Prince Phillip passed away on April 9 at the age of 99, and his legacy as a person, a member of the Royal family, and husband of The Queen is interesting, to say the least, especially given the “access” the public has sorta gotten of him and the Royal family through Netflix’s The Crown as well as the Meghan and Prince Harry interview with Oprah in March (which Phillip allegedly thought was “madness,” by the way.)
He accomplished a lot as far as performing duties for the monarchy are concerned and his passing should be marked in history. But if the stories about his character are to be believed, he was a sexist, a racist, and a cruel dad by Charles’ account. So how should this man be mourned?
Editor Tim Teeman and reporter Tom Sykes, the team behind The Daily Beast’s ‘Royalist’ newsletter and royal coverage, held a Zoom Live on Wednesday to break down such a nuanced person. Beast multimedia reporter Brooke Leigh Howard also joined them to share her take.
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The three discussed the way the British press “looked like they had been announcing there was a nuclear war” at the news of Philip’s death while others snuffed their nose at him and his racist “gaffes.” Other topics of conversation were about The Crown's portrayal of Prince Philip, and whether it painted a full picture of the man (the consensus is, definitely not—he was somehow more terrifying, according to Tom’s reports, and “an unbelievable snob.”)
Plus! What will a royal funeral with just 30 people look like? Will the Crown skip over Charles and go straight to William? And, what was the true nature of Philip's marriage to The Queen?
Watch the recording of the Live Zoom below to find out: