Gyles Brandreth once claimed that the late Prince Philip was “heartbroken” at how the royal family had turned into a “soap opera”.
Prince Philip died in April 2021 and would have marked his 100th birthday that June.
To mark the occasion, Gyles – who appears on Pointless on June 27 – appeared on GMB to discuss the late Duke of Edinburgh.
Gyles Brandreth on Prince Philip
Co-host Ben Shephard asked Gyles, 76, his thoughts on the controversies surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s interviews in which they slammed the royals.
“You knew him and you were close to the Duke of Edinburgh. What do you think he would have made of all of this?” asked Ben at the time.
“I know exactly what he would have made of all of this,” Gyles replied.
“He was heartbroken, as he said to me, that the royal family has been turned into a soap opera and he regretted that very much indeed. He also regretted members of the royal family giving personal interviews.”
What else did Gyles say?
Gyles then revealed the conversations he had with the Duke.
“He felt [that] no good ever comes of it,” he said, referring to personal interviews.
“I said to him, ‘But you were the first member of the royal family to give an interview on television in the 1950s for the BBC and later to things like Wogan.’
“But he said, ‘That was about what I did, my work, never about me as a person.'”
Gyles went on to quote Philip talking about the Queen, and how she would remain “the same with one person or a million people”.
Gyles revealed Philip had told him: “Once you begin to think it’s about you, you are in trouble. Don’t give interviews about yourself. It’s about other people.”
“And that was his philosophy,” Gyles concluded.
Read more: Prince Harry seen for first time in a month as he admits grief ‘eats away at you inside’
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