Philip has been truly dedicated to the crown during his time by the Queen’s side and, after 70 years of marriage, he has become the world’s longest-serving consort of a reigning monarch. The Duke of Edinburgh retired in 2017 but is still considered a formidable presence within the royal household. While the Queen is in charge of running the monarchy, Philip is reportedly seen as the head of the family.
With his royal experience and impeccable record — aside from the odd gaffe — Philip has tried to pass on many of his values to the younger generation.
His youngest son, Prince Edward, has also pointed out some valuable lessons from his father, according to Ingrid Seward’s new book ‘Prince Philip Revealed’.
The Earl of Wessex explained: “My father plain and simply is very modest about himself and doesn’t believe in talking about himself.
“One of the best pieces of advice he gives to everybody, is talk about everything else, don’t talk about yourself — nobody’s interested in you.”
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Philip (Image: Getty)
Prince Harry has left his life on the frontline behind this year (Image: Getty)
However, this advice goes directly against the recent actions of the royal rebels, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were extremely open with their emotions even before they left the royal frontline.
During their bombshell ITV documentary, ‘Harry and Meghan: An African Journey’ from last year, the Duchess noted “not many people ask if I’m OK”, and said she was struggling on the royal frontline.
Harry also admitted that there was a rift between him and his brother William, and that they were on “different paths” now.
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Harry was a senior working royal along with Philip and William (Image: Getty)
Since announcing their decision to leave the royal fold in January, the couple have given several explosive speeches.
Harry told the public he had “no other option” but to leave the Firm and alluded to the “powerful force” of the media.
The couple have regularly issued statements defending their right to privacy and the challenges they have faced in the spotlight.
Meghan has since referred to feeling “voiceless”, said that women should be “linked not ranked”, and encouraged fans to push back against the “status quo” — all of which were seen as thinly veiled references to the Firm.
Royal commentator Ms Seward noted in her book, how Philip struggled to understand the Sussexes’ decision to leave the Firm.
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Philip has been devoted to the crown for decades (Image: Getty)
Philip, William, Kate, Meghan and Harry walking to church in 2017 (Image: Getty)
She wrote: “It must have come as a heavy blow for Prince Philip to know that his grandson would be more or less giving up his homeland and everything he cared about for a life of self-centred celebrity in North America.”
Harry’s decision was in complete contrast to Philip’s life-long devotion to the throne.
As his grandson Prince William noted in 2012, Philip has been loyal to the Queen throughout his whole life.
He said: “He has been the most incredible support to her.
Prince Philip has been by the Queen’s side since their wedding in 1947 (Image: Getty)
“I don’t know how anyone coming from the background he came from, who was going places, hugely promotable, a strong personality — could go from that and then take a sidestep or even a backstep and be the support he has to the Queen.
“It’s a real eye opener to us all.”
Philip even set aside a successful naval career and his own claim to the Greek throne to wed the Queen back in 1947.
Philip and Harry are thought not to have seen each other since the Duke of Sussex completed his final royal duties in March.
‘Prince Philip Revealed: A Man of His Century’ by Ingrid Seward was published by Simon & Schuster in 2020 and is available here.
