Prince Charles pays tribute to father Prince Philip

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Philip and Charles’s relationship changed over time, with a royal biographer noting the pair shared a mutual aversion to each other in the 1980s and 1990s. The late Duke “made little or no attempt to hide” his disdain for his son, who he viewed as “precious and extravagant”, according to a royal expert. Philip also thought his eldest son was lacking in certain qualities and even questioned his suitability to become King, the expert revealed.

Gyles Brandreth, who has recently published a new biography on the Duke of Edinburgh, discussed Philip and Charles’s relationship in some detail.

He said the pair’s relationship proved quite strained in the 1980s and 1990s, when Charles’s marriage to Princess Diana was coming to an end.

The royal expert wrote: “When Prince Philip talked to me about Prince Charles in the 1980s and 1990s there was invariably a touch of exasperation in his tone – and often, too, a note of sarcasm.

“The Duke gave the impression that he would have liked his son to be more robust, less fey.

“The father did little to disguise his feelings about the son.”

He added: “The Duke’s disdain for his eldest son was the more shocking because of the way he made little or no attempt to hide it.”

Mr Brandreth then gave an example, where the Duke appeared to publicly mock his son.

He said: “In the summer of 1986, for example, at a meeting of the officers of the Playing Fields Association, we presented our president with what we hoped would be a welcome birthday present: three pairs of carriage driving gloves.

“He unwrapped the parcel and inspected our gift.

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“The first pair of gloves were a light tan colour. The Duke sniffed approvingly.

“The second pair were dark tan. ‘Thank you very much,’ he said.

“The third pair were a pale lilac colour.

“He held them up disdainfully between his thumb and forefinger and said, ‘I think we’ll give these to the Prince of Wales.’”

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Mr Brandreth did not stop there, however, and said Philip even doubted Charles’s suitability as King.

He wrote: “There was a time when the Duke of Edinburgh regarded the Prince of Wales as ‘precious, extravagant, and lacking in the dedication necessary to make a good king’ – and said so.

“I don’t believe that is what he felt at the time of his death, but it was certainly what he felt in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.”

During this period, Prince Charles also spoke openly about his childhood and told his biographer Jonathan Dimbleby he felt “neglected and abandoned”.

But when quizzed on the father and son relationship, Mr Brandreth said he thought the tense relations only existed for several years – and the pair soon became close again.

He told Express.co.uk: “The feeling between Prince Charles and Prince Philip completely changed…

“The story is a happy ending even if there had been dark places along the way.”

Philip: The Final Portrait by Gyles Brandreth is available to buy now.

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