Prince Philip once joked that he and Queen Elizabeth would look like "Mr and Mrs Beckham" if they sat on throne-like chairs at the monarch's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

Gyles Brandreth enjoyed a 40-year friendship with the Duke of Edinburgh - who passed away on Friday (09.04.21), at the age of 99 - and he's observed his pal was "a funny man who liked to laugh", recalling the time he joked about David and Victoria Beckham sitting on thrones at their wedding in 1999.

Gyles shared: "Prince Philip was a funny man who liked to laugh and make others laugh. Asked why he and the Queen hadn't sat in the throne-like chairs provided for them during the 2012 Jubilee River Pageant, his wry comment was: 'We'd have looked like Mr and Mrs Beckham, wouldn't we?'

"He knew that he was often portrayed as 'a cantankerous old sod' (his phrase, not mine), but pointed out: 'You arrive somewhere and you go down that receiving line ... I get two or three of them to laugh. Always.'"

The 73-year-old biographer thinks there are some similarities between the duke and his grandson Prince William.

He explained in the Daily Mail newspaper: "I very much enjoyed his company. Having observed him many times at close quarters, I also noticed that the more unassuming people were, the friendlier he'd be.

"Once, coming down the back stairs with him after some lunchtime function at a club in central London, we passed the kitchen. The duke stopped, turned back and marched in, unannounced, to meet the chefs and dish-washers.

"There was laughter, back-slapping, joshing: an enviable display of people skills and unselfconscious charm. The only time I've seen it quite as well done was recently - by Prince William.

"Indeed, with the general public, on the whole, and with those he met undertaking his array of public duties, the duke was surprisingly equable: easy-going, unaffected and good-humoured."

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