Prince Philip’s last years: less rushing about . . . it was hardly retirement
Privately, Prince Philip wanted to go out on his own terms. But when son Andrew gave his disastrous TV interview, the royal patriarch took control.
For 70 years the Duke of Edinburgh was a familiar figure at the Queen’s side, the loyal consort who was always there to support her. And then he wasn’t.
He announced his retirement from official duties in May 2017, finally stepping down from a lifetime of public service in August of that year.
As he admitted before his 90th birthday in 2011, he wanted “less responsibility, less rushing about”.
Privately, he wanted to go out on his own terms, while he was still relatively fit and healthy and before the inevitable frailties of old age became too apparent.
It was not exactly early retirement. He had just turned 96 when he made his announcement, having notched up — according to Buckingham Palace — 22,219 solo engagements.
That November he and the Queen marked 70 years of marriage, their platinum anniversary, with a black-tie dinner for friends and family at Windsor Castle.
After that, Philip began to disappear from view. Although he attended both the Cenotaph service on Remembrance Sunday and the Christmas church service in Sandringham that year, he was absent from both events the following year.
As Philip drifted away from view, the Prince of Wales stepped up. Charles began taking on more royal duties and became a regular fixture at the Queen’s side at events such as the Queen’s speech. He became the senior member of the royal family to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph, while the Queen watched the ceremony from the Foreign Office balcony overlooking Whitehall.
The duke would occasionally surface at family events, however. He was present for the wedding of his grandson Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle, and also for that of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.
He spent much of his time at his and the Queen’s private Sandringham bolthole, Wood Farm, where he would entertain guests including his old friend Penny Brabourne, now Countess Mountbatten of Burma. He would also keep busy by reading, painting and, remarkably for a man of his age, carriage driving.
Although he was removed from the royal fray, he kept involved in family matters.
After the Duke of York’s calamitous interview with Emily Maitlis for BBC’s Newsnight during which he was questioned about his friendship with the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew was said to have had a meeting with his father at which Philip told him that he had to “take his punishment” and retire from royal duties.
A week later, when Andrew saw Prince Charles at Sandringham, Philip was also reported to be at the meeting. An insider was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying: “Philip doesn’t like trial by media but he is realistic enough to realise that Andrew’s actions were a danger to the very fabric of the royal family.”
More Coverage
End game? Appeasing Iran will only lead to a wider regional war
After pounding Hezbollah, Israel must attack the Iran’s nuclear sites. Appeasement doesn’t prevent war, it ensures a conflict that’s infinitely more terrible than it might otherwise have been.
Downing St crisis ‘bigger than fixer’
Whitehall chiefs warn of dysfunctional Downing Street and the ousted chief of staff’s allies say male advisers felt threatened.