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LONDON (AP) – When Prince Philip died almost six months ago at age 99, tributes poured in from everywhere, praising him for his supporting role alongside Queen Elizabeth II during her reign at close quarters 70 years old.
Now it has emerged that Philip has another crucial role within the royal family. He was the family’s barbecue king, perhaps a testament to his Greek heritage.
“He loved barbecue and made it into an interesting art form,” his eldest son Prince Charles said in a BBC tribute program that airs Wednesday. “And if I ever tried to do that, he … I could never light a fire or anything awful, so (he said), ‘Go away!'”
In excerpts from ‘Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers’ released on Saturday night, members of the Royal Family spoke in awe of the Duke of Edinburgh’s late barbecue skills and love of cooking shows, with the “Hairy Bikers” Si King and Dave Myers among his favorites.
“At every barbecue I have attended, the Duke of Edinburgh has cooked there,” said Prince William, Philip’s eldest grandson. “It’s definitely a helping hand at the barbecue … I can safely say that there has never been a case of food poisoning in the family attributed to the Duke of Edinburgh.”
More than a dozen royals, including the Queen and Philip’s four children – Charles, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward – and their adult grandchildren, including Charles’ two sons , William and Prince Harry, participated in the hour-long program. . The program, which was filmed before and after Philip’s death on April 9, was originally designed to mark its 100th anniversary in June,
The 95-year-old queen was not interviewed but was granted special access to her private film collection. The wives of Philip’s grandchildren, including Harry’s wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, were also not.
Harry, who stepped down from royal duties last year and moved to California, explained for the first time how the Duke of Edinburgh gave him the space to talk about his service in Afghanistan. Harry said his grandfather “would never probe” but would listen to his two missions in Helmand province during the war in Afghanistan.
“As he left for Afghanistan he was very factual and just said, ‘Make sure you come back alive,’” Harry said. “Then when I came back, there was no in-depth discussion, but rather a case of, ‘Well, you made it. How was it?’ This is how he was.
“He was really listening, he kind of set the stage for you to share as much as you wanted to share, but he would never fathom,” he added.
Harry first served in Afghanistan as a forward air controller, in 2007-08, coordinating airstrikes on Taliban positions before his presence was revealed by foreign media and he was flown home. He returned in 2012, this time as an Apache helicopter co-pilot machine gunner.
Charles also spoke of Philip’s dedication to the military.
“He took the fact that he was involved in the three armed forces very seriously. And obviously the Navy was his main service, but he was disproportionately interested in anything to do with the other two, ”Charles said.
“He’s read and thought a lot, so he’s certainly put a lot of generals and others to the test, if you know what I mean. He had always thought of a better way to do it, ”he added.
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Follow all of AP’s stories about Prince Philip at https://apnews.com/hub/PrincePhilip
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