Royal Family News: After Prince Philip’s Retirement Queen Elizabeth Was Never Quite The Same

British royal family news shows that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s retirement in 2017 was an especially hard blow for his wife Queen Elizabeth.

According to royal watcher Sally Bedell Smith, the Queen and Prince Philip were side by side for decades and honed an incredible, natural act of welcoming fans and guests during public events. So when Philip retired in 2017 it was a huge adjustment for the queen who had grown accustomed to having her husband by her side.

Smith notes that in particular, Philip had a way of smoothing over the Queen’s meetings with the public with his sense of humor and down to earth manner.

The Duke Of Edinburgh is Said To Have A Way Of “Jollying” People up

Smith told the Royally Obsessed podcast, “I have seen them in action, seen how they interact with people and, in the case of Philip and the Queen, it was like watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.”

She added, “They had this incredible routine when they go to a reception where they would go in, do their thing, meet all those people and make the exact perfect point before they had to leave. It was perfectly choreographed.”

Royal Family News: Meghan Markle Is Writing Her First Piece Of Fiction, Regardless Of Its Quality

View Story

For Decades Queen Elizabeth And Prince Philip Were The Perfect Public Duo

Smith said, “I watched him jollying people up because people who are about to meet the Queen get incredibly nervous. Men would curtsy instead of bowing, and so he sort of relaxed them. He got people relaxed, he would pick children up who had been left behind and would bring them up front. It was really fun to watch.”

When the Duke of Edinburgh retired it was at the age of 97. The incredibly robust man had been on over 20,000 engagements both abroad and in the UK.

His last official event was outside Buckingham Palace in 2017 to attend a parade marking the end of the 1664 Global Challenge.

Since then he has rarely appeared in public except for significant family events such as the weddings of Lady Gabriella Windsor, Prince Harry, Princess Louise and this year’s wedding of Princess Beatrice.

At the end of the first lockdown in the summer, he took part in an official ceremony to pass on his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles to his daughter-in-law Camilla, the Duchess of Cambridge but mostly Philip has spent his well-deserved retirement at his favorite residence, Wood Farm, on the Sandringham Estate.

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with the royal family. Come back here often for royal family spoilers, news and updates.