By Gerhard Mey and Guy Faulconbridge
WINDSOR, England – Prince Harry praised Prince Philip on Monday for his devotion to “granny” Queen Elizabeth, and described the late duke as a mischievous host who could captivate his guests with unpredictable remarks.
Philip, husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday, aged 99.
“Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to Granny, and for always being yourself,” Harry, who returned to the United Kingdom from Los Angeles for Philip’s Saturday funeral, said in a statement.
“He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm and also because you never knew what he might say next,” said Harry.
Philip’s sense of humour and dedication to his duty earned him widespread popularity in Britain, but he was also criticised for off-the-cuff comments, some of them racist, which shocked princes, priests and presidents.
He once asked, within earshot of both Pope Benedict XVI and the queen, if a female Scottish politician was wearing Tartan knickers.
Philip also asked President Jomo Kenyatta, at the most solemn moment of the Kenyan independence celebrations in 1963 as the British flag was about to be lowered: “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Other remarks touched on the drinking habits of Scots and the national cuisine of Hungarians.
Harry’s tribute to Philip came minutes after his elder brother Prince William, second in line to the British throne, hailed his grandfather for his dutiful service.
William, known as the Duke of Cambridge, said Philip was an extraordinary man whose life had been defined by service, but that he would have wanted members of the royal family to get on with their jobs.
“I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job,” William, 38, said in a statement on Monday. “My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation.”
“My grandfather’s century of life was defined by service — to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family.”
