Lady Louise Windsor, 17, takes centre stage in Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers
Lady Louise steps into the spotlight! Prince Edward’s daughter, 17, takes centre stage in Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers as she leads The Firm in paying tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh
Lady Louise Windsor, 17, steps into the spotlight as she discusses memories with her grandfather in new film Royals have offered personal tributes to Duke of Edinburgh in Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex’s daughter discusses love of carriage driving which she shared with Duke Confidently told the camera: ‘His eyes would lit up because he just gets so excited when he talks about it’
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Lady Louise Windsor took centre stage in a television documentary tonight as the teenager lead The Firm in paying tribute to her grandfather Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, which aired tonight at 9pm on BBC One, featured interviews from all of the Queen, 95, and Philip’s children – the Prince of Wales, 72, the Princess Royal, 71, the Duke of York, 61, and the Earl of Wessex, 57.
The Duke’s adult grandchildren, the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, also provided their personal memories of the royal during the film.
It marked the first time Lady Louise, 17, had taken part in such a film, and a step into the spotlight for the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex.
During the film, she recalled her close bond with the Duke and their shared-love of carriage driving, as well as her decision to do the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. She confidently told the camera: ‘There was certainly an element of making my grandfather proud and honouring him by taking part in the award that has been so much of his life’s work. I definitely hope I have made him proud.’
Interviews were filmed before and after Prince Philip’s death in April, and were conducted separately, with Prince Harry’s tribute filmed in the US where he lives having stepped back from royal duty.
Lady Louise Windsor, 17, took centre stage in a television documentary tonight the teenager lead The Firm in paying tribute to her grandfather Duke of Edinburgh
It marked the first time Lady Louise had taken part in such a film, and a step into the spotlight for the daughter of Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex (pictured with her parents in the documentary)
During the film, the royals discussed the Duke of Edinburgh’s love for carriage driving, with Sophie saying: ‘My daughter has also got involved in carriage driving. it wasn’t something that was fousted on her. She showed an interest.’
Lady Louise, is a keen equestrian and, like her late grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, has competed in carriage-driving competitions.
The duke was synonymous with carriage-driving and had been designing the vehicles since the 1970s.
Reports have said Lady Louise inherited the carriage after the duke’s death, although this has not been confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
During the film, the royals discussed the Duke of Edinburgh’s love for carriage driving. Reports have said Lady Louise inherited the carriage after the duke’s death, although this has not been confirmed by Buckingham Palace (pictured)
Speaking in a sit-down interview, Louise said: ‘The Duke of Edinburgh has been so involved in my driving which has been so lovely although slightly scary because he invented the sport pretty much. It’s incredible to have learned first hand from him.’
Meanwhile Louise added: ‘After a competition, he would always ask how it went. His eyes would light up because he just gets so excited when he talks about it.
‘When we would go carriage driving, he would take me on a different route every day, I do not know how he managed to do that, and tell me all sorts of anecdotes about anything and everything.
‘He is honestly one of the most interesting people I have ever met.’
Louise also spoke about her grandfather’s Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and her decision to take part as a teenager, explaining: ‘I’d always wanted to do it because of the skills you develop as a result.’
She continued: ‘My favourite part was my expeditions. Just having that level of independence and self sufficiency and having that sense of achievement when it was finished.
The appearance from the young royal comes mere weeks ahead of Lady Louise’s 18th birthday, when she can decide whether to legally entitled to style herself Her Royal Highness Princess Louise, in the same way as her cousins are known as HRH Princess Beatrice and HRH Princess Eugenie.
Elsewhere in the documentary….
Royals declare ‘no-nonsense Philip’ was ‘the heart of the family’
Prince William commented: ‘A lot of people know a fair bit about my grandfather, he’s been around a long time.
‘He’s been a big part of my life more recently then in my early life. But there is many sides to my grandfather.’
And while Prince Edward recalled he was the ‘most self effacing man I think I know’, Anne said: ‘He treated everybody he met as an individual and he didn’t make assumptions about people.’
Princess Beatrice spoke about his ‘incredible sense of humour and a very quick wit’, with Prince Harry adding: ‘What you see is what you got with my grandfather and that’s what I love more than anything else, the authenticness of him, he was unapologetically him at all times. No matter where he was or who he was speaking to or what he was doing.’
Peter Philips recalled he was a man who had ‘a huge amount of common sense’ and ‘was very no nonsense.’
And after Prince Andrew described Eugenie and Beatrice having ‘the mot amazing relationship with their grandfather’, Eugenie added: ‘He has just been a constant throughout all of our lives. The ever present grandfather.’
William went on to call him ‘the heart of the family’, adding: ‘He’s always been a huge presence behind everything we’ve done really.’
Camilla continued: ‘He could be quite…well he didn’t suffer fools gladly as you know. He was that sort of caliber of man and the epitome of the stiff upper lip – go on and get on with it.’
William added: ‘He would always make everyone very clear where they stand. I think people find that refreshing that they know nothing else is going on. There’s no games played.
‘He’s very honest, he’s very upfront and he’s very matter of fact.’
Anne said her father was ‘fundamentally a problem solver’, adding: ‘A lot of that stemmed from his early experiences and the problems of his early life.’
Princess Beatrice spoke about her grandfather’s ‘incredible sense of humour and a very quick wit’, while her father Prince Andrew said the pair had an amazing bond
In the new tribute programme, Prince William praised his grandfather Prince Philip as ‘very honest, very upfront and very matter of fact’
Prince Philip ‘didn’t talk’ with his family about his difficult childhood in Greece
Camilla said: ‘I am curious about people. I had just asked him about his childhood and it was absolutely reverting.’
Prince Philip was born on June 10, 1921, on the kitchen table at his family home Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu.
He was the fifth child, and only boy, of parents Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg.
His ancestry was a mix of Greece, Denmark, Russia and Prussia on his father’s side, and his maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria of Hesse, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, making him Elizabeth II’s third cousin.
The family were happily living in the royal household of Philip’s uncle King Constantine I.
Meanwhile Prince Edward recalled his father was the ‘most self effacing man I think I know’ while looking through old films of the Duke
Reflecting on his father’s childhood, Charles added: ‘My father was the youngest. Seventeen years younger than his oldest sister so his father was quite a lot older.
‘I never knew my grandfather because he died before I was born. My father said I would have loved him.’
Greece was gripped by political instability and just a year and a half later the family were forced to flee after the King was exiled from his own country following a military revolt.
In the political recriminations that followed, Philip’s father, a Lieutenant-General in the Greek army, was accused of high treason after allegedly disobeying an order and abandoning his post with his cavalry regiment in the face of attack during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922.
The family managed to escape on British naval vessel HMS Calypso, with the newborn prince carried to safety in a cot famously crafted from an unused fruit box.
They were taken to France where they settled in a leafy suburb in Paris in a house loaned to them by his wealthy aunt, Princess George of Greece and Denmark.
From then on, the Duke’s childhood was incredibly unsettled as he was without a permanent home.
Years later, when an interviewer for The Independent asked him what language he spoke at home, he answered: ‘What do you mean, ‘at home’?’
He told a separate biographer in 2001: ‘It’s simply what happened. The family broke up. My mother was ill, my sisters were married, my father was in the south of France. I just had to get on with it. You do. One does.’
At the age of eight, Philip was sent to Cheam school in Surrey for three years – but moved to Germany where all four of his sisters had married.
Zara explained: ‘I only recently spoke to him about the early days and I said to him, did he remember Greece. [He said] he was so small, he doesn’t really remember it.
‘The most obvious thing about his story was how much he was moving around and felt like no where was quite home.’
Calling her father-in-law ‘a great survivor’, Camilla continued: ‘Having your mother who he didn’t actually know whether she was alive or dead for five years. Being past from pillar to post from different people and relations. It must have been very hard.
‘He must have been a very strong character to have come out of it unscathed.’
Meanwhile Charles continued: ‘My father didn’t talk about it a lot. It couldn’t have been easy. I mean, his sisters did tell me a little bit but it must have been very difficult.
‘He had to become very self reliant and it must have shaped his outlook on life.’
Prince Philip’s cousin Prince Bernhard of Baden also featured in the documentary, explaining: ‘My grandmother was the sister of the Duke, which makes him my great uncle.
In one scene in the film, Prince Philip’s cousin Prince Bernhard of Baden discussed the Duke’s early life in Germany with his sister (pictured)
‘Prince Philip was in exile, he had no home and was penniless. My great grandfather Prince Max founded the Schule Schloss in Salem. Philip’s sister had to take care of his education and that’s how he came to Salem because there were no school fees for him to pay and a fantastic headmaster called Kurt Hahn.’
Prince Bernhard continued: ‘Hahn wanted to educate a new generation of Germans with knowledge and skills which were terribly important in strong contrast to the Nazi movement. In this environment, Prince Philip got his education.’
His stint in Germany proved brief when he moved back to Britain and was sent to Gordonstoun, a boarding school in Scotland.
Bernhard said: ‘When Hitler came to power, it put enormous pressure on the school and on my family. Hahn got arrested and later banished to Scotland.
‘There he founded Gordonstoun. Prince Philip was very quickly removed from Salom to Scotland. That was the best for him because times got very difficult.’
Royals hail Gordonstoun for helping them ‘develop life skills’ – but Prince Charles stays silent
Gordonstoun near Elgin, Scotland, was started by Dr Hahn, who had a profound influence on the Prince.
The Duke thrived at Gordonstoun, captaining the hockey and cricket teams and becoming guardian (head boy) in his last term. It was there he learned to ‘mess about in boats’, laying the solid foundation of a future naval career.
A host of other royals, including Prince Charles, Peter Philips and Zara Tindall, went on to attend the school.
Princess Anne’s son Peter Philips revealed how the Duke remained enthusiastic about the Scottish school Gordonstoun throughout his life.
Peter said: ‘We went to Gordonston so he was always very engaged with how we were enjoying school and he spoke a lot and very founded about Kurt Hahn and the ethos that he instilled in him and in the school itself.’
Princess Anne’s children Peter and Zara revealed how the Duke remained enthusiastic about the Scottish school Gordonstoun throughout his life
Zara added: ‘I think we developed life skills from the variety of what we were able to do – not just learning inside but outside, things that challenged you as well.’
Peter continued: ‘I know he certainly would have taken up any opportunities that school would have thrown to him.’
Meanwhile Lady Louise, Sophie and Prince Edward looked through childhood photographs of the royal at the school, including snaps of the Duke wearing a kilt and dressed up for a school play.
Lady Louise asked her father: ‘Did you wear a kilt? I do see the resemblance, he is the good looking one at the back.’
Prince Edward said: ‘He got involved with a bit of sailing. This was one of those productions he was involved in.’
Lady Louise continued: ‘There’s quite a lot of activities going on.’
Meanwhile Prince Edward continued; ‘And that was Gordonstoun – unless you got involved with different things, you never know where your passion really lies.
‘The idea of being able to go off and do all sorts of adventures while you’re at school and be able to build up those experiences – that would appeal to him.
‘If you look at all the other activities he has got involved in, he was always taking up new things.’
Meanwhile Prince Charles, who once reportedly described Gordonstoun as ‘Colditz in kilts’, was not featured in the section about the school.
‘Prince Philip and the Queen are the most remarkable couple the world will ever see’
Princess Eugenie praised The Queen and Prince Philip for ‘creating a very safe and loving family environment’ for members of The Firm
Meanwhile Prince William praised his grandfather for ‘giving up a very successful military career to be the Queen’s consort’
Looking back on photographs of the Queen and Prince Philip in their early years of marriage, Zara said it ‘made her hair stand on end.’
She continued: ‘When all the old pictures come up and it’s so nice to see how they were with each other before family and everything else came along.’
The Queen is said to have loved the island of Malta because it was a home not a palace, a place where she and Prince Philip were able to live a relatively normal life.
The royal couple left Malta for the birth of their second child, Princess Anne, in August 1950, but they were back by Christmas.
After Philip took command of the frigate Magpie, the couple spent three blissful months at Guardamangia until February 1951.
Tim explained: ‘Prince Philip and the Queen have talked about that period to me as a happy time. The war was over, there was a feeling of renewal and of course there weren’t the heavy responsibilities that came when she became queen.’
Eugenie added: ‘Looking at their wedding photo, it’s amazing to see their partnership and what a good looking couple. It’s unbelievable looking at this and now looking at how much they’ve created from this.
‘They’re one of the most remarkable couples the world has ever and will ever see. Granny has been able to be the person she is with the support and love from Grandpa.’
Meanwhile Prince William praised his grandfather for ‘giving up a very successful military career to be the Queen’s consort’, saying: ‘It was very much a man’s world back then, so for a man to give up a career to spport a woman, albeit the queen, was a big step.’
Zara added: ‘It must have been the most daunting thing you could ever think of doing in your whole life.’
The royals went on to praise the Duke for shaping the role of consort, with Tim explaining: ‘When he married Elizabeth, he wonered what the template was for the husband of the Queen. Of course there wasn’t one.
‘He had to plough his own furrow and make his own way. He made the same point to me. it’s no good trying to copy someone else in the royal family, you have to do it yourself.’
Camilla continued: ‘I saw the way he supported the queen, not in a flashy way but just by doing it quietly. it’s something I’ve learned by.’
Charles said: ‘My mother did find him a great support, she valued his judgement on some things.’
Zara added: ‘The amazing thing he’s been able to do is be an incredible support to my grandmother but also to stay true to himself the whole way through.
‘That’s what my grandmother needed. that’s why they worked so well together and fell in love I think.’
Meanwhile Eugenie said: ‘[The Queen and Prince Philip] have created a very safe and loving family environment. We have all been so happy to have that.’
Meanwhile Prince William and Harry recalled how both the Queen and Prince Philip ‘love when things go wrong’ because they live a life where ‘everything has to be right’
Prince Philip enjoyed ‘arranging silly games’, pranking others – and LOVED when things went wrong on royal tours
In the programme, William revealed how the Duke of Edinburgh would get his grandchildren to hold a tube of mustard in their hands and then take the lid off when they were BBQ-ing at Balmoral.
William laughingly recalled: ‘He would squish your hands together to fire the mustard up into the ceiling.
‘He used to get into a lot of trouble with my grandmother for covering most of the places where we had lunch with mustard on the ceiling.’
His cousin, Peter Phillips, added that the marks are still there.
Charles said: ‘He was always arranging silly games, the fun of having young parents was there was lots of chasing around and mad things.’
Meanwhile Prince William and Harry recalled how both the Queen and Prince Philip ‘love when things go wrong’.
The Duke of Cambridge said: ‘He enjoys playing practical jokes and foolery. He loved when things go wrong.
Prince Charles recalled the Duke ‘arranging silly games’, adding: ‘The fun of having young parents was there was lots of chasing around and mad things’
‘My grandparents love when things go wrong. You can imagine, they have lived a life where everything has to go right the whole time, so when things go wrong, theory both chuckle. Everyone else is mortified embarrassed. They love it.’
Harry said: ‘I think there is an imbalance of there is everyone doing everything like, “The Duke of Edinburgh is coming, let’s make sure we get everything absolutely right. Remember every single year we’ve got it right, let’s do that.”
‘But the two of them are going, “I wonder if something is going to go wrong this year. How exciting.”
‘What I remember now is the expressions on his face to the things that went wrong. He would just sit there completely calmly and just watch us run by.’
Princess Beatrice added: ‘I think he has a very good observational humour but you’ve really got to be quick, you’ve really got to be paying attention.
‘I think he uses humour to make people feel at ease. He is always there to break the ice as well.
Meanwhile William commented: ‘He’s brilliant at finding amusing moments and teasing people. if you try to be too clever with him and say something a bit silly, he will jump on it.’
Duke of Edinburgh was a huge fan of the Hairy Bikers
The Royal Family also remembered the Duke’s love of cooking during the film.
‘Cooking is something that I love talking to him about,’ revealed the Countess of Wessex, in an interview recorded before the Duke’s death
‘And he loves watching cookery programmes. Hairy Bikers I think is one of his favourites.’
‘He adored barbecuing and he turned that into an interesting art form,’ said Prince Charles. ‘And if I ever tried to do it, he… I could never get the fire to light or something ghastly so [he’d say] ‘Go away.’ ‘
‘Every barbecue I’ve ever been on, the Duke of Edinburgh has been there cooking,’ added William. ‘We go on barbecues and there’s no chef, there’s not anyone else… He’d be the first person to say when he started off he hadn’t got a clue what he was doing.
‘But such is the way he is, he tackles a new challenge and learns as he does it. And he has mastered it.
‘He’s definitely a dab hand at a BBQ. I can safely say there’s never been a case of food poisoning in the family attributed to the Duke of Edinburgh.’
Tim added: ‘It’s mainly experimental. I don’t think there are many recipes involved, but he’s a brilliant BBQ cook.’
‘Make sure you come back alive’: What Prince Philip said to Harry when he left for Afghanistan
The Duke of Sussex has spoken for the first time about how the Duke of Edinburgh gave him the space to talk about serving in Afghanistan.
Harry was twice deployed to Helmand province during the UK’s military operations, and in a BBC tribute programme to Philip he describes how his grandfather would ‘never probe’ but listen.
During Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, Harry said: ‘Going off to Afghanistan he was very matter of fact and just said, ‘Make sure you come back alive’… then when I came back, there wasn’t a deep level of discussion, more a case of, ‘Well you made it. How was it?’ That’s how he was.
‘He was very much a listener, he sort of set the scene for you to be able to share as much as you wanted to share but he would never probe.’
Prince Harry, taking part in his first ‘family project’ since acrimoniously quitting royal duties and moving to the US, is seen looking through flight logs from his grandfather – a qualified pilot – from a 1983 trip to Africa
Harry impersonates his grandmother the Queen as he tries to bury the hatchet by joining his family in documentary
Prince Harry, taking part in his first ‘family project’ since acrimoniously quitting royal duties and moving to the US, is seen looking through flight logs from his grandfather – a qualified pilot – from a 1983 trip to Africa.
The duke said: ‘He was doing all the flying himself, or certainly chunks of it. When you’re flying, you don’t get an easy pass just for being the Duke of Edinburgh. You very much have to put in the work and prove your skill.
‘But also he had an amazing privilege to get behind the controls and fly aircraft all around the world.
‘I can just imagine my grandmother sitting in the back of a plane having a cup of tea, going through turbulence and going “Oh Philip! What are you doing?”‘
Elsewhere he said poignantly: ‘More than anything I miss his sense of humour. But I miss him more for my grandmother because I know how incredibly strong she was with him there. I also know she will be ok without him. ‘
He added: ‘The two of them together were just the most adorable couple. To me knowing the cheekiness of him and knowing that behind what the world sees you have two individuals who were very much in love and both, from a very young age, have dedicated their life to service… that is an incredible bond between two people.’
Princess Eugenie revealed sentimental Prince Philip painted her a ‘bunch of flowers’ as a wedding present
Princess Eugenie reveals how her grandfather Prince Philip painted her a picture as her wedding present in a touching personal moment from the Duke of Edinburgh’s BBC tribute
Speaking in Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, which airs tonight on BBC1, Eugenie, 31, tells how her grandfather, who was an accomplished artist, presented her with the painting on her wedding to Jack Brooksbank in 2018. Pictured, Eugenie and Philip on her wedding day
Princess Eugenie revealed how her grandfather Prince Philip painted her a picture as her wedding present in a touching personal moment from the Duke of Edinburgh’s BBC tribute.
Speaking in Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers, which airs tonight on BBC1, Eugenie, 31, tells how her grandfather, who was an accomplished artist, presented her with the painting on her wedding to Jack Brooksbank in 2018.
She said: ‘He painted me a bunch of flowers and gave it to me for my wedding and it was so nice, it’s now sitting in my house and I’m so proud of it.’
Prince Philip’s love of art is discussed in detail in the programme, which was originally commissioned to mark what would have been his 100th birthday this year.
Eugenie continued: ‘I love art but I only worked out that grandpa and I had that in common when I was about 16.
‘I would be sitting there painting and he would come and look at things.
‘We’d be walking down the corridors and I’d see the paintings he’s done of Scotland or Norfolk. They’re beautiful.’
Camilla added: ‘Some of his paintings, I thought, were really good. He learned so much from painting.’
Revealed: Prince Charles’ last words to Prince Philip on the eve of his death
The Prince of Wales also revealed how he spoke to his father the day before he died about planning his 100th birthday – and got a vintage Prince Philip response
The Prince of Wales revealed how he spoke to his father the day before he died about planning his 100th birthday – and got a vintage Prince Philip response.
In a poignant interview, Charles said he called the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor on April 8 and broached the delicate subject of a party to mark his centenary in June.
‘We’re talking about your birthday,’ Charles said, slightly tremulously, knowing Philip wasn’t keen on the idea.
Aware his father was also slightly hard of hearing, he repeated himself a little more loudly: ‘We’re talking about your birthday! And whether there’s going to be reception!’
The response was typically pithy. ‘Well, I’ve got to be alive for it, haven’t I?’ Philip challenged.
‘I knew you’d say that!’ Charles shot back in what was possibly their last conversation together.