Members of the Royal Family often have untrue stories written about them, and with the advent of social media, it’s even harder to keep rumors in check. But back in 1957, one story about Prince Philip caused him to be “deeply hurt,” according to his longtime friend and one-time private secretary Mike Parker.
In Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, author Gyles Brandreth detailed the infidelity rumors that plagued Prince Philip throughout his lifetime, but particularly in the earlier days of his marriage to Queen Elizabeth. In 1957, Prince Philip, accompanied by Parker, embarked on a four-month long tour of the Commonwealth, and Brandreth wrote that the unusual length of his absence caused the rumor mill to go into overdrive.
