(...)
He told me more than once: ‘It’s a big mistake to think about yourself. No one is interested in you in the long run. Don’t court popularity. It doesn’t last. Remember that the attention comes because of the position you are privileged to hold, not because of who you are. If you think it’s all about you, you’ll never be happy.’
(...)
PRINCE PHILIP had long been responsible for the management of the royal estates but in 2014 he ceded management of Sandringham’s 20,000 acres to Prince Charles — knowing that his son’s approach to land management and farming were very different from his own.
‘He has his ideas and I have mine,’ said Prince Philip, ‘but I won’t be here for ever so he’d better get on with it.’
(...)
Because he lived so long, Philip saw so much. He knew the royal road had always been a rocky one. ‘My grandfather was assassinated,’ he reminded me, ‘my father was sent into exile, my parents separated, my sister was killed in that aeroplane crash [in 1937], my uncle was murdered by the IRA . . . things happen, but life goes on.’
The Duke wouldn’t be drawn on the future of the Royal Family. ‘There’ll be ups and there’ll be downs, but beyond that I’ve no idea what the future holds. There’s no point in speculating about it. All I’ll say is that I’ve tried to help keep it going while I’ve been here.’
When the first lockdown was lifted, Philip and Elizabeth, having spent more time close together than they had done in years, decided it rather suited them. They left Windsor together and travelled up to Balmoral for their traditional summer break.
When that was over, they went back to Sandringham — but not the big house. Instead, together they went to live at Wood Farm, Philip’s favourite bolthole, the un-grand, unpretentious place he regarded as his home on the estate.
Then, for the last time, they returned together to Windsor, the royal home where Philip’s mother had been born way back in 1885 and where, on Friday morning, April 9, 2021, he ended his days with his wife of more 73 years at his side.
He gave his Lilibet a lifetime of unstinting support. He made her laugh. He understood her. She understood him. It was a unique marriage — the longest in all royal history — and it worked.
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