If you want to know Prince Philip, read the 14 books he wrote
From a Swiftian plea to ban helicopters to questions of religion, the Duke of Edinburgh’s unpretentious, witty writing reveals his intellect
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in Balmoral, 1976
Credit: Anwar Hussein
When Prince Philip stepped down from official duties in 2017, it was announced that he would spend his retirement carriage-driving and reading. The former was a given; but where the latter was concerned one couldn’t help wondering whether he was doomed to the same fate as Sir Robert Walpole, who picked up a book on his first day of retirement, burst into tears and declared: “I have led a life of business so long that I have lost my taste for reading, and now – what shall I do?”