In terms of their father-son relationship, he said, “I probably remember him as any son, hopefully, remembers their father, as someone who was always there, who was always encouraging, but actually never pushing. So, I’m sure along the way, I’ve probably disappointed him in some ways, but I hope in other ways, surprised him.”
Since he spent a lot of time at boarding school, many of Edward’s treasured family memories together were during holidays. “Both my parents always [were] fantastic about giving that time during those holidays,” he explained. “Despite the lives that they both led, they were able to really make the holidays very special.”
Anne additionally discussed Philip’s challenging childhood and his “nomadic” way of life, describing how he was smuggled out of Greece and settled in Paris as a kid.
“It must have been really quite difficult because he was that much younger than his sisters,” she said. “The father figure was very intermittent then went and his mother struggled at that stage, so he had friends elsewhere who took him in during the holidays… He was virtually a refugee as this stage because he had nowhere else to go literally.”
Though Edward believes his father was “unfairly depicted” in the media, he personally will always remember Philip for his love of cricket and carriage driving, which was a “large part of his life.” Edward also pointed to his “fantastic” sense of humor: “It was always his humor that came through, the twinkle in his eye.”
