How Prince Philip's practical jokes landed him in trouble with the Queen

The Royal family open up about the Duke in a new documentary

Author: Demi OlutunmogunPublished 21st Sep 2021
Last updated 24th May 2022

The Duke of Edinburgh used to prank members of the Royal family using mustard according to his children and grandchildren.

In a new TV documentary Prince William recalls his grandfather playing a practical joke which involved squirting mustard on the ceiling.

Other memories shared by the royals include Prince Philip attempting to teach Prince William carriage driving, and the attempt failing because Prince Charles kept laughing hysterically.

The documentary also reveals personal and poignant tributes to the duke, who died in April.

Prince Philip's mustard prank

William said Philip loved to play a game at family barbeques using a squeezy mustard tube.

The Prince said: "He used to take the lid off and put it in your hands... and then he'd squish your hands together to fire the mustard onto the ceiling."

He added: "He used to get in a lot of trouble from my grandmother for covering most of the places we had lunch and things with mustard on the ceiling."

The siblings also spoke about how the duke loved technology but would get frustrated with new gadgets.

"I just have memories of him getting a new laptop or a new printer, sitting in his office and hearing him shouting at it," Mr Phillips said.

"My grandfather loved things when they go wrong"

Both William and Harry said the Queen and the duke looked forward to unexpected events while carrying out their official duties together over the decades.

William said: "My grandfather loved things when they go wrong.

"Both my grandparents love that because you can imagine, they've lived a life where everything has to go right the whole time and so when things go wrong, they both chuckle an awful lot.

"Everyone else gets mortally embarrassed. They love it."

Harry, who was filmed separately, chuckled and echoed William's thoughts, saying: "The two of them are going 'Well I wonder if something's gonna go wrong this year? How exciting'."

Harry, using a cricket analogy, said Philip, who died two months before his 100th birthday, had a "fantastic innings", scored a six, but "didn't actually wanna get to a century".

The Queen will be 'ok'

Prince Harry spoke of the Queen's bond with the duke but said he knew the monarch would be "ok" without him.

"More than anything I miss his humour but I miss him, I miss him more for my grandmother because I know how incredibly strong she was with him there. I also know that she's gonna be ok without him," Harry said.

He also described the Queen and Philip as "the most adorable couple", who were very much in love.

The Princess Royal, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Duchess of Cornwall and Lady Louise Windsor are among the others who feature in the broadcast.

Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers will air on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One.

Prince Philip: A life in pictures

Prince Philip was born in 1921

Prince Philip of Greece was born 10 June 1921 in Corfu to Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg.

Prince Philip attended school in Scotland

The Prince was one of the first pupils at Gordonstoun boarding school in Moray, Scotland, attending from 1933-1939. He was the first of three generations of royals to attend the school, with Prince Charles boarding in the 1960s, and Princess Anne's children enrolling in the 1990s.

The engagement of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth

Prince Philip's engagement to Princess Elizabeth was announced on 9 July 1946, after he asked permission from her father, King George VI. In order to marry into the British Royal family, Prince Philip became a British citizen, and renounced his Greek title in favour of Mountbatten, the anglicised version of his mother's name. He also agreed not to invite his sisters to the wedding, as they were all married to Germans and tensions were still high following the war.

The Royal Wedding

Prince Philip married Princess Elizabeth on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. He received new titles, including the Duke of Edinburgh, for which he is best known, and his Royal Highness. It is estimated around 200 million people tuned into the BBC radio broadcast of the wedding.

First time father

In 1948, Prince Philip became a father for the first time when Princess Elizabeth gave birth to Prince Charles. Princess Anne was born two years later.

Consort to the monarch

King George VI died 6 February 1952, making his oldest daughter Princess Elizabeth, Queen. This made the Duke of Edinburgh consort to Queen Elizabeth II. The coronation took place on 2 June 1953 and was an important feature in making television a mainstream medium, with over 20 million people tuning in to watch.

The Duke of Edinburgh award

In 1956, Prince Philip launched the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, which aims to prepare young people for adult life by developing essential skills, confidence and resilience. Today, hundreds of thousands of young people complete the award every year across 144 nations.

Meeting JFK

In 1961, a banquet was held at Buckingham Palace in honour of American President John F Kennedy. This was the President's last visit to Buckingham Palace before he was assassinated two years later. Prince Philip attended his funeral.

A family of six

In 1960 Prince Andrew was born, followed by Prince Edward in 1964. This completed the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh's immediate family.

Royal Family documentary

In 1969, a television documentary entitled 'Royal Family' aired to an audience of over 30 million in the UK, before being sold worldwide, achieving over 350 million views. However, the Queen had the documentary banned and it has not been shown on TV in the UK since 1977. The documentary offered insight into the lives of the Queen and her family in an attempt to revive public interest in the Royals.

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

Prince Philip's oldest son, Prince Charles, married 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981. Almost 1 billion viewers tuned in across 74 countries to watch the ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral. The wedding was considered hugely important because whoever Prince Charles married would one day become Queen.

Diana, Princess of Wales' funeral

The world was shook when Diana, Princess of Wales died suddenly in a car accident in August 1997. Hundreds of thousands of well wishers lined the streets on the day of her funeral, which saw Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Diana's brother accompany Princes William and Harry in walking behind the funeral car.

Diamond wedding anniversary

In 2007, the Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary- 60 years of marriage! They have since made it to their platinum anniversary, celebrating in 2017.

A family man

Prince Philip has eight grandchildren, including heir to the throne Prince William. He also has nine great-grandchildren and counting, with two more on the way in 2021.

Tipping his hat to a lifetime of service

At the age of 96, Prince Philip carried out his final solo public engagement in August 2017, before tipping his hat in acknowledgement of a lifetime of service.

Prince Philip dies aged 99

Prince Philip passed away at the age of 99 on the 9th April 2021. The Duke's funeral took place on 17 April 2021 in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

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