Queen Elizabeth famously called Prince Philip “her strength and stay,” and despite being vastly different people, the couple’s 73-year marriage served as a strong example to her children and grandchildren. However, that doesn’t mean the late Queen shared the same interests as her husband—or that he was a huge fan of hers.
In his biography Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, author and friend of the Royal Family Gyles Brandreth wrote that “Philip regularly boosted the Queen’s morale by telling her how lovely she looked and how well she was doing.” But Brandreth added that the two “had separate hobbies and enthusiasms” over the course of their marriage.
Noting that Queen Camilla and King Charles “have more in common” than the late Queen and Prince Philip, he wrote that the late Duke of Edinburgh “found his wife’s corgis infuriating.”
Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, also worked for the late Queen in the early days of his career. In his second memoir, The Royal Insider, he weighed in on Prince Philip's opinion on the corgis.
“Like many animal lovers, The Queen liked having her dogs in the bedroom—even in bed with her. Prince Philip, who did share a bed with his wife, was not so keen and would mumble about 'those bloody dogs',” Burrell wrote.
As for the late Queen’s equestrian pursuits, Prince Philip might have been a competitive carriage driver, but “did not share her passion for horse racing,” Brandreth wrote. One of the biggest events on Queen Elizabeth’s calendar was Royal Ascot, and she would attend multiple days of the British horse racing spectacle. The late Duke of Edinburgh, however, wasn’t as enthusiastic.
“At Royal Ascot he would do his duty, accompanying the Queen along the course in her open carriage, but once they were there, he would either race back to Windsor Castle by car or disappear into a room at the back of the Royal Box to watch the cricket,” the author revealed.
However, as Prince Philip himself once told Brandreth, the late Queen took it all in stride. “She is infinitely tolerant,” the Duke of Edinburgh said, “and forgiving.”
