Prince Harry says grandfather Prince Philip was good at listening: ‘He would never probe’

New BBC documentary celebrates life of late royal, who died in April at 99

Prince Harry says Prince Philip was a good listener (Getty Images)

Prince Harry has reflected on his late grandfather’s listening skills, with the Duke of Sussex revealing that Prince Philip gave him a space to speak about his time in Afghanistan without probing.

The Duke of Sussex spoke candidly about the royal, who died on 9 April 2021 at the age of 99, during a new BBC programme Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers.

While reflecting on his grandfather’s unwavering support, Prince Harry recalled Prince Philip’s reaction to his military career, explaining that the duke was “very matter of fact”.

“Going off to Afghanistan he was very matter of fact and just said: ‘Make sure you come back alive’ ... then when I came back, there wasn’t a deep level of discussion, more a case of: ‘Well you made it. How was it?’ That’s how he was,” Harry recalled. “He was very much a listener, he sort of set the scene for you to be able to share as much as you wanted to share but he would never probe.”

Prince Harry served two tours in Afghanistan, first as a forward air controller, during 2007-08, and later as an Apache helicopter co-pilot gunner in 2012-13, while his grandfather served as a Naval officer during World War II.

The Duke of Sussex later honoured the military connection he shared with his grandfather during Prince Philip’s funeral, which saw Prince Harry wearing his military medals.

During the programme, the Duke of Edinburgh’s son Prince Charles also spoke of his father’s dedication to the military, with the Prince of Wales recalling how the royal “took very seriously the fact that he was involved in the three armed forces”.

“Well he took very seriously the fact that he was involved in the three armed forces ... and obviously the Navy was his main service but he took an inordinate interest in everything to do with the other two,” Prince Charles said. “He read up an awful lot and thought about it and so he certainly put a lot of the generals and others through their paces, if you know what I mean. He’d always thought of a better way of doing it.”

According to the duke’s grandson Prince William, Prince Philip’s dedication also extended to the care the armed forces received.

The Duke of Cambridge said: “He’s always set a very good example about how we have to look after the welfare of the military and represent them and be there for them, and understands, you know, the trials and tribulations that they all go through.”

Elsewhere in the programme, which airs on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One, the duke’s family discussed his love of barbecuing, with the Prince of Wales describing his father’s dedication as an “art form”.

“He adored barbecuing and he turned that into an interesting art form. And if I ever tried to do it he ... I could never get the fire to light or something ghastly so (he’d say): ‘Go away!’” Prince Charles recalled, while the Duke of Cambridge added: “Every barbecue that I’ve ever been on, the Duke of Edinburgh has been there cooking ... he’s definitely a dab hand at the barbecue.

“I can safely say there’s never been a case of food poisoning in the family that’s attributed to the Duke of Edinburgh.”

The late royal’s love of food also extended to cooking shows, according to the Countess of Wessex, who said: “Cooking is something that I love talking to him about. And he loves watching cookery programmes. Hairy Bikers, I think is one of his favourites.”

The programme, which includes clips of interviews that took place with members of the royal family before and after Prince Philip’s death, was originally meant to mark the duke’s 100th birthday.

While the Queen did not take part in the interviews, she granted the documentary-makers special access to her private film collection.