Prince Philip: Duke of Edinburgh FURIOUS when he and Queen stopped from doing this on royal tour (Image: Getty Images)
Prince Philip has become well known for his honest opinions and hilarious gaffes over the years. On one occasion he did not hide his feelings when he and Queen Elizabeth were on a visit to Australia. In 1977, the Queen and Philip headed to both New Zealand and Australia on a royal tour of the Commonwealth. Robert Hardman went into detail as to what allegedly happened during the state visit in his 2018 book Queen of the World.
Prince Philip: Duke of Edinburgh FURIOUS when he and Queen stopped from doing this on royal tour
Hardman wrote of a time during the trip when “the royal party attended the last day of the Centenary Test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground".
Prince Philip has been an ardent lover of cricket throughout his life. He first gave notice of his sporting prowess at Cheam prep school and at Gordonstoun he captained the 1st XI.
At Windlesham Moor, Elizabeth and Philip’s Surrey bolthole, the Duke set up stumps on the tennis lawns. On Sunday mornings he would prise the servants out of the pantry for practice sessions.
Princess Elizabeth was also roped in and sometimes had to go leather-hunting among the rhododendrons.
In short, watching the crunch match in Melbourne would have been a great day out for such a sports fan as Philip - and something he seemed to want to watch until the end, only it was not to be.
“The only tension was when Australian government officials tried to move the Duke of Edinburgh on to his next engagement, just as the match was reaching an enthralling climax,” said
