The Queen could not have chosen a better life partner than Prince Philip and the couple still make each other laugh, the Countess of Wessex reveals in a documentary celebrating the diamond anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh’s award.
“He has been a fantastic life partner for her. I think it’s maybe a fairly lonely job being queen. As a female in the top job I think to have somebody you can lean on, you can discuss things with, she can be honest with behind closed doors … I don’t think she could have chosen better.
“And they make each other laugh, which is half the battle, isn’t it?” Sophie Wessex, wife of Prince Edward, tells Phillip Schofield.
Schofield was given rare access to the duke and to home movies filmed by the Queen in the 1960s, which show the prince as a young man playing with his children at Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish estate, and aboard the royal yacht Britannia.
Philip, 95, who launched the awards in 1956 to encourage personal discovery and self-reliance among young people, reveals he was surprised but pleased the DoE award had taken off in more than 141 countries and territories around the world.
“The curious thing is we never tried to export it. People came along and said, ‘Can we do it? And we said yes,” he tells Schofield.
In the ITV documentary, When Phillip Met Prince Philip: 60 years of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Schofield undertakes his own DoE award challenge, wing-walking on a biplane, and talking to celebrities, athletes and others who have gained their gold awards about how the scheme has benefited them.
On hearing of the wing-walking challenge, the duke warns Schofield: “Who wants to get rid of you?” and advises him: “I wouldn’t open your mouth if I were you, you’ll blow up like a balloon.” Introducing Schofield to a sky diver, the duke jokes: “That’s what happens to you if you fall off.”
The award has been undertaken by millions of young people, including 2.5 million in the UK.
Those paying tribute to the duke’s achievement include his youngest son, Edward, who said his father “never talks about himself”. “He’s got a brilliant mind. He’s always amazingly innovative so people would come with ideas to suggest to him and he’d always turn them into something 10 times better”.
He said his father described the DoE award, which involves sporting, volunteering and physical challenges, as a “do-it-yourself kit for growing up, which everybody always sees as a bit flippant but, actually, it is true”.
Prince Philip says: “This sort of experience is going to help anybody.”
Dame Judi Dench describes the duke as “an indomitable person”. Joanna Lumley, who has known him for years, says despite his stern image he is “extremely affectionate” and a “go-to-dad”.“I think he has just got an extraordinary character. He rides, sails, drives horses, fishes, swims. He’s incredibly good fun to be with, but he’s quite shy,” says Lumley.
Even in his advanced years Philip, who describes himself as “the world’s most experienced plaque unveiler”, still enjoys carriage driving, though he no longer competes. As for his famed barbecues, he still keeps his hand in. “A grouse isn’t worth eating unless it’s come off his barbecue,” says Sophie, who cycled from Edinburgh to London earlier this year to help raise £300,000 for the charity.
Both the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Cambridge have achieved gold DoE awards. Asked if he encouraged his children and grandchildren to take part, Philip replies: “It’s up to them. I’m not going to twist their arm.”
When Phillip Met Prince Philip: 60 Years of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Monday 9pm, ITV
