Legendary TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh has revealed that the late Queen Elizabeth II was often frustrated with a gardening habit of her husband Prince Philip. The royal pair were happily married for almost 74 years but occasionally had their disagreements.
The Queen reportedly told Titchmarsh that Philip was doing the "kind of gardening" she disliked. The 74-year-old TV star then replied to ask what she meant.
As reported by the Express, the late monarch explained that Philip had been using a "bulldozer" to build a pond at Balmoral - the Queen's beloved home in the Scottish Highlands. It was not the only interaction Titchmarsh had with Philip, as his book about the royal gardens provoked quite a reaction from the then Duke of Edinburgh.
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Titchmarsh explained: "I wrote a book about royal gardens and the late Prince Philip wrote me a long letter back telling me everything I hadn’t got quite right. It went to about one and a half pages but he added that he did enjoy the book."
The TV gardener has had a long-lasting relationship with the Royal Family. His friendship with King Charles is particularly notable. He said: "I enjoy his company. We talk about things but I don’t step in as an adviser.
"I can’t say I have ever advised him though. Actually, I don’t think he needs any tips from me, he is so experienced. The King is just the most amazing gardener. He’s achieved so much in so many different areas. And he has some really good staff who bring his ideas to fruition."
"The organic way of gardening is so important to him. He is making a topiary garden at Sandringham and I have heard there is going to be a maze at Balmoral."
However, it was with the late Queen that Titchmarsh shared a particularly charming moment back in 2000. It came as he was invited to a Sandringham Women's Institute meeting.
He recounted at the meeting how Her Majesty helped him to move a trestle table: "'Ma’am', I said. 'We’re awfully close aren’t we? and she took hold of the table and said ‘yes – you pull and I’ll push'."
Six months later during his investiture for his MBE at Buckingham Palace she reminded him of the incident. She said: "You gave a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure."
