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It seems that turning 95 has done nothing to dampen the Duke of Edinburgh’s wonderful chutzpah.
Prince Philip, who celebrated his own milestone on Friday, wasn’t excluded from the Queen’sbirthday celebrations this weekend, despite insisting that he didn’t want any fuss.
As well as being mentioned three times during the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, there was also a nod to the birthday prince at yesterday’s Patron’s Lunch, where the Duke of Cambridge delivered a heart felt speech of thanks to the Queen.
Sensibly dressed for the rain in a beige overcoat, the Duke and the Queen paraded down the Mall in an open-top state review. But it seemed the ‘Queen Mobile’ wasn’t quite fast enough for the Duke who rapped on the driver’s side to signal for him to speed up.
The Duke, who still rides horse-drawn carriages and loves to speed when he drives, was also impatient while watching the procession, which colorfully—and occasionally bizarrely—chronicled the decades of the Queen’s life.
“Everyone was having a great time, including the Duke, and there were plenty of laughs in the royal box, but in the last 15 minutes the Duke said, ‘When’s this thing going to be over?’” according to a source. “I think that was the cue for the procession to come to a prompt end.”
When the parade did close—with a surprise finale by former Royal Ballet prima ballerina Darcey Bussell, who danced around an oversize model of the Queen’s famous handbag, the Duke quickly took his cue to leave.
Never one to mince his words, the Duke has always been characteristically outspoken and can be impatient. During a photo call last year with World War II veterans, he famously told one poor photographer, “Just take the fucking picture!,” after being made to sit for the photo.
His grandchildren, who were out in force yesterday for a record-long royal walkabout, are known to find Philip’s outbursts especially funny. The Queen just raises a royal eyebrow.
Queen Elizabeth II on the steps of the East Terrace at Windsor Castle with corgi Willow, dorgi Vulcan, corgi Holly, and dorgi Candy, in April.
Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
The Queen and her daughter, Anne, the Princess Royal, in the White Drawing Room at Windsor in April.
The Queen in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, 2007.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, in the Oak Sitting Room at Windsor in April; they have been married for nearly 69 years.
The Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2007.
The Queen, surrounded by two of her eight grandchildren (James, Viscount Severn, 8, and Lady Louise, 12) and her five great-grandchildren (Mia Tindall, 2; Princess Charlotte, 1; Savannah Phillips, 5; Prince George, 2; and Isla Phillips, 4), in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor in April.
The Queen in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in 2007.
Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.
(VANITY FAIR)
