old boss (and hero) reborn—in Camilla.”

He wrote that while Prince Philip was Queen Elizabeth's “strength and stay,” Queen Camilla provides that same role for King Charles. “She is fundamental to the architecture of his life,” the biographer wrote, calling The Queen King Charles’s “good companion and best friend.”

The late duke “always knew he was the support act,” Brandreth wrote, noting that Queen Camilla takes on the same role. “Like Prince Philip, Camilla has accepted her destiny,” Brandreth continued. “She did not seek it.”

Reflecting on The Queen's 75th birthday lunch in 2022, which Brandreth hosted alongside Dame Joanna Lumley, the author shared that Camilla made a touching reference to her late father-in-law in a speech.

“The Duke of Edinburgh’s philosophy was clear,” she told the guests, quoting Prince Philip by saying, “Look up and look out, say less, do more—and get on with the job.” Poignantly, she added, “And that is just what I intend to do.”

Queen Elizabeth's love story with Prince Philip is one for the ages. The pair tied the knot on November 20, 1947, and remained married until Prince Philip's death on April 9, 2021. And according to those who knew the couple, there was heat between them throughout their long marriage.

According to royal author Ian Lloyd, in his book The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, "The Queen lit up when [Prince Philip] was around, when he walked into a room or when he paid her a compliment." Basically, the couple stayed very much in love through the decades.

Per Lloyd, "Once, her dress designer, the late Ian Thomas, was making some adjustments to the hemline of her dress when Philip happened to walk past the open door and he said, 'Hmm, nice dress.'"

The royal author continued, "Thomas said The Queen 'flushed scarlet’ at the compliment. They never completely softened with old age."

Lloyd also shared that Queen Elizabeth looked to her husband for advice throughout her life.

"Elizabeth was to rely on [Philip] even more as the touchstone for the values she grew up with: duty, self-sacrifice, service to Queen and country," the biographer explained. "They spoke every day on the telephone from wherever they happened to be."

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were thrown together for an extended period of time during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

"Philip left Wood Farm and joined The Queen at Windsor and over the summer at Balmoral," Lloyd noted. "It was the longest the two had been together, apart from their early tours and their time in Malta as a young naval couple, and was no doubt a consolation to her following his death just 12 months later."

Although Elizabeth and Philip weren't big on PDA, they seemingly had a very flirty relationship in private, which is endearing.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip had several palatial residences at their disposal: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral, Sandringham, just to name a few. One of their favorite places to spend their days was a comparatively modest farmhouse on the Sandringham estate, called Wood Farm.

"They adored the simplicity of what Wood Farm represented," a royal courtier revealed to the Daily Mail. "For the Duke, it was the light which he thought was perfect to paint by, and the proximity to the sea only a couple of miles away,” the courtier shared, while the late “Queen likes the unfussiness—the sense of getting away from it all and being able to slip out for a walk with the dogs whenever she likes."

Wood Farm provided the Queen and Prince Philip a sense of normalcy, which allowed them to pretend they weren’t carrying the enormous weight of the monarchy and could just be a married couple. "Often [Prince Philip] and the Queen when Sandringham was open to the general public or whatever, he and the Queen would live at Wood Farm, doing their own washing up, maybe even stacking the dishwasher," Emily Andrews revealed on a recent episode of her podcast Catching Up With The Royals.

Dickie Arbiter, the late Queen’s former press secretary, confirmed the former monarch’s penchant for washing dishes. While visiting Balmoral, Arbiter wrote “I heard footsteps and, thinking it was the Lady-in-Waiting coming to give me a hand, I casually said over my shoulder, ‘Okay, I’ll wash you dry,’ but it was not the Lady-in-Waiting. The Queen washed up and I dried, and no, she did not wear rubber gloves to protect her hands.”

Following his retirement from royal life in 2017, Prince Philip moved to Wood Farm full-time, where he could spend his days doing whatever he pleased—perhaps washing dishes in peace. "He wanted nothing more to do, really, with royal life after that. He went to live and retire at Wood Farm and he actually didn’t see the Queen very much," Andrews reported. "[It] was where he painted, it was his home. And it always has held a special place for him and the Queen."

Just like other married couples, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were known to argue. In fact, the former Duke of Edinburgh once threatened to leave his wife "stranded on the motorway." However, Elizabeth and Philip were also known to share a sense of humor, with one royal aide witnessing a particularly funny moment between the pair.

In the book The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, royal author Ian Lloyd revealed, "Chief Petty Officer William Evans recalled The Queen, then in her mid-thirties, screaming with laughter and shouting, 'Stop it! Philip, stop it, stop it, stop it!' as Philip ran after her, pinching her bottom repeatedly and growling, 'Get up there, girl, get up there!'"

As well as having a rather cheeky streak, Prince Philip seemingly wanted royal fans to know that he did, in fact, share a bed with his wife.

"Philip himself inadvertently gave a clue to their intimacy when he fact-checked a manuscript by biographer Tim Heald," Lloyd explained. "The author wrote, 'It was generally known that at the palace the royal couple had separate bedrooms.' In the margin the prince scrawled, 'wrongly.'"

Lloyd also reflected on Queen Elizabeth's growing confidence and why she seemed to appreciate Philip's candor.

"[T]he Queen was beginning to answer her husband back more," Lloyd shared.

The royal biographer continued, "Former private secretary Martin Charteris later commented, 'Prince Philip is the only man in the world who treats The Queen simply as another human being.'"

As Charteris noted, "And, of course, it's not unknown for The Queen to tell Prince Philip to shut up. Because she's The Queen, that's not something she can easily say to anybody else."

The normalcy with which Philip spoke to Queen Elizabeth apparently went both ways, and seems to have been what helped make their marriage so successful.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip had one of the most stable marriages in royal history. After tying the knot on November 20, 1947, Elizabeth and Philip were married until his death on April 9, 2021. But according to one Royal Family friend, the pair occasionally had blazing arguments.

During an appearance on Hello! magazine's "A Right Royal Podcast," broadcaster and Royal Family friend Gyles Brandreth said of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, "She wore the crown and he wore the trousers."

Noting that Prince Philip "was in charge" of certain decisions, such as where the couple's children went to school, Brandreth also reflected on the late royal's temper.

"You wouldn't want to argue with him," Brandreth said of Philip. "To be honest, you really, really wouldn't. But she did." And according to the broadcaster, there were several instances during which friends witnessed Elizabeth and Philip fighting.

Per Brandreth, "[Countess Mountbatten] and The Queen were sitting in the back of a car, and they were driven by Prince Philip at such incredible speed. It was terrifying."

According to the Royal Family friend, "The Queen was yelping" in reaction to her husband's driving. "Shut up, woman, or I'll turn you out," Philip allegedly told his wife. "Shut up! I'll turn you out on the motorway."

Recalling the story, Brandreth explained, "When they got out of the car, Countess Mountbatten said to The Queen, 'You really shouldn't let him speak to you like that. You know, you're The Queen. He shouldn't really be speaking to you like that.'"

Per the broadcaster, Queen Elizabeth replied, "But he meant it. And I really didn't want to be caught or stranded on the motorway."

It seems as though there was only one person who was allowed to shout at Queen Elizabeth, and it was her husband.

Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth were married for 73 years, making their marriage incredibly successful. While The Queen reportedly had to deal with Prince Philip's "awkward habit," she allegedly had a special way to annoy her husband when he "was in a mood."

In the royal biography, The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, royal author Ian Lloyd revealed, "As with many couples, they agreed on the big things but squabbled on the minor ones. One former courtier told biographer Graham Turner, 'He and The Queen have phenomenal rows' but they soon blow over, 'There's a terrific mutual tongue-lashing and then they end up the best of friends.'"

Over the course of their long marriage, Queen Elizabeth reportedly developed a special skill for dealing with her husband's alleged outbursts.

Per Lloyd, "[H]er technique was to throw up a smokescreen when he was in a mood. By changing the subject or talking in riddles, she confused him and threw him off guard, as he preferred straightforward arguing to such a cryptic approach."

The royal author continued, "Among those they trust, The Queen was often able to poke fun at her husband, whether he was there or not."

Another royal source suggested that The Queen would become exceedingly stubborn on occasion, too.

According to Lloyd, one source remembered a trip on the Royal Yacht Britannia, during which "The Queen declared, 'I'm not going to come out of my cabin until he's in a better temper. I'm going to sit here on my bed until he's better.'"

Judging by Lloyd's biography, Queen Elizabeth could hold her own with Prince Philip, regardless of whatever mood he was in.

Recent royal biographies have revealed funny stories about Prince Philip, including the night he ditched his nurses to steal a beer, much to his wife's chagrin. According to one royal author, the former Duke of Edinburgh was known for many things, including one particularly "awkward habit."

In the book The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, royal author Ian Lloyd revealed, "Philip's frustration with his subordinate role and his annoyance that, in the early days of her reign, his dutiful wife slavishly followed the wishes of the palace old guard and Winston Churchill, led him to occasional bursts of temper."

Royal sources shared their experiences of Prince Philip's outbursts. Per Lloyd, "These were witnessed by courtiers, friends, and relations. 'He could be brutal,' recalled a former member of staff who heard him berate The Queen with 'Don't talk such rubbish!' or 'You're completely wrong!'"

"[Queen Elizabeth II's cousin] Margaret Rhodes recalled Philip's awkward habit of jumping down people's throats," according to Lloyd.

Per the author, Rhodes shared, "He was like that with The Queen. He'd say, 'why the bloody hell?' 'what the bloody hell?' I think she did find it disconcerting."

"Deep down, the prince was aware he could occasionally make hurtful comments," Lloyd explained. "To a family friend, he once made the revealing comment, 'I don't seem able to say nice things to people, though I'd like to. Why is that?'"

The author continued, "In the early days, The Queen, aware of the huge sacrifice Philip had made, tolerated his outbursts."

Although onlookers were reportedly shocked by Prince Philip's alleged behavior, Queen Elizabeth apparently cut her husband some slack. After all, no-one's perfect.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were married for an incredible 73 years. Despite their enduring relationship, the late Queen and her husband rarely engaged in PDA. According to one royal biographer, there's a tragic reason why Elizabeth and Philip weren't overly affectionate with one another.

Writing in his book, The Queen: 70 Chapters in the Life of Queen Elizabeth II, royal author Ian Lloyd shared, "When their relationship finally blossomed during the summer of 1946, the couple gave few clues away, even to those close to them."

Lloyd continued, "Peter Ashmore, [Elizabeth's father] The King's equerry, recalled Philip's three-week stay at Balmoral, when the couple came to what Philip called 'an understanding.'"

Per the royal author, Ashmore further revealed, "They certainly did not drool over each other...They scarcely held hands."

As for why Elizabeth and Philip's relationship lacked PDA, Lloyd shared, "It was hardly a surprise, since Philip had never been shown much affection from his parents."

The royal author explained, "[Royal courtier] Mike Parker recalled trying to encourage Philip to show some kind of public affection to his wife. 'He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve,' Parker commented in a 1992 interview."

Per Lloyd's book, Parker shared, "I always wanted to see him put his arms around The Queen and show her how much he adored her. What you'd do for any wife. But he always sort of stood to attention. I mentioned it to him a couple of times. But he just gave me a hell of a look."

Luckily, the late Queen reportedly appreciated her husband's stoicism.

"Elizabeth was emotionally controlled and the fact he wasn't all over her was something she quite liked," Lloyd explained.

Basically, it sounds as though Elizabeth and Philip were a match made in heaven.

April 9 marks the fifth anniversary of Prince Philip’s death, with the late Duke of Edinburgh passing away at the age of 99. His small, socially distanced funeral was held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and looking back at the day, body language expert Judi James said that Princess Kate had to “step up quickly” to support the family.

Prince Philip’s April 17, 2021 funeral at St George’s Chapel was the first time Prince Harry had returned to Britain since he and wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working royals a year prior. With the service taking place just weeks after his explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, the Duke of Sussex was put in an awkward position for his family reunion, and Princess Kate ended up taking charge.

“When a leader leaves a group it is always time for another leader to step up quickly and help fill the void,” James told the Daily Mail. “The Queen was in deep mourning, and an equally distraught Charles appeared to watch helplessly as his two sons engaged in a civil war that threatened to drive a rift through the entire Royal Family.”

As the family left the church, video footage showed Prince Harry walking between his brother and Princess Kate as they headed back to Windsor Castle. “The world watched as, once the service was over, Kate firstly offered a consoling and supportive hug to the weeping Charles before setting off solo to herd William and Harry together like a royal sheepdog herding two anxious and dithering sheep,” James said.

Adding that it seemed “clear from William and Harry's avoidance rituals that they would have walked apart had Kate not intervened and taken firm charge,” the body language expert noted Kate’s “last move” was “perhaps the most poignant.”

“Having stepped up in a way that would probably have pleased and amused the two prince's late grandfather, Kate steps back to allow them to walk and chat alone, falling in step with a very distraught Sophie instead and finally pulling out a hankie to dab her own tears and allow herself to take a moment of quiet grief,” James said.

Unfortunately, the royal reunion was short-lived, with the brothers avoiding each other during subsequent meetings, including King Charles’s coronation. However, they showed a brief moment of unity days after Queen Elizabeth died, with the Waleses and the Sussexes conducting a joint walkabout to meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle.

Royal experts have been clearing up fact versus fiction in The Crown ever since the hit Netflix drama debuted in 2016. Various members of the Royal Family have weighed in on the show, with a senior royal source telling the Daily Express in 2017 that Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie “love” the program and “urged” Queen Elizabeth to watch with them. Although she “really liked it,” according to the palace source, the late Queen also thought certain events were “too heavily dramatized.” It seems Prince Philip agreed about The Crown twisting the facts, going as far as contacting his lawyers over one scene.

Speaking on the Daily Mail’s “Palace Authorised” YouTube show, royal biographer Hugo Vickers revealed what Prince Philip really thought about The Crown. The death of the late Duke of Edinburgh’s sister, Princess Cecilie of Greece and Denmark, is dramatized on the show, and Vickers claimed that the way The Crown changed the narrative greatly upset Philip.

“They tried to blame Prince Philip for the death of his own sister,” Vickers said. “They cooked up a scene at Gordonstoun [School], where a young Philip punches another boy. As a result, his half-term gets cancelled and his sister flies to Darmstadt, Germany.”

Pregnant Princess Cecilie was killed in a tragic plane crash along with her children and husband in 1936, and in the funeral scene on The Crown, Prince Philip’s father says, “I am burying my favorite child because of you.”

However, this isn’t what happened in real life. Prince Philip’s sister was on the way to a wedding and he had nothing to do with her reasons for boarding the plane. As Vickers noted, “In reality, there was no punch-up at Gordonstoun. He would never have gone to Darmstadt. Philip's father actually came to Britain to take him home after the crash.”

The royal author took it into his own hands to clear up the scene at the time, revealing, “I knew Prince Philip was extremely upset by it. Luckily, I went on the Today Show, Radio 4, and told the true story. He was listening, and felt to some extent that it had been put right.”

“But he did go to his lawyers about it,” Vickers added.

As Princess Diana struggled with her position in the Royal Family, she revealed intimate details about her life to biographer Andrew Morton. This series of audio tapes shared with the author formed the basis of his bestselling 1992 book, Diana: Her True Story, which was released just six months before Diana and Charles announced their separation. At the time, Princess Diana denied collaborating with Morton, but there was one member of the Royal Family who didn’t buy it.

In his new biography of the late Queen—serialized in the Daily Mail this week—Hugo Vickers explored how Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip reacted to the breakdown of their eldest son’s marriage. When it came to the release of Morton's tell-all, Vickers wrote that “it seems almost incredible that so many people accepted Diana’s denial of any involvement in the book.”

However, he continued that Diana’s father-in-law was convinced she had authorized the biography. “One person who wasn’t fooled, though, was Prince Philip, who read the book on flights to and from Canada in July and clearly detected her hand in it,” Vickers wrote. “Feeling that too much had been revealed, he was not impressed.”

Diana and Charles then held “a sticky meeting at Windsor” with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to discuss the state of their relationship, with Vickers writing that the late Queen “maintained her neutrality.” But Prince Philip wrote Diana a series of letters between June and October 1992 in hopes that his son’s marriage could be saved.

In the letters, which Vickers has read, Philip offered counsel to the struggling princess, and she replied to one that “it was clear that he ‘really cared.’” However, Prince Philip became concerned after he saw “one or two phrases from his correspondence with Diana popping up in the press.”

“This made him worry that every time there was a private discussion between Charles and Diana, details would appear in the Daily Mail,” Vickers wrote.

Although Princess Diana denied collaborating with Morton, the biographer eventually revealed that he had, in fact, received audio tapes from the princess. “Within a month of Diana’s death, Andrew Morton exposed to the world the full extent of her cooperation with his book,” Vickers wrote, adding, “Prince Philip had been right all along.”

Having tied the knot on November 20, 1947, Queen Elizabeth II was married to Prince Philip for 73 years—until his death on April 9, 2021. Now, one royal expert has shared details regarding Prince Philip's "final night," and why Elizabeth was left "absolutely furious" at her husband.

In an extract from his new book, Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, published by the Mail on Sunday, royal expert Hugo Vickers shared, "He went back to Windsor Castle on March 16 [after leaving hospital], his return considerably delayed by the need to find nurses 100 percent free of possible COVID-19 infection. He never emerged from the castle again."

Vickers continued, "However, during those last 24 days at Windsor, he was up and about. One lady-in-waiting, ringing in, was surprised to get him on the telephone." The expert also noted that Prince Philip likely enjoyed "elements of tranquillity in those final days in the castle where his mother had been born." And according to one account, he managed to have some fun, too.

Detailing Prince Philip's final wild adventure, Vickers shared, "On the last night of his life, he gave his nurses the slip, shuffled along the corridor on his [walking] frame, helped himself to a beer and drank it in the Oak Room."

After managing to ditch his nurses in order to consume alcohol, Philip reportedly returned to bed. "The following morning, he got up, had a bath, said he did not feel well, and quietly slipped away," Vickers explained. Basically, it sounds as though the prince just wanted one last drink before he died.

"By this point, he had lived with pancreatic cancer for nearly eight years—far longer than the usual survival time from diagnosis," the royal expert noted.

As was previously reported, Queen Elizabeth II wasn't at her husband's bedside at the time of his death.

"The Queen was not there when he died," Vickers wrote. "There had often been times in earlier days when she had asked the staff to let her know when Philip was leaving, only to be told, 'His Royal Highness left 20 minutes ago.'"

As a result, The Queen was allegedly not best pleased that her husband checked out without speaking to her first. "She took the line, I was told, that she was 'absolutely furious that, as so often in life, he left without saying goodbye,'" per Vickers.

Following 73 years of marriage, Elizabeth was likely left with an insurmountable loss following the death of her husband—as well as an alleged annoyance that he left without bidding her farewell.

Queen Elizabeth spent seven decades on the throne, and her husband, Prince Philip, was by her side throughout. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Elizabeth and Philip traveled to Washington to support JFK's wife, Jackie Kennedy, and their children, Caroline and John.

"The weekend of the Kennedy assassination, [Prince Philip] flew to Washington for the funeral," historian and journalist Paul Brandus previously shared on X. "At the White House on Sunday, Nov. 24, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy was looking for John Jr. and opened the door to his playroom."

Brandus continued, "There she found the prince sprawled on the floor, playing and laughing with the murdered president's son. Days from his third birthday, John had said earlier that he 'didn't have anybody to play with' (also: 'Where's daddy?') and Her Majesty's husband decided that he would entertain the boy."

In 1965, Jackie and her children traveled to the U.K. for the opening of the JFK Memorial, in honor of her late husband. Photographs of their visit to Runnymede in England on May 14, 1965 show Prince Philip holding hands with John F. Kennedy Jr., revealing a sweet bond between the pair.

JFK Jr. was also photographed meeting Queen Elizabeth while matching with his sister Caroline and mom Jackie.

As a father of four, it seems as though Prince Philip understood JFK Jr.'s needs following the loss of John F. Kennedy.

The late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, were married for 73 years, so it's no surprise that they had the odd disagreement. The late Queen was only 21-years-old when she got married, and was 94 at the time of Prince Philip’s death in 2021. Their relationship spanned almost all of Queen Elizabeth’s life, which makes it easy to understand that the royal couple would argue on occasion.

Without the usual relationship fodder, like who will take out the trash or who paid the mortgage bill, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s arguments were not your average disagreement. Once, during an overseas tour of Australia early in their marriage, they were accidentally captured by a camera crew mid-argument, with the Queen hurling a shoe at her young husband. Former royal chef, Darren McGrady, shed some light on another one of their differences of opinion that divided their social lives.

Apparently, they often disagreed on what foods to serve at dinner parties. "There weren't banned foods, but the Queen didn't like garlic or strong onions, viewing them as antisocial," McGrady told Birmingham Live. The late Queen requested that these ingredients not be used in her dinner party menus, to avoid unattractive breath or overwhelming smells. "Prince Philip, however, loved garlic and would have it at his dinner parties."

It seems unlikely that anyone would argue with the Queen of England over a dinner party menu, and guests were expected to oblige with Her Majesty’s tastes. "During my 11 years with the Queen, we didn't have a single vegetarian, gluten-free, or lactose-intolerant guest," McGrady revealed. "If you dined with the Queen, you ate what the Queen ate. If you didn't like it, you'd stop for a McDonald's on the way home."

One wonders if Prince Philip ever had to stop for a Big Mac on the M25 after a garlic argument.

The general public loves to witness a royal wedding. However, romance isn't always smooth sailing, and the same can be said of many of the Royal Family's unions. In fact, one famous royal couple faced pushback from their parents regarding their intention to marry.

In the book Queen Elizabeth II: A Concise Biography of an Exceptional Sovereign, royal historian David Cannadine revealed that, according to a well-connected courtier, Queen Elizabeth II's parents weren't enamored with Prince Philip at first.

"On active wartime service in the Royal Navy, he was soon spending some of his shore leave at Windsor, staying in the castle over Christmas 1943," Cannadine wrote. "Not long after, according to one account, Philip told his cousin, King George of Greece, that he wished to marry Princess Elizabeth, and urged him to ask George VI, on his behalf, if he was an appropriate spouse for his daughter."

Unfortunately for Philip, Elizabeth's parents allegedly weren't excited about the idea of their daughter's prospective suitor. "But according to Tommy Lascelles [private secretary to King George VI and later Queen Elizabeth II], The King and Queen thought Prince Philip to be 'rough, ill-mannered, uneducated, and would probably not be faithful,' views that Lascelles undoubtedly shared," the royal historian wrote.

Per Cannadine, Elizabeth's father, King George VI, tried to put a stop to a romance between Philip and his daughter. In fact, he apparently warned Philip that he "had better not think any more" about getting married to Elizabeth.

In spite of the warnings, Philip and Elizabeth reportedly continued to write to one another, and "Elizabeth kept a photograph of a bearded Prince Philip on her desk in the suite of rooms she had recently been assigned in Buckingham Palace," per Cannadine.

In 1946, Elizabeth's parents "invited Philip to spend three weeks at Balmoral, and while staying there he proposed to Elizabeth, and she accepted," per the royal historian. However, Elizabeth's father "urged delay before any formal announcement was made, fearing his daughter was still too young, unworldly, and inexperienced to know her own mind or be clear about her feelings."

Luckily, Elizabeth's choice of spouse appears to have been the right one. Philip and Elizabeth tied the knot on November 20, 1947, and they remained together until the former Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021.

Members of the Royal Family have their own special ways of celebrating holidays—take the German tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve. But according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, there's one holiday that was rarely marked at the palace.

Sharing his insights with Smooth Spins Casino, McGrady, who previously worked for Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana, says that Valentine's Day wasn't celebrated in any special way by the royals in the '80s and '90s.

Although Diana was a famous Americanophile and adopted a number of more modern traditions and viewpoints at the palace, McGrady says his former boss didn't order up a romantic meal for Valentine's Day.

"They didn’t celebrate Valentine’s at all," he shares of the Royal Family. "It was a silly holiday for them, I think. Absolutely not something that the Royal Family celebrated, even Princess Diana on that one."

"It’s not a proper holiday, and food-wise, it’s not really something you celebrate with a foodie thing," McGrady added.

As for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the former royal chef said, "I know for a fact that the [late] Queen or Prince Philip wouldn’t have gone out or requested a special meal for Valentine’s Day. Princess Diana certainly didn't."

In February 2025, Diana's former butler Paul Burrell echoed the sentiment, telling Marie Claire, "Do you know what reminds me of Valentine's Day, is the fact that the royals never acknowledged it. It was never a day for the Royal Family, [more of] a day for the people."

While it seems that palace life in the '80s and '90s didn't support Valentine's Day outings, modern royals are now embracing the holiday. In 2025, both Prince William and Princess Kate and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared sweet kissing photos on social media to mark Valentine's Day—a first for the Royal Family.

Prince Philip was known for many things, including his penchant for playing pranks with his grandchildren. He also became known for being "brilliantly funny, very clever," and "very popular" with royal staff members. Now, a new report has suggested that Prince Philip had one "playful habit," and he enjoyed "testing" staff by "hiding" food in odd places in Buckingham Palace.

As reported by Hello! magazine, Queen Elizabeth II's husband "really loved the Chinese Dining Room, located in the East Wing" of Buckingham Palace. It was there that Prince Philip allegedly exhibited one rather "playful habit."

Per the outlet, "Under the mantel, where an ornate clock sits in the room, is a dragon. Prince Philip...would hide peas in the mouth of the dragon to test the housekeeping staff at Buckingham Palace." The publication explained, "It was the duke's way to see if they were really checking...and, yes, they were."

Hiding peas for Buckingham Palace staff wasn't the only so-called "funny" thing Prince Philip did. His grandson, Prince William, opened up about Philip's keen sense of humor during an episode of Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy.

"My grandfather was incredibly amusing," the Prince of Wales explained (via People). "Sometimes not deliberately, sometimes by accident!"

William further explained, "But we had a lot of laughs and he had a great sense of humor, as did my grandmother as well, actually. But my grandfather definitely was the one who would create quite a few laughs."

The Prince of Wales reflected on the "happy times" he spent with his grandparents, telling Levy, "There was always a warmness, there was always a laughter, there was always a family feel. And my grandparents loved having the family around them, so we were always encouraged to turn up and be around."

Whether he was hiding food, or telling jokes, Prince Philip seemingly enjoyed making other people laugh.

Stories of the King’s lavish habits have long become royal legend—from the valet said to squeeze toothpaste onto His Majesty's brush to tales of Charles traveling with his own bedroom furniture when visiting friends. In Robert Jobson's upcoming book, The Windsor Legacy, he addresses some of the rumors—and shares one story about an outrageous journey from England to Scotland to replace a toilet seat.

The longtime royal journalist and author noted that reports of "ironed shoelaces" have never been proven, but in Tom Bower's book, Rebel Prince, he claimed that Charles brought his own toilet seat on royal tours. Jobson added that "when challenged about this, during a 2018 walkabout in Brisbane, Australia, the Prince himself dismissed the claim, saying: 'Oh, don't believe all that crap.'"

"However, insiders suggest there is some truth to the story," Jobson continued. He notes one instance at "Craigowan Lodge, a rustic stone cottage about a mile from Balmoral Castle." It seems that King Charles, who was still the Prince of Wales at the time, "couldn't stand" the "cheap plastic loo seat" at the property, so servants would bring "a wooden one whenever he came to stay."

On one occasion, however, the staffers forgot to put the original plastic seat back in place when Charles returned home to England. Prince Philip—who "was prone to bristle at what he considered Charles's over-indulgent lifestyle"—was going to be staying at the lodge next, and Jobson described the resulting situation as "calamity."

Since the late duke would "undoubtedly notice" the change in toilet seat, the natural solution seemed to be to send an aide to Scotland. Traveling from The King's country home, Highgrove, "a drive of 500 miles taking around nine hours by car," the aide had one goal.

That was, of course, "to replace the solid wood lavatory seat with the original flimsy plastic one before the old duke arrived, thus avoiding an inevitable clash between father and son," Jobson wrote.

Prince Philip, prone to no fuss, usually traveled "with just one aide and a police protection officer who often had a suit carrier slung over his back," Jobson wrote. Meanwhile, Charles would go "to some lengths to dodge his father's stinging remarks," timing his arrival so Prince Philip wouldn't see his own "mountain of luggage."

Jobson also shared a story from Sandringham, when one of Charles's footmen arrived with a large bag "which was tightly packed with ingredients for Charles's special breakfasts." Unsurprisingly, Prince Philip didn't see the need.

"Philip would point out that the chefs on tap prepared meals that were, as he put it, ‘bloody good enough for the rest of us,'" Jobson noted.

When thinking about royal modes of transportation, images of horse-drawn carriages or Queen Elizabeth's beloved Land Rovers come to mind—or perhaps The King's wine-and-cheese-fueled Aston Martin. While Prince William and Princess Kate have been seen in Range Rovers and Audis, it seems that another member of the family had a different vehicle he liked to use when going undercover in London.

Speaking to travel company Coachhop, Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell said the late Prince Philip would sneak out of Buckingham Palace in a black cab he had converted to an everyday car.

"Prince Philip had a converted London taxi," Burrell said, noting, "It was converted to electric and very often it was parked by what we called the ‘Prince of Wales luggage door’ in the quadrangle." The former butler, whose new memoir The Royal Insider publishes in the United States in 2026, continued that the Duke of Edinburgh "would go out in that with his personal protection office into the crowd, and nobody would recognize him."

Prince Philip died at the age of 99 in 2021, and the Prince of Wales opened up about his relationship with his grandfather in an episode of Apple TV+'s The Reluctant Traveler on October 3. Taking actor Eugene Levy on a tour of Windsor Castle, Prince William said how growing up with Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh was "quite formal."

"I think when we were younger it was harder to have that very close relationship, because it was quite formal," he revealed. "But as they got older and I got older, it got warmer and warmer."

The Prince of Wales added, "I definitely think my relationship was best with my grandparents when they were more in their sort of eighties," explaining, "they sort of relaxed a little bit."

Although he didn't describe any secret London taxi rides, Prince William said the late duke was "incredibly amusing, sometimes not deliberately." He added, "we had a lot of laughs, and he had a great sense of humor. As did my grandmother as well, actually."

Prince William was fortunate to have his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and grandfather, Prince Philip, around until their late nineties, with the Duke of Edinburgh living until age 99 and Elizabeth dying at the age of 96 in 2022. Speaking to Eugene Levy in a special royal-themed episode of The Reluctant Traveler on Apple TV+, the 43-year-old Prince of Wales admitted that his relationship with his grandparents was "good," but that it became much better when he reached adulthood.

While taking Levy on a tour of Windsor Castle, William pointed out Eton College from a window, telling the actor how he used to visit his grandmother for "the best teas" when he was a student. "And you had a great relationship?" Levy asked. "Yeah, I had a good relationship," William said, pointing out his grandparents "were of a different generation."

"I think when we were younger it was harder to have that very close relationship, because it was quite formal," he admitted. "But as they got older and I got older, it got warmer and warmer." The Prince of Wales continued, "I definitely think my relationship was best with my grandparents when they were more in their sort of eighties," explaining "they sort of relaxed a little bit."

Prince William added that the late Duke of Edinburgh—who was known for his off-color comments at times—was "incredibly amusing, sometimes not deliberately." The Prince of Wales added, "we had a lot of laughs, and he had a great sense of humor. As did my grandmother as well, actually."

Although he didn't bring up the late Queen's incredible talent at mimicry, William said there was "always warmness, always laughter, always a family feel" but "you had to be careful about your timing" when making jokes with the late Queen and Prince Philip.

Speaking about his grandmother's absence, William said, "For me, Windsor is her. She loved it here. She spent most of her time here."

During another scene from the episode, which premieres on October 3, Prince William takes his dog, Orla, for a walk with Levy through Windsor Great Park. They also visit a Windsor pub with Orla in tow, during which the Prince of Wales opened up about The King and Princess Kate both being diagnosed with cancer in 2024.

"I'd say 2024 was the hardest year I've ever had," he said, describing how it was difficult "trying to sort of balance protecting the children, Catherine, my father needs a bit of protection, but he’s, you know, he’s old enough to do that himself."

William added that he wanted his kids Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7, to feel "protected" and like they have "space to process a lot of the stuff that’s gone on last year, and that was tricky trying to do that and keep doing the job."

Speaking about his family's journey over the past year, William shared, "You know, life is sent to test us as well, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are."

Over the years, the Royal Family's favorite alcoholic drinks have been revealed. While Queen Elizabeth was said to favor gin and Dubonnet, Princess Kate is reportedly a fan of the classic gin and tonic. Now, a former royal butler who served at Buckingham Palace has revealed that gin was the drink of choice for many members of the family. In fact, staff even became known for having to "sneak alcohol around Buckingham Palace" on a regular basis.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell, who worked for Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana, has opened up about the Royal Family's alcoholic proclivities in his new book. Writing in The Royal Insider: My Life With The Queen, The King, and Princess Diana, Burrell dished (via The Sun), "I quickly became familiar with the ingenious ways in which the household smuggled booze for their soirees."

He continued, "I would be ordered by senior members of staff to empty a screw-topped tonic water bottle each night and fill it with gin for them to use for parties in their rooms."

Burrell further alleged that "gallons of gin were consumed every week—some legitimately, some not." As for how staff would transport the copious volumes of gin, Burrell recalled his fellow footmen carrying "electric kettles around the palace, not full of water but full of gin." Presumably, no-one accidentally boiled the gin that was discreetly hidden in the electric devices.

Secret gin deliveries were far from the only revelation Burrell made in his new book. In fact, the former royal employee was candid about facing accusations of theft following Princess Diana's death.

A trusted employee of the late princess, Burrell allegedly took some of Diana's positions following her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Despite having informed Queen Elizabeth of his plans to protect the former Princess of Wales's private belongings, crossed wires led to Burrell being arrested and facing a court case. According to the butler, it was The Queen herself who "saved" him from prison in an extraordinary, last-minute addition of evidence from the Royal Family.

A plethora of former royal employees have opened up about what it's like working for Queen Elizabeth II. However, one former butler's story about a private meeting with the late monarch is perhaps stranger than the rest.

Paul Burrell, who recently released the book The Royal Insider: My Life With The Queen, The King, and Princess Diana, got candid about a meeting he had with Queen Elizabeth after working at the palace for one year. As reported by the Daily Star, Burrell said of the encounter, "That morning in the staff canteen we had sausages for breakfast. I wrapped two up in a paper napkin and put them into my tailcoat pocket. I thought, 'She's got dogs.'"

Burrell reportedly continued, "Went upstairs, knocked on the door, she said, 'Come in.' She said, 'You're Paul.' I said, 'Yes, Your Majesty,' and I bowed."

Elizabeth subsequently asked the butler whether he was a fan of dogs, to which he replied, "I love dogs." Burrell continued, "She said, 'Well let's see if they like you.' So she handed me all the leashes."

The Queen reportedly introduced Burrell to each of her pups by name. "This is Smoky, this is Shadow, this is Piper, this is Chipper, this is Jolly, this is Socks," the late monarch reportedly told Burrell.

Reflecting on the meeting, Burrell explained, "I thought, 'Oh my goodness, I'm never going to remember all these names.'" According to the former butler, the monarch had 10 dogs at the time, comprised of nine corgis and one Labrador.

Once outside, Burrell reportedly had a secret plan for the dogs. "I thought, 'I'm going to take them all off the leads and I'll run across the lawns and they'll follow me,'" he explained. "And they did, because they could smell the sausages."

According to the former royal employee, he fed sausages to the dogs "behind the greenhouse," out of view of The Queen, and "could see the net curtain twitching."

The former monarch was allegedly impressed with Burrell's control of her pets. The royal employee explained, "When I got back into her room she said, 'That's quite extraordinary, they do like you—I think I'll keep you.'" He continued, "She kept me for eleven years. What a lovely lady she was."

While working for the Royal Family is undeniably prestigious, roles within the Royal Household come with a plethora of rules. According to one former royal butler, who started his tenure at Buckingham Palace, one rule made him particularly "nervous," and it involved Queen Elizabeth herself.

In his new book The Royal Insider: My Life With The Queen, The King, and Princess Diana, former royal employee Paul Burrell discussed what it was like starting work as a royal butler. "I had progressed beyond empty cups to potatoes and gravy," Burrell wrote of the tasks he was allowed to carry out as a new member of staff (via Manchester Evening News). "We were always told never to look at The Queen or to stare at her: never look her in the eye, always look down."

According to the outlet, Burrell was especially "nervous" during one of his encounters with Queen Elizabeth as "he was carrying a silver tray with 20 Royal Worcester coffee cups, saucers, and gilt spoons."

Burrell revealed in his book, "Then my nerves got the better of me and the cups and saucers all started to rattle." He continued, "I will never forget the noise. All I had to do was stand behind The Queen and the pages would come to me and collect the cups."

The former royal employee claimed that the items on his tray were rattling "so loud" that the monarch turned around to "look at what the commotion was."

According to the outlet, Burrell's fears about looking Queen Elizabeth in the eye were entirely unfounded. "The Queen simply smiled back," the outlet explained. From there, Burrell became a trusted member of staff, and would go on to work for Princess Diana. Still, starting his role at Buckingham Palace was understandably overwhelming.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to host Donald and Melania Trump during their presidential state visit to the U.K. this week. Throughout her time on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II met a plethora of American presidents, and she appears to have developed a soft spot for Barack Obama. However, his final state visit to the U.K. in 2016, which coincided with the monarch's 90th birthday, apparently caused an argument to erupt.

During an episode of the Daily Mail's "Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things" podcast, royal expert Robert Hardman revealed that the late monarch wanted to "pop out" and meet the Obamas in her own vehicle upon their arrival. Unsurprisingly, the Secret Service agents tasked with protecting the president were reportedly displeased with the idea.

According to Hardman, Queen Elizabeth's casual suggestion caused a "very serious row" to start between the Secret Service and Buckingham Palace. "The Secret Service said absolutely no way is that happening," the royal biographer explained. "The president can only be driven around by us."

Hardman further revealed that Obama's staff had "said there was a very serious row over which car they were going to go in and who was going to drive it." He continued, "This dilemma went right the way up to Obama himself, who had to decide. He thought, well it obviously means quite a lot to them, so I'll go in their car."

According to the royal expert, Obama had the final say in how he traveled to Windsor Castle. "For the only time in his entire presidency, he and the First Lady were driven, not in a bullet-proof, bomb-proof whatever, but in a Range Rover driven by Prince Philip," Hardman shared.

Clearly, the Obamas put a lot of faith in the British Royal Family.

Princess Diana's tenure within the Royal Family wasn't always easy, particularly as her marriage to King Charles became more tumultuous. However, one royal expert has suggested that Princess Diana had at least one unexpected ally within the family, who was a comfort "when things were difficult."

Broadcaster and royal expert Gyles Brandreth wrote about Princess Diana's surprising friendship with her father-in-law in the 2021 book, Philip: The Final Portrait. A friend of the Royal Family, Brandreth revealed in his book that, following Diana's death in August 1997, he told Prince Philip (via the Daily Mail), "The public view of you, for what it's worth, is of a grouchy old man, unsympathetic to his daughter-in-law."

Brandreth continued, "But I happen to know...that when things were difficult, you wrote to Diana—kind letters, concerned, fatherly, loving letters from Pa, explaining how you knew, firsthand, the difficulties involved in marrying into the Royal Family." Elaborating on his conversation with the royal, the broadcaster explained, "The impression the public has got is unfair." The former Duke of Edinburgh reportedly responded, "I've just got to live with it. It happens to a lot of people."

According to Brandreth, "Philip's letters to Diana were typical of his correspondence overall. They were sympathetic, but unsentimental, direct, but to a purpose."

The royal expert continued, "In his letters Philip confronted his daughter-in-law with home truths: he invited her to face the facts. Essentially he wanted to make Diana think about her marriage, long and hard. And he did."

Brandreth also revealed that Princess Diana was hugely grateful for her father-in-law's letters, particularly during the most troubling times in her life.

"When Diana received the letters she was at her most vulnerable and volatile," the author explained. "As soon as one arrived, she opened it, scanned it, usually burst immediately into tears and then shared it, as soon as possible, with her closest friends."

Clearly, Prince Philip provided invaluable support to Diana when she needed it the most.

Queen Elizabeth II was known for her love of corgis, which she owned throughout her life. And according to a former royal butler, the monarch didn't hold back when Royal Family members criticized the adorable pets.

In his new book, The Royal Insider: My Life with The Queen, The King, and Princess Diana, former butler Paul Burrell recalled working with Queen Elizabeth, which included caring for the corgis. "While I always felt like I was living the dream being one of The Queen's footmen, it was not an easy job by any means," Burrell wrote in the book, which is being serialized by the Daily Mail.

Reflecting on his role, Burrell explained, "My first duty of the day was to walk the corgis." He continued, "I always felt guilty for not picking up the 'corgi mess'—I didn't have time. The gardeners must have cursed me as I left their immaculate lawn littered with dog poo."

Remembering one particular interaction between Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Burrell wrote, "Like many animal lovers, The Queen liked having her dogs in the bedroom—even in bed with her. Prince Philip, who did share a bed with his wife, was not so keen and would mumble about 'those bloody dogs.'"

According to Burrell, Philip once told Elizabeth, "I don't know why you have to have so many." Known for her acerbic wit, The Queen reportedly responded, "But darling, they are so collectable."

It seems extremely likely that Prince Philip knew just how attached Queen Elizabeth was to her corgis. But according to Burrell, Philip was simply not a fan of sharing a bed with the sweet pups.

Saturday, September 6 will mark the 28th anniversary of Princess Diana's funeral, and one memory that's stuck in the public's minds is the image of Prince Harry and Prince William walking behind their mother's coffin through the streets of London. But in Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, he revealed that one member of his family fought for the boys to be left out of the funeral procession.

In the book, the Duke of Sussex wrote of the period leading up to his mother's 1997 funeral, recalling, "There was some discussion about the next day’s funeral. Per the latest plan, the coffin would be pulled through the streets on a horse-drawn carriage by the King’s Troop while Willy and I followed on foot." Harry continued, "It seemed a lot to ask of two young boys," noting that "several adults were aghast" and "Mummy’s brother, Uncle Charles, raised hell."

As the younger brother of Diana and head of the Spencer family, Charles, Earl Spencer, was the one who ultimately made the decision for Diana to have a royal funeral, as revealed in former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter's memoir, On Duty With The Queen.

Per the duke, Earl Spencer said, "You can’t make these boys walk behind their mother’s coffin!" calling the idea "barbaric." Aides then came up with "an alternative plan" that proposed Prince William "would walk alone," Harry wrote. "He was fifteen, after all. Leave the younger one out of it. Spare the Spare."

That plan was scrapped, with the Duke of Sussex writing, "Back came the answer. It must be both princes. To garner sympathy, presumably." Although his "Uncle Charles was furious," Harry said he wasn't. "I didn't want Willy to undergo an ordeal like that without me. Had the roles been reversed, he'd never have wanted me—indeed, allowed me—to go it alone."

In the end, The King (then Prince Charles), Earl Spencer and Prince Philip joined the young princes to walk behind Diana's coffin en route to Westminster Abbey. After Prince Philip's 2021 death, former government relations director Anji Hunter told the Standard about his involvement in the days leading up to the funeral.

"We were all talking about how William and Harry should be involved and suddenly came Prince Philip’s voice," she told the media outlet. "We hadn’t heard from him before, but he was really anguished. 'It’s about the boys,' he cried, 'They’ve lost their mother.'" According to the media outlet, Philip told his grandsons the night before the funeral, "I’ll walk if you walk."

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tied the knot in a fairytale royal wedding ceremony inside St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were both in attendance at the regal nuptials, where they proudly supported their grandson, Harry. However, a former royal butler has shared that the late Duke of Edinburgh actually made a swear-filled remark upon leaving the wedding ceremony.

Grant Harrold, who worked as the Royal Family's butler for seven years, opened up about Prince Philip's reaction following Harry and Meghan's wedding in an extract from his new book, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service.

"Once all the formalities were over, we watched as the happy couple, and then the other members of the Royal Family, filed out of the chapel," Harrold wrote (via The Telegraph). "When Prince Philip came out he turned to The Queen and said, 'Thank fuck that's over.'"

While some royal fans might wonder why Prince Philip swore after his grandson's wedding, it seems likely that the late Queen's husband was simply tired after attending such a high-profile event. In an interview with Us Weekly, royal expert Ingrid Seward said of Prince Philip, "He was determined that he was going to go to the wedding because he literally just had a hip operation six weeks before, which is a really good example of him being absolutely determined that whatever happened he was gonna walk down that aisle at the wedding and take his seat."

Seward continued, "He was very welcoming to Meghan because of course, she was a newcomer...At the time of Meghan and Harry's romance, he wasn't around nearly as much because he'd retired. So he didn't see very much of Meghan at all. So he didn't really have a chance to form a relationship with her."

As the late Duke of Edinburgh was known for making inappropriate remarks during his life, Harrold's revelation doesn't feel totally out of character. Rather than being any sort of diss towards Meghan or Harry, Prince Philip's swear-filled comment appears to have been related to his health difficulties, which is understandable.

As Princess Anne marks her milestone 75th birthday on August 15, royal watchers are reflecting on the substantial role she's played not just as a working royal, but within her own family—especially the bond she shared with her parents. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's only daughter has long been regarded as one of the most hard-working and no-nonsense members of the Royal Family. But behind her often steely (and superbly witty) exterior is a daughter who shared a particularly close relationship with her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh.

Unlike her older brother King Charles, who was a sensitive and bookish child, the Princess Royal shared Prince Philip's brisk, outdoorsy spirit. As Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward wrote in a 2017 piece for the Daily Mail, "Single-minded, sporty and brave, Princess Anne is unafraid of controversy and cares little for the opinion of others. In other words, she is very much her father's daughter—in a way that Prince Charles can never be his father's son."

Eileen Parker, whose husband, Mike Parker, was a friend of Prince Philip's, told Seward that the late duke "always had more fun with Anne," adding "Charles is more like The Queen, while Anne is very like Prince Philip."

While Prince Philip spent time outdoors with all of his children, he's said to have shared more interests with the Princess Royal than he did with his eldest son, Charles. From an early age, Anne enjoyed pursuits like riding, camping and sailing with her father, and the two bonded over their dry sense of humor and a mutual disdain for fuss.

While royal fans might assume that it was lifelong equestrian Queen Elizabeth who encouraged her daughter to ride, it was actually Prince Philip who was instrumental in jump-starting Anne's athletic career (no pun intended). Seward wrote that "Philip had no reservations about letting his daughter expose herself to the dangers inherent in equestrian sport," adding that one observer said, "It was almost as if he treated her as a son."

"Charles was still at the end of a leading rein when Anne was already jumping," Seward wrote of the siblings. "She was also galloping before she'd properly learned how to trot." Seeing how naturally talented she was at riding, Prince Philip saw that Anne received the best training, culminating in her becoming the first member of the Royal Family to compete in the Olympic Games.

Years later, Princess Anne's daughter, Zara Tindall, would go on to win silver for eventing in the 2012 Olympics—and her medal was presented by none other than her mom.

Noting that The King "was a poor athlete" as a child, Seward wrote that Prince Philip taught the Princess Royal how to sail "with considerably more success than he'd had with Charles—who was seasick and didn't respond well either to the hearty disciplines of life on board or being shouted at by his father."

Few newcomers marry into the Royal Family fully prepared for the duties and public scrutiny that come along with a royal title. But long before Kate Middleton became the Princess of Wales, she received a priceless piece of advice from someone who knew all too well what it felt like to join the world's most famous family.

Prince Philip—who had been married to Queen Elizabeth for 73 years when he died in 2021—retired at the age of 96, having held nearly 1,000 patronages in his lifetime. But behind his public role, he also took on the task of mentoring new family members, including Princess Diana and later, Kate.

According to Gyles Brandreth's biography Philip: The Final Portrait (via Hello!), the late Duke of Edinburgh shared a key lesson with the future Queen Catherine, and it would shape how she carried herself in the public eye. The tip? Never look at the camera.

Prince Philip noted that the late Queen paid attention to the person she was talking to, and not the cameras around her. Per Brandreth, the duke said, "If you believe the attention is for you personally, you're going to end up in trouble."

"The attention is for your role, what you do, what you're supporting," his advice to Princess Kate continued. "It isn't for you as an individual. You are not a celebrity. You are representing the Royal Family. That's all."

Although Brandreth wrote that the Duke of Edinburgh was concerned about younger members of the family letting attention get to their heads, he was "relieved" about Prince William's "level-headed" partner.

The author added that he had personally gone on walkabouts with Princess Kate and saw her put Philip's advice into action. "She does not look at the camera," Brandreth wrote. "Whenever she is interviewed, Catherine talks about the matter in hand, never about herself.”

Following Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8, 2022, her son King Charles became monarch. His coronation took place on May 6, 2023, and Charles appears to have embraced his new role with aplomb. However, according to a royal biographer, not everyone in the Royal Family believed Charles would make a "good king." In fact, the identity of Charles's doubter is heartbreaking.

In the book Philip: The Final Portrait, royal author Gyles Brandreth revealed that during a series of meetings with the late Queen's husband, Philip expressed a certain amount of "disdain" for his eldest son Charles (via the Daily Mail). According to Brandreth, there was a "touch of exasperation in his tone—and often, too, a note of sarcasm" whenever the topic of Charles, then the Prince of Wales, came up. "The Duke gave the impression that he would have liked his son to be more robust, less fey," Brandreth wrote.

Following the death of Princess Diana, from whom Charles was divorced, Prince Philip reportedly expressed his belief that his eldest son didn't have the "dedication necessary to make a good king," Brandreth wrote.

Brandreth isn't the first author to suggest that Prince Philip and King Charles had a difficult relationship. In Tim Clayton's 2001 book Diana: Story of a Princess, royal expert Penny Junor explained (via E! News), "Prince Philip is bluff, outspoken, hearty, tough, and something of a bully."

Junor continued, "He has no patience with his eldest son's soul-searching. Sensitivity is not one of the qualities he expects in a man, and although he undoubtedly has great affection for Prince Charles, he has spent a lifetime criticizing him and quietly undermining his self-esteem."

Although some people found Queen Elizabeth to be "dull" when it came to making conversation, the late monarch was also known for her wit and sense of humor. And Queen Elizabeth—who was a gifted mimic—couldn't help but poke fun at herself after she became the mid-20th-century version of a meme.

As detailed in Craig Brown's biography Q: A Voyage Around The Queen, the late Queen was giving her annual Christmas speech in 1953 when she uttered a fairly common phrase, "My husband and I..."

Queen Elizabeth had never said it before, and per the author, the phrase "was to pop up regularly in her speeches over the coming years." For some reason, "my husband and I" turned into "the stuff of comedy," with British comics routinely impersonating the late monarch and her upper-crust accent by saying, "May hesbend end Ay." In fact, it became "a catchphrase of the era," per Brown.

The Queen was made fun of so often for saying "my husband and I" that, "from the early sixties onwards, she and her speechwriters tried to avoid ridicule by changing it to 'Prince Philip and I,'" Brown wrote.

However, it was Queen Elizabeth "who had the last laugh." Per the royal biographer, the late Queen came up with a brilliant idea during a speech she gave at an event on her 25th wedding anniversary. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were attending a banquet held in their honor at the Guildhall in London when she stood up and said, "I think everybody really will concede that on this, of all days, I should begin my speech with the words, 'my husband and I.'"

Noting that the late monarch "staked her claim to ownership of the joke," Brown wrote that by including the line in her speech, the clever Queen was able to ensure that her joke—and not the original '50s line—is that one that people most remember.

When Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) married Prince Philip in 1947, her incredibly detailed wedding dress might have stolen the show, but the couple's wedding cake was like something out of a vintage royal fairytale. The four-tiered fruit cake stood at a massive 2.7 metres (nearly nine feet) and weighed 500 pounds. Hundreds of boxed pieces were distributed to friends and contacts, but slices of the 77-year-old cake are, understandably, hard to come by these days—until a recent auction.

According to the Telegraph, a rare slice of Elizabeth and Philip's wedding cake sold at a recent Reeman Danise auction for £2,700 (about $3,670). It was an especially significant find, considering this is one of the last known pieces of the historic cake in existence—and the buyer intends to eat it.

“I will have a third of it cut off and flambéed in rum so that any bacteria will be killed off,” Gerry Layton, who won the auction, told the Telegraph. The 64-year-old man, who said he plans to hold a replica state banquet for his upcoming 65th birthday on the Royal Yacht Britannia, admitted that it's probably a risky idea.

"But if anything happens to me, then at least I will be going out in style on Britannia," he added.

Per the media outlet, the cake was gifted to Royal Navy officer Chief Petty Officer F Lownes, who left it to his son. The box was kept in a drawer for years, and was passed on to Lownes's daughter-in-law before ending up with Reeman Danise Auctioneers.

The late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh's wedding cake—baked by McVitie and Price—featured depictions of royal residences and the couple's favorites sports and activities, with each tier separated by columns.

Royal fan Layton also owns a piece of Princess Diana and Prince Charles's 1981 wedding cake, although no word on if he ate that one, too.

Queen Elizabeth was beloved by people around the world, including members of her loyal staff like her longtime dresser, Angela Kelly. But it turns out there's one member of the Royal Family who surpassed the late Queen in popularity—at least among their household employees. Prince Philip might have been known for his often politically incorrect one-liners, but according to Matt Smith—who portrayed the Duke of Edinburgh in the first two seasons of The Crown—the late royal was a staff favorite.

"All the research I did found him to be brilliantly funny, very clever, very popular," Smith said in a 2018 interview with Variety. "In the royal house he's the most popular of all of them. If you've talked to any of the staff, Philip's the one they all love really."

In the interview, which took place three years before the duke's 2021 death, Smith continued, "I think more than a lot of them, he's a bit more of a man of the people. The royal protocol hasn't dogged him in quite the same way his whole life and there's a sort of rebellion in him and a naughtiness and a cheekiness."

"I think he’s quite affable and open by all accounts with the staff," the actor continued. "They all love him."

The feeling was mutual. When Prince Philip died at the age of 99, he reportedly left £30 million (roughly $40.8 million) to three of his favorite staff members, including "his private secretary, Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, his page William Henderson and valet Stephen Niedojadlo," per the Sun.

At the time, an insider said of the unconventional move, "Unlike some other royals, Prince Philip will be generous to the three men who looked after him." The source, who called the late Duke of Edinburgh "a very fair, even-handed and lovely man," added that when he was released from a four-week-long hospital stay weeks before his death, Prince Philip spent time preparing gifts for his staff, including signing photographs in monogrammed frames.

Members of the Royal Family have been given some unexpected and hilarious nicknames throughout the years. However, one royal in particular allegedly gained the moniker "boisterous bruiser" due to his raucous behavior, which stood in stark contrast to the way King Charles acted. According to one royal expert, this Royal Family member wasn't remotely "shy," either.

In his book War of the Windsors: The Inside Story of Charles, Andrew, and the Rivalry That Has Defined the Royal Family, expert Nigel Cawthorne shared, "Andrew isn't a bit shy" (via the Daily Mail).

Cawthorne explained, "Indeed, he was often pushy, demanding and domineering." A Royal Family friend told the royal biographer, "He's his father [Prince Philip] all over again." As a result, Philip was allegedly proud of Andrew's behavior, as "at least one of his sons was a chip off the old block." However, the late Queen's husband "was also conscious of the dangers."

According to Cawthorne, it was when Prince Andrew attended Heatherdown Prepatory School in Ascot that he became known for his allegedly bad behavior. "As he was not heir to the throne, Andrew got an easier time [at school] and took to it like a duck to water," the royal author explained. "An extrovert, competitive and sometimes aggressive, Andrew did not submit to bullying."

The royal biographer shared, "At Heatherdown he developed into a boisterous bruiser. Sharing a dormitory with 6 others, he complained the TV watching was restricted."

In the book Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, royal author Tom Quinn seemingly confirmed Cawthorne's account. "A bit like his aunt Margaret, Andrew always behaved as if he was frustrated about not being the first-born and therefore destined to become king" (via the Daily Mail).

Quinn continued, "This frustration made him a bit of a bully in private, I think...[H]e couldn't resist being imperious and bossy and bad-tempered if anything went wrong or wasn't done exactly to his liking."

Queen Elizabeth was known for exhibiting iconic behavior in just about every aspect of her life, including when it came to her culinary tastes. From ordering a special menu for her corgis to her love of the "jam penny" sandwich, the late Queen clearly knew what she wanted from the Buckingham Palace chefs. In a new interview, one former royal chef has revealed why Queen Elizabeth was actually "very frugal" when it came to food.

Speaking exclusively to Heart Bingo, Darren McGrady, who worked with the Royal Family for 15 years, explained, "We didn't do anything over-the-top extravagant. The Queen was very frugal, likely due to her wartime upbringing."

McGrady continued, "Ingredients like lobster, caviar, and foie gras were reserved for state banquets. On normal days, she was perfectly happy with comfort food, so we cooked meals like cottage pie."

As well as preferring "comfort food" to luxurious delicacies, Queen Elizabeth reportedly had some simple dislikes, too. "There weren't banned foods, but The Queen didn't like garlic or strong onions, viewing them as antisocial," McGrady told the outlet. "So we didn't use garlic in her meals."

However, Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, apparently "loved garlic and would have it at his dinner parties," McGrady noted.

The former royal chef also claimed, "The idea that The Queen didn't eat seafood while traveling isn't true—we regularly cooked scallops and shrimp for her."

During the summer, when the Royal Family retreated to Balmoral in Scotland, the royal chefs had a few less responsibilities. "Every summer we spent 8 weeks at Balmoral," McGrady explained. "Even in bad weather, the royals would go out to the hills and cook at lodges."

The former royal chef elaborated, saying, "Prince Philip loved to grill; [King] Charles and Prince Andrew would help with sides. We'd prepare marinated meats and side dishes, and The Queen would bring ice cream in a thermos. It was a chance for them to unwind without staff."

Buckingham Palace is an exquisite building, and royal fans would happily fight one another for the chance to stay there for even one night. However, not every Royal Family resident who has had the pleasure of residing in the palace has taken the best care of it. In fact, one unexpected royal allegedly set fire to their room inside Buckingham Palace on more than one occasion.

In his book Yes, Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, author Tom Quinn interviewed Agnes Cooke, a former palace kitchen worker who recalled the "fiery habit" Prince Philip's mom was known for. Cooke explained (via the Daily Mail), "Well, there was a lady-in-waiting who was very friendly with Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, when Alice was living at Buckingham Palace, and they used to smoke cigarettes together in Alice's apartment—so much so that they regularly set fire to it."

Further elaborating on the strange occurrence, Cooke told Quinn, "And despite being very grand indeed—a member of one of Britain's oldest and most aristocratic families—this particular lady-in-waiting used to wander about with a cigarette stuck behind her ear, like a coal miner or a carpenter."

Having been born at Windsor Castle in 1885, Princess Alice married Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark in 1903. According to The New York Times, the royal wedding took place "at the Old Palace" in Darmstadt, Germany, "in the presence of a glittering assembly of 200 sovereigns, princes, diplomats, and cabinet ministers." After the wedding, Alice and Andrew moved to Greece and welcomed five children together—including Prince Philip.

Unfortunately, Princess Alice lived an extremely difficult life. The family was exiled from Greece in 1922, and Alice was "sent to the Tegel Clinic in Berlin" without her consent due to alleged mental health issues, per The British Psychological Society. After eventually leaving Berlin, following some intrusive treatment protocols, Alice spent time in Europe before returning to Athens, where she founded the Christian Brotherhood of Martha and Mary, via Greek Reporter.

It was in the final two years of Alice's life that she moved into Buckingham Palace, where she was allegedly responsible for starting several fires.

Throughout their 73-year-marriage, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip endured everything from World War II to a pandemic, sticking by each others' side to form one of the most enduring partnerships in royal history. The late Duke of Edinburgh was famously unfiltered—sometimes too unfiltered—but it was Queen Elizabeth who quietly held the upper hand. The late Queen might've reigned for 70 years, but she also kept her outspoken husband in his place at times, too—as evidenced by one well-timed zinger.

After his April 2021 death, one palace aide revealed a rare look at Queen Elizabeth's relationship with her husband—and like any couple, they had their share of squabbles. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the employee—who was brought in temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic—shared, "They bickered with one another. It was sweet but so unexpected."

During their arguments, Queen Elizabeth would display her famous wit, with the aide sharing, "On one occasion I heard the duke say, 'Oh do shut up you silly woman' and the Queen replied, 'I am not a silly woman, I am the Queen!' I couldn't believe my ears but I was told this was how they always were with one another."

Despite their occasional squabbles, the pair shared a relationship filled with warmth, wit and the kind of ease you can only get from spending more than seven decades together. In fact, Queen Elizabeth carried a very sentimental item from her husband inside her famous black Launer handbags.

Royal author Phil Dampier told Hello! that one of the late Queen's "most personal and prized possessions" was a "small metal make-up case" she kept in her purse—a gift Prince Philip gave her for their November 1947 wedding.

As for her "silly woman" argument, Queen Elizabeth had plenty of other memorable comebacks over the years—including one involving her beloved corgis. According to Karen Dolby, author of The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Michael of Kent claimed that the dogs "should be shot" (via the Express).

True to form, Her Majesty responded, "They're better behaved than she is."

When Sleeping Beauty premiered in 1959, audiences were swept away by the dashing Prince Philip, the first Disney prince to actually have a name. Unlike The Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the animated film featured a prince with a more robust personality (and one who had numerous lines). But royal watchers and Disney fans have long claimed that Prince Philip might have had a real muse: Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

At the time, the duke—who died at the age of 99 in April 2021—was one of the most famous princes in the world, especially to American audiences. Married to Queen Elizabeth since 1947, he had become a familiar figure in newsreels and magazines across the pond. With a commanding presence and adventurous spirit, the royal figure certainly would have made an ideal candidate for Disney animators looking for a more modern and active prince.

While Disney has never officially confirmed the link, it certainly seems like a curious coincidence given the popularity of the glamorous young couple at the time. Speaking to Virgin Radio, Sarah Dunnigan of the University of Edinburgh stated that the idea made sense "due to the huge popularity and idealization of the British royal family in America in the late 1950s."

Beyond the name, the animated Prince Philip was a far cry from the silent princes of earlier Disney films. He slays a dragon and defies his father for the love of Princess Aurora, echoing the real-life duke's reputation for independence and action.

Although the Sleeping Beauty character lives in a 14th-century fantasy world, his namesake was very much a modern man. The late Duke of Edinburgh served as a naval officer before standing by his wife's side as consort—although he carried out his duties with a flair for breaking tradition. It was Philip who was instrumental in convincing the palace to let The Queen's coronation be broadcast on television, an idea that was unheard of at the time. He was also instrumental in modernizing many aspects of the royal household.

More than 60 years later, it's a fitting bit of royal trivia that the man who stood beside Britain's longest-reigning monarch may also have inspired one of Disney's most heroic princes.