In November 1977, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh became grandparents for the first time when Princess Anne gave birth to Peter Phillips. Since then, the royal couple have welcomed seven more grandchildren - Zara Tindall, Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. For Prince Philip, who is the longest-serving consort in British history, his role as a grandfather is one that he treasures. Here we look into this special relationship.
Philip learned from his own grandmother
The Duke of Edinburgh is renowned for his dry wit and strong sense of public duty - qualities that all eight of his grandchildren also hold in high regard. 'The Duke is very close to all of his grandchildren and is very much head of the family behind the scenes,' former royal reporter and author Philip Dampier tells Harper's Bazaar. 'They all adore him and love his sense of humour and positive outlook on life.'
This positivity can be tracked back to Philip's own grandmother - Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven - who he was close to during his traumatic childhood. 'All of Philip's grandparents died before he was born or when he was very young - except one,' Dampier explains. 'He became close to Princess Victoria because he saw little of his own parents. In the 1930s she helped to pay for Philip's education and was always on hand to help him with advice. I'm sure Philip carried on that philosophy with his own grandchildren.'
Philip and his grandchildren share a strong bond - but we don't often see it
Interactions between Philip and his grandchildren are few and far between in public, especially since the 97 year-old Duke retired from carrying out official duties. However, according to royal commentators who have observed the royals over the years, the family remain a tight-knit group in private. According to Dampier, this is most apparent at family get-togethers.
'You can see how close they are when the male members meet up at Christmas or other events,' he says. 'It is touching to see and in contrast to his gruff public image.'
Former royal correspondent, Duncan Larcombe, agrees. 'Every Christmas, it's tradition that the family gets together at Sandringham. At Easter, they are normally together at Windsor and in the summer, they travel to Scotland where they will have family barbecues together. In fact, Philip as a grandfather has spent a lot of time with his grandchildren. They are a tight family unit, although I expect the Queen and Philip will have gone out of their way to welcome their grandchildren's partners, like Meghan and Kate, in recent years.'
Philip's loving support for his family was most recently seen at the royal wedding. Despite undergoing a hip replacement operation just a few weeks earlier, he watched Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel - another big family occasion he wouldn't have wanted to miss. 'He made a massive effort to be fit to walk into church for Harry's wedding to Meghan," Dampier says. "I would be astonished if he didn’t go to Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October.'
He is an inspiration to the family
In his decades supporting the Queen, Prince Philip has carried out over 22,000 engagements. In 2016, he was named one of the busiest royals. As the younger members of the family take on an increasing number of duties on behalf of the monarch, there's no doubt that Philip's 70 years of loyal public service has been an inspiration to his grandchildren.
The Duke of Cambridge touched on this while delivering a speech to the Charity Commission in January this year, just a few months after his grandfather's retirement. 'My grandfather Prince Philip has been one of the most tireless public servants of this country, deeply committed to helping young people fulfil their potential,' Prince William said.
Along with his hard-working nature, Philip's no-nonsense attitude when it comes to dealing with media attention is likely to have been passed down the family. 'He has taught them many things from his own experiences, telling them not to worry about the press too much as "it will be tomorrow’s fish and chip paper,"' notes Dampier. 'Philip has made more than 5,000 speeches in his royal career and he has tips on how to do them. His door is always open if any of his grandchildren want advice on any subject.'
As the first UK president of the World Wildlife Fund, Philip's passion for the natural world has also been instilled in his grandchildren, particularly William and Harry who are conservation advocates. His love for the outdoors and determination to keep active are also well rooted in the family. Like her grandfather, Lady Louise Windsor, the 14-year-old daughter of Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex, is keen on carriage driving, while his lifelong love of polo has rubbed off on Prince William and Prince Harry, who regularly play in charity matches.
He is particularly close to Prince William and Prince Harry
As a talented naval officer himself, it's likely that Philip would have 'encouraged' William and Harry to pursue their own military careers, says Dampier. But losing their mother, Princess Diana, at such a young age may have also influenced their relationship with their grandparents.
'What I've observed – mainly with Prince William and Prince Harry – is the relationship between grandparent and child is a very different one to the relationship between father and son or daughter,' Larcombe explained. 'Philip is the epitome of stiff upper lip – he is never photographed crying or showing emotion publicly. But his relationship with the boys is much warmer.'
It's understood that Philip is also close to his first-born grandchildren, Zara and Peter Phillips, who he has supported in their sporting careers. 'He is very proud of Zara’s equestrian triumphs and of Peter, who played rugby at a high level,' Dampier says. 'He likes the fact that are down to earth and just get on with it, which is very much his philosophy."
This admiration is reciprocated by Philip's oldest grandchild. When asked about his grandparents in a 2013 interview with ITV, Peter Phillips expressed how important it was to him to show his support for 'everything that they have done, and everything they continue to do. Not only for this country, but also us as a family.'
Philip has made sure his grandchildren are there for each other
When it comes to keeping in touch about each other's news, the younger royals are just like the rest of us. In fact, Mike Tindall, the husband of the Queen's granddaughter, Zara, has revealed that some members of the family even have a WhatsApp group chat. But this friendship amongst the cousins 'goes back to the head of the family, says Larcombe.
'Philip has always been keen that his grandchildren are part of the same family dynamic,' he adds. 'The great-grandchildren are definitely included in this. Although it will be interesting to see if Harry and Meghan will spend as much time with their grandparents as Kate and William do. They might take a step back when they have their own children.'
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