Ingrid Seward: Prince Philip is rumored to be a giant cheater, but none of it is true!

Eugenie Jack wedding Windsor

For decades, the Duke of Edinburgh’s wandering eye was well known and discussed in not-so-discreet circles. Prince Philip always cheated on the Queen, and they were always in it for the long haul. Divorce was not an option, and they are in it until the bitter end. But yes, Philip always had an assortment of lovers and mistresses going back to even the early days of his marriage. Various biographers have skirted around the issue and some have even addressed it outright. Pre-pandemic, Philip “retired” to Wood Farm in Sandringham where he is constantly “cared for” by Countess Mountbatten, believed to be one of his “favorites.” Well, now Ingrid Seward (c-word, more like) has a new biography of Philip and wouldn’t you know, she addresses some of the “rumors” too. In her research, she doesn’t believe ANY of the cheating rumors. LMAO. You can read the whole book excerpt here at Daily Mail. Some highlights:

No evidence of affairs? Over the years, countless stories of relationships with other women have circulated. Aristocrats, actresses and even distant family members have all been linked with his name. Not one iota of hard evidence of his supposed affairs has ever emerged. But the stories get repeated so much that people are inclined to think they are true.

Philip and the Profumo scandal: The Crown also seeks to link Philip with the wild parties thrown by Stephen Ward, a key figure in the Profumo sex scandal of 1963. After Ward’s suicide, a series of drawings he had made were found to include portraits of several well-known people, including Philip, none of whom had actually sat for him. In reality, there was nothing to connect the duke with Ward or to suggest he attended any of his parties.

The official story: This is not to say that Philip has led a life of monastic quiet. All his biographers are agreed that whatever the truth or otherwise of the various rumours, he certainly enjoys the company of beautiful women. The girls in his office have always been attractive, with good figures. If Philip enters a room, he will make a beeline for the most attractive woman there and engage her in conversation. He is an excellent dancer and thinks nothing of dancing with other men’s wives all evening at a party. ‘He has got terrific rhythm,’ said one of his close female friends. ‘He can dance close or apart – he can even do a bit of rock. When you dance with someone attractive, you get quite close to them, and Philip certainly gives you a lot of attention. He’s accused of having had all these affairs, but based on my experience, I believe him when he tells me he hasn’t.’

His current “playmate”: Philip’s more recent playmate has been the former Penny Romsey, now Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Blonde, slim and still strikingly beautiful, Penny, who is 32 years younger than Philip, has known the Duke for decades and been his partner in carriage-driving competitions since 1994. More recently, she spends time with Philip at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate where he now mostly lives, and is credited with persuading him to give up his driving licence after his 2019 accident. Despite his great age, she still acts as a confidante and they share a boisterous sense of humour. When I saw Philip and Penny gliding around the dance floor at the Royal Yacht Squadron Ball during Cowes Week one year, neither of them gave a damn who saw them or what anyone might say. I noticed that Philip was completely in rhythm with the beautiful Penny. He’s undoubtedly close to her and is a supportive friend and mentor.

Diana believed he had other children: When Princess Diana was at the height of her hatred of Prince Philip, shortly before her death, she claimed that he had several illegitimate children and was determined to find out who they were.

[From The Daily Mail]

Seward lists other women widely rumored to have had affairs with Philip, including: Pat Kirkwood (a “showgirl” huh), Princess Alexandra (they often “went sailing” together), Duchess of Abercorn (said to have had a “passionate friendship”), “Sally Ann Howes, who is nine years younger than Philip, rumoured to have been among his conquests, as well as fellow actresses Merle Oberon and Anna Massey and, even before his marriage, the author Daphne du Maurier.” Seward lists all of these women because she’s denying anything untoward happened, of course. It’s the classic British tabloid thing: strenuously deny something while giving excessive details about the thing that’s being denied. Of course Philip cheats. Of course he’s always cheated. I don’t know about the other children, but nothing would surprise me, honestly. And I honestly loved the part in The Crown about Philip and the Profumo Affair. Those are legitimately the people Philip hung out with in those days!

Britain's Prince Philip (C), Duke of Edinburgh takes part in the transfer of the Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles at Windsor castle in Windsor on July 22, 2020. - Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will step down from his role as Colonel-in-Chief for

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119 Responses to “Ingrid Seward: Prince Philip is rumored to be a giant cheater, but none of it is true!”

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    • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

      Doubled.

      Let’s not forget, too, that Phillip is the one to say, “One dallies with actresses/showgirls, one doesn’t marry them.”

      “…Ingrid Seward (c-word, more like)”. D.E.A.D! lolololol

      • PlainJane says:

        “…Ingrid Seward (c-word, more like)”. D.E.A.D!

        ME TOO! I love the Ingrid C-word moniker! It works so well!

  1. Eleonor says:

    I believe everything of this.
    And probably his petty wife wants him far from his mistress.

    • Original Jenns says:

      Petty and also traditional! Wasn’t it her great grandmother Alexandra who kept Edward’s mistress Alice away from his bedside as he was dying? And so many monarchs before – once they lost their physical power, they were all in their wives hands!

      I do wonder if this is just about staff (it’s probably a part of it), but also about the image of the Queen working at Windsor while her husband is dying. I do think that in her mind this is best so she can be with him at the end, without thinking of his feelings on the matter.

      • Candikat says:

        I thought the story was that Queen Alexandra was “gracious” enough to call for Alice Keppel when the King was on his deathbed? That’s what I’ve read, at least.

      • ThEHufflepuffLizLemon says:

        I just read about this this weekend, and Alix did allow Alice Keppel to come to his bedside. Alice became so hysterical she had to be removed…

      • A says:

        No. Alice Keppel put out that story to make it seem more wholesome than it actually was. Alexandra refused her permission to be at Edward’s bedside as he was dying, and made sure that Alice Keppel was kept as far away from him as possible when he was dying.

      • Tealie says:

        She tried, but I think she failed! Also for those who don’t know (King Edwards mistress was Alice [can’t remember her last name] was Camilla Parker Bowles great Grandmother! 😭😭😭

    • KidV says:

      The mistress and her family are very close to the RF. Charles walked her daughter down the aisle when her father couldn’t.

      • bettyrose says:

        I’m sure that was a very sweet gesture, but Charles sure loves to jump in and walk other people’s daughters down the aisle!

      • ProfPlum says:

        It wasn’t that the father couldn’t, but that the daughter didn’t want him to. Norton Knatchbull left his wife, Penny (Phillip’s “caregiver”), for another woman. He abandoned the family and took off to the Bahamas with his paramour. The daughter was furious. So, when she married, she asked Charles to walk her down the aisle… with her father right there next to her mother (Penny). Straight gangsta move.

    • Marigold says:

      Wouldn’t you want to be at your husbands side?

    • PrincessK says:

      Ingrid Seward knows a lot of it is true, she is just being clever and trying to sell a book. The real details will come out after the Queen passes. The two cases that reveal most are the Princess Alexandra case, she is the Queen’s first cousin, how horrible….l have read that the affair went on for 15 years! Her loose cannon daughter has been brought into the fold by Charles and now keeps quiet for more reasons than we might expect. The Queen and Philip have lived separate lives for decades and she accepts that Penny is his ‘lady friend’, and probably doesn’t give a toss now. I expect Penny to be a chief mourner when the time comes. Also remember that Philip was too frail to attend one of the Cambridge christenings but attended one of Penny’s godchildren and became a godparent in his late 90s! Something behind that. Ingrid l don’t think mentioned that Philip had a fling with Fergie’s mother, probably the real reason he doesn’t like coming face to face with her. Fergie knows all the secrets.

  2. Noki says:

    Funny how the Queens and Phillips marriage and childrens marriages have been a hot mess. No wonder their noses were put out of joint watching an actual love courtship and marriage with H & M. Most of theirs have been marriages of having to settle, convenience or force.

    • Lizzie says:

      Excellent point Noki. The only one whose marriage seems okay is Edward. Maybe being the youngest he missed out on a lot of the dysfunctional dynamics that came before him.

      • CoKatie says:

        Is it just me, Lizzie, or is Edward’s marriage one of convenience? I always got the vibe that he swung the other way and Sophie was an agreeable beard (allegedly). I’m probably way off base, but they seem better friends than love mates …

      • bettyrose says:

        CoKatie – That’s the word on the street (or on CB anyway, which is where I get the bulk of my royal gossip) but even if it’s a business marriage it seems highly functional, so that’s still outside the mold for this family.

      • Nic919 says:

        Rumours of a Edward being gay have been around for years and it would come up when it was taking a while for Edward to get married, as he did live with Sophie for a while before they got married. Even if he is bi, he does seem to have a working relationship with Sophie and he’s not making grimaces when she speaks and she doesn’t brush him off from physical contact. It’s probably the most functional marriage of the working senior royals.

    • A says:

      It wasn’t just that H&M were in love that put their noses out of joint. They were actually committed to having a healthy relationship, to not continuing on generations of dysfunction, and providing their children with a better example of what those types of relationships actually look like that caused all that ruckus. Because that came at the expense of these weirdos having their way at all times. That’s what they couldn’t stand. “How dare you try and be better and healthier as a person, what about meeeeeeee.”

  3. Zapp Brannigan says:

    All I see is “Weekend at Bernie’s”

    Any woman having an affair with him has a stronger constitution than I. Is the access to Werther’s originals really worth it.

    • Snazzy says:

      lolololol

    • Sunday says:

      omg weekend at Bernie’s, L O effing L

      whenever there are theories about Betty masterminding and manipulating these intricate PR campaigns, or Philip breathing like an alive human, I just have to laugh. I mean, do we actually believe Philip is doing anything other than drooling in his porridge?

      In their positions of absolute privilege, I’m sure they’ve both had every conceivable body part replaced and rejuvenated so they’re both almost entirely physically bionic at this point, but cognitively? Not buying it, sorry.

    • JanetDR says:

      Werther’s! Haha! *snort*

    • Christin says:

      Someone had to say it.

      An always stubborn person who is 99 would be a challenge in itself, plus there is the impact of likely cognitive decline. Negative personality traits tends to magnify with age. They can’t fix everything.

      Same applies to his wife.

  4. Bettyrose says:

    Wait…he’s *still* cheating? 😮

  5. FC says:

    “When Princess Diana was at the height of her hatred of Prince Philip, shortly before her death, she claimed that he had several illegitimate children and was determined to find out who they were.”

    Yikes, this doesn’t doesn’t do much to squash the conspiracy that Diana was killed by the BRF for knowing too much and trying to expose them.

    • ArtHistorian says:

      Belgium’s former king Albert has been exposed as having an illegitimate daughter – apparently, he was forced by the court to do a paternity test.

      Revealing a consort’s illegitimate child would not be the end of the monarchy – though it would be embarrassing and humiliating for Liz.

      • Noki says:

        Apparently Prince Albert has quite a few,I was shocked. I used to think the royals went out of their way to ‘make sure’ no girlfriends or flings EVER got pregnant outside of wedlock.

      • MissMarierose says:

        I wonder if Juan Carlos has some illegitimate children too. Supposedly, he cheated on Sophia throughout their marriage as well.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Juan Carlos cheated on his wife AND on his mistresses!

        Juan Carlos’ mistress Corrine Zu-Sayn Wittgenstein have given an interview about their relationship and there’s so much juicy gossip. Apparently, he has an “understanding” with his wife and that he had just gotten out of a 20 year relationship with another mistress when they met. She also claim that Juan Carlos proposed to her and even visited her father to tell him of his proposal! However, he did cheat on her as well and dumped her almost immediately after her father’s funeral when he told her that he had had another mistress for 3 years. Still, she was with him in Botswana where he got injured – and that was the start of the scandal that ended in his abdication. After that trip he also gave her 500 million! Later came the harassment and surveillance when she wouldn’t return the money.

        This whole story is bonkers but entertaining.

      • Nic919 says:

        I don’t think Prince Albert ever made a secret of his illegitimate children though they did make sure the rules were changed so that none of them could inherit. Perhaps it was less of a secret since at the time he was not married and therefore not cheating on his spouse.

    • ArniePz says:

      This sounds so Game Of Thrones and I’m into it 🤣

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      Sometimes I think the BM puts these things out there to threaten the family into continuing to play whatever game started this sick relationship they’ve got going. I truly believe H/M lawsuits and them leaving has the BM hopping mad and wanting something in return for doing the BRF dirty work of smearing and gas lighting H/M. It’s all the loss of the BM and the gain of the royal family, at least so they think.

    • Anance says:

      What about the Queen? Did she cheat right back! And, if she did, did she give birth to any children?

      IDK – the children would still be heirs to the throne as she is Queen Regnant. Still, she was a very young woman when they married and it seems odd that she just turned a blind eye.

      • A says:

        She did cheat, and there are rumours that Andrew is actually the result of an affair with the previous Earl of Carnarvon (I think).

      • (TheOG) Jan90067 says:

        Petty Betty may not have *liked* the cheating, but she did turn a blind eye. That is “what “ONE” does”, esp. in *that* aristo set. Once children are born (the heir and the spare), all bets are off for both of them.

        And I SO believe Pedo is Porchie’s. Just look at the pics of PB and Porchie together, as well as young Porchie’s pic and Pedo’s.

      • Still_Sarah says:

        A : exactly what I was going to say. Andrew is rumored to be from the Queen’s affair with the man who managed her race horses. But since he was 2nd in line to the throne (at best), it wasn’t seen as a big deal. The second in line is always called “the spare”.

      • Mindy_Dopple says:

        I just looked up pictures of Porchie and I’m admittedly bias to good gossip, but he and Prince Pedo do look similar. I could see him being the product of an affair and thus Liz liking him most of all. How unfortunate that he’s the worst of all of them.

      • FC says:

        That would explain TQ choosing Andy as her favorite.

      • ProfPlum says:

        If they were fathered by someone other PP, and this was known, any issue would not be in the line of succession. This was the deal for Henry VIII–he had sons with mistresses, but because they weren’t the product of his marriage, they couldn’t be lawful heirs.

      • megs283 says:

        I just googled Porchie or whatever. Andrew is his SPITTING IMAGE. LIKE. TWINS.

  6. Laalaa says:

    Maybe I’m tired so everything seems funny, but when I read “there is no hard evidence” I responded with – yeah, he’s 98, impotence is expected.

  7. Intheknow says:

    Many believed Phillip had something to do with Diana’s accident…and at the time it was widely believed it was because Phillip is a racist and didn’t want a brown + Muslim man being married into the family via Diana….BUT, maybe Diana found his illegitimate kids!!

    You can’t go around banging that many women and not have a slip up. It’s impossible. And let’s face it…it’s not like birth control was readily available back then was it is now.

    I think after Petty Betty and Phil are dead, some of these illigitimate kids will come forward.
    Maybe that’s why Phillip accepted Prince Andrew…because again, he is rumoured to not be the son of Phillip. So both Liz and Phil had to ‘accept’ the illigitimate kids. Maybe that’s why Charles also loathes Andrew…you never know! This is better than Game of Thrones!

    • ArtHistorian says:

      Like I’ve said elsewhere, the BRF is a royal soap opera!

    • Noki says:

      Petty Betty seems way to stiff to entertain an affair let alone have a love child.

      • Intheknow says:

        @noki,
        She IS human. And it isn’t that hard to realize that if she weren’t getting the attention from Phillip she needed, she could have sought it elswhere. Being Queen has it benefits, let’s face it, a hell of a lot of benefits…but being human and all, need to love and being loved back..only her husband could have provided that. And if he wasn’t, I don’t doubt she may have sought comfort elsewhere at times.

        Diana sought comfort elsewhere once she realized Charles wasn’t going to return her love.

      • Snuffles says:

        I dunno. That Porchie dude has been portrayed as her BFF and confidant on The Crown. Like, literally the only other man she was ever really close with. I could see it.

    • Myra says:

      And they said Meghan was the scandal!

    • Mindy_Dopple says:

      @InTheKnow, I JUST saw this comment on the linked story on this article. Andrew is rumored to be the child of an affair, POSSIBLY ALLEGEDLY one of a horse trainer? Being her favorite now makes much more sense. AND if we’re just throwing conspiracy theories out there, what if the hounding of the Diana, particularly the night she died was just meant to torment her into submission but INSTEAD led to her accidental death? Putting my tin foil hat on now.

      • Intheknow says:

        @mindy yes. And it also explains why Andrew is being so aggressively protected by Petty! Imagine if the FBI gets a hold of him, his DNA and what not..there’s not telling where this could lead! He hasn’t been stripped of his title etc like they did with Harry and Harry didn’t do anything wrong. While Andrew has for years and years made bad and shady business deals, raped a trafficked teen etc and he is still HRH and still being guarded. It makes sense why they can’t cut him loose.

      • Aang says:

        If Andrew is not Phillip’s son does that effect his place in the line of succession? Since Elizabeth is monarch not Phillip my guess is no but anyone know for sure?

      • SomeChick says:

        I don’t think it was accidental. Never have. There are too many things that don’t add up… like how the cameras in the tunnel just happened to be off that night, for starers.

      • Elizabeth Phillips says:

        If it’s true that Andrew belongs to Porchie, I wonder when he found out.

    • February-Pisces says:

      I definitely think Andrew is porchies son and that’s why he’s the queens favourite, because not only is he the son of the man she allegedly may have loved, but also because Phillip wasn’t accepting of him as his son, so she had to over compensate. Plus Andrew looks different to Charles and Edward and he still has all his hair. Porchie died the same day as 9/11 and the queen issued a statement saying that ‘grieve is the price we pay for love’ so something like that. I definitely think she said that thinking of him.

    • Jaded says:

      Andrew was conceived after Prince Philip came home from a lengthy overseas tour so it’s pretty much a baseless rumour that his father was Lord Porchester. Sort of like the rumour about Harry being James Hewitt’s son when in fact Harry was born before Diana had even met him. The Queen was very close friends with Porchy but other than that there’s no proof of anything but a platonic affair.

      • KidV says:

        And Andrew was named after Prince Phillip’s father. Not that it’s proof, but I can’t imagine PP agreeing to that if it wasn’t his child.

      • Sofia says:

        I’ve seen pictures of Philip where he looks like Andrew so yeah I agree, Jaded. They may have had an emotional affair but I don’t think they had a sexual one

      • Karen says:

        Andrew could look like Philip, they are related. Doesnt have to be father/son. Cousins, etc.

      • GM says:

        Also, Beatrice has many inherited features from Queen Victoria that she got through her father.

  8. Seraphina says:

    I believe all of it, right down to what Diana was trying to uncover. The Duke was not harsh on the eyes back in his younger days and that is how aristos role – then and now. Liz went googly eyed over him when they met and due to her station had to put up with all the affairs. And I am sure, being a “favorite” meant some nice perks – as long as the mouth was kept shut and nothing rocked the boat.

    • Anance says:

      Let’s not forget Elizabeth was very pretty with a knockout figure for the 50s.

      • Seraphina says:

        I always thought Phillip was out of her league looks wise. I believe the crown and what he knew it could do for him is what “helped” that “love” match. IMO, her sister was much more attractive of the two.

      • Dee says:

        Agree. If Elizabeth hadn’t been a princess, he wouldn’t have looked twice.

  9. Chaine says:

    Cannot believe we are having this discussion about a 100 year old man.

  10. Capepopsie says:

    Soo! He obviously had his very own ”Epstein” era!
    That explanes a lot. . . .

    • Seraphina says:

      While I understand what you are saying, I don’t think we should use that as a label for the Duke and his escapes. Epstein preyed upon underage girls who came from poor households and molested and raped them. Epstein also used a female to assist so that the younger females felt more comfortable since it was a female who was approaching them and not a man.

      • Capepopsie says:

        @Seraphina: True! That’s why I put It in brackets.
        Not quite the same I do agree! I was merely thinking of P. Andrew’s participation. 😒

  11. Sofia says:

    I think he’s cheated but only because it’s how these people (still) roll. I think HM knows how men of her class act and accepts it, because that’s how these roll

  12. LaraK says:

    Oh, yes, no evidence at all. Just gliding on the dance floor, back an forth. All those hard carriage driving competitions, very hard driving. The passionate friendships – who doesn’t have those? You drink a couple of bottles of wine with a friend, and passionately paint each other’s nails… It’s all completely innocent.

  13. Becks1 says:

    The british press is getting weird. There is definitely something going on. This whole excerpt reads as “the lady doth protest too much.” It reminds me of the Richard Kay reaction to the Tatler story – where he went in great detail through the article and repeated each snarky comment, while pretending to be disagreeing with it.

    The book is written – I don’t think Ingrid Seward sat down last week to write it – but the fact that this is being excerpted is interesting.

    So we have William is no longer Work-Shy Wills, we have the paragraph in Tatler coming down, we have tatler being generally snarky (posting a story of influential royal mistresses), we have this excerpt about how Philip was 100% faithful for his entire marriage…….

    the press is dancing around something.

    • A Guest says:

      Tatler also published an article on the most powerful royal mistresses in history and the story on artists with a lovely portrait of Rose as their header. Something is brewing and it ain’t the Earl Grey.

      • Lizzie Bathory says:

        Glad I’m not the only one who noticed the royal mistresses piece. And a few weeks ago, the Daily Mail published an odd piece about how Princess Margaret “paved the way for royal divorces.” And on this Prince Philip piece, I saw commenters openly saying that William is cheating on Kate like Philip did to Liz & those comments were not deleted. Very interesting.

      • Sid says:

        ITA with you both. It feels like more than just the British press turning their sights back on the other BRF members now that the palaces can’t feed them info on the Sussexes. This all feels coordinated. Like the press are reminding the British public that affairs are commonplace in the world of royals and aristos, and that divorces just aren’t a big deal anymore in the BRF. Almost like they are trying to prepare the public for something coming down the line.

        My eyebrow is still raised over the exclusion of one parent from the SM photos for Christmas, an alleged food drop-off during quarantine, Father’s Day and the birthday of the parent who WAS in the photos. I don’t know that saying the excluded parent was the photographer is enough of an excuse.

    • Sunday says:

      Agreed, I think that the press is chomping at the bit to report on Andrew and is getting more and more frustrated that they can’t, hence these warning shots over the bow.

    • Snuffles says:

      Agreed. Something is in the wind. Maybe they are just shifting away from Harry and Meghan and back onto the rest of the family and their dirty little secrets.

    • Nic919 says:

      I agree. They know something and are dancing around it with these taunting stories.

  14. S808 says:

    Now she’s just playing in our faces. Don’t tell me the sky isn’t blue! We know Philip is big fat cheater. Worst kept secret and I definitely think there are little Philips running around. We’ll see what happens when Betty croaks.

  15. Mindless Contemplations says:

    No offense to Petty Betty but I never got the feeling that Phillip was head over heels in love with her… did he pursue her because of love or because of power and influence he could have access to as her husband? He did give up a lot to be with her, his titles etc. from Greece…

    When I google all the women mentioned and look at their photos in their younger days most of the other women were more conventionally attractive than Petty Betty ever was. I never thought Young Elizabeth was particularly attractive in the face, but she had a nice figure.

    • Feeshalori says:

      Uncle Dickie Mountbatten pushed for the marriage of his nephew for inclusion in the royal house of Windsor hoping for the royal house of Mountbatten before the indomitable Queen Mary put the kibosh on that.

    • A says:

      Not really. Philip married up with the Queen. She was the best match he could have made for himself, and it was engineered by his uncle, who was deeply ambitious. But Philip was definitely the poor relation in the Windsor family. His was a family without a kingdom, without much money, a mother who was in a convalescent home after a nervous breakdown, a father who pissed away all their money gambling, and multiple sisters who married minor German royals/nobility who were also Nazis. There wasn’t much in the way of titles that he was really giving up.

      He grew up on the largesse of relatives who paid for his schooling and took care of him on his holidays.

      Philip saw the writing on the wall when he married Elizabeth. This was the best chance he had to make something of himself. And for a person who grew up relatively unmoored, he saw a chance to finally put down roots and have a proper family that he himself didn’t have while growing up.

      I think he likes and respects the Queen, for who she is and the partnership they have in terms of their public roles and their family. And I think the Queen loved Philip, at first, but she was also very young when she first met and fell in love with him, and like any other young wife in the earliest days of her marriage, she had aspirations of domesticity that she never really had a chance to fulfill because she was going to be Queen. But I think both of them loved their own idea of marriage, which they kind of projected onto the other, rather than loving each other for who they really are. Which is not at all uncommon.

      But as for whether they’re in love with each other, still? Eh. I take the view, personally, that it’s hard to spend that many years with someone else and not care for them on some level. They have a life they built together, a family, and a lot of history. They have an outward facing partnership that worked really well for the two of them, given that the Queen is the Queen, which counts for a lot. I think the Queen would have looked at her marriage differently if Philip didn’t care about his role as a public figure, or if he sought to embarrass her or the monarchy in an open, unrepentant way. But he protected her, and he protected the institution as much as he could, which I think she’s grateful for. I don’t think she would be the same person or the same Queen if she hadn’t married him.

      Plus, in that crowd, infidelity is the rule, not the exception. She knew on some level that Philip was having affairs and straying, and like a lot of other women of her time, she just got on with it and didn’t pay much attention, as long as he didn’t do anything to impede her job as the Queen, or embarrass her in any way. The press protected the two of them a great deal, which helped a lot too.

      • Anoni Mus says:

        Great comment A! I feel there is a lot of truth to what you say. Phillip is fascinating to me, he is the most interesting royal! Even with all his negatives I would love to sit down with him and hear about his life and the history of his family.

    • bamaborn says:

      Ok, simple question? Would you rather have this impressionable young lady, googly eyed over you, who by the way, is in line to be queen and all the perks that entails OR would you rather have this dubious title, poor relations, cash poor and a mother reported to be insane? What would be your honest choice?

  16. Amy Bee says:

    Of course he cheated on Liz. That’s why they have a marriage in name only now.

  17. Tia says:

    Describing Pat Kirkwood as ‘a showgirl’ is really insulting. She was an extremely famous stage star who was the first woman to have her own series on the BBC. She performed in London throughout the Blitz while the city was being bombed around her. Also, she didn’t meet Philip until 1948 by which time she was already a huge star in the UK. Her MGM contract after the war didn’t work out but she was offered the chance at American stardom years before she met Philip.

    It was widely suggested that the only reason she wasn’t given a Damehood was because of the rumours about her and Philip which she always denied. Even if the rumours were true, she deserves better than to have her career minimised the way Ingrid S seems to have done.

  18. A says:

    Notice how Ingrid Seward worded the bit about Diana. Implying that her suspicions were motivated because she was at the “height of hatred” towards Philip. It’s a subtle, but potent way to discredit Diana. It paints her as overly emotional and hateful, and therefore, not worthy of taking seriously. She’s been dead for 20 years, and the BRF whispering campaign to paint her as a lunatic mental case of some type is still going strong.

    Ingrid Seward is no stranger to marital infidelity. Her husband, iirc, cheated on her flagrantly when they were married, up until his death (someone can correct me if I’m wrong, I could be confusing her with someone else). I believe their marriage started off as an affair, and Seward was his third marriage.

    She, much like every other upper-class twit, fucks around with no compunction. Morals are for commoners, and there’s nothing worse than being common. When you have money, titles, and clout, you’re allowed to be as messy in your personal life as you like, all while sneering at other people for being trailer trash. Both she, and the Queen, know the score. The only thing the Queen expects of Philip is that he not embarrass her publicly with his affairs–the same condition I think Will and Kate’s marriage functions on as well. He can do what he likes, as long as he doesn’t let the side down. And he’s come awfully close a few times over the years.

    It’s ironic. Philip, more than anyone else, knows the pains and pitfalls of being a royal consort. The limitations he had imposed on him, the energy he brought to the role, even though he was continually shafted and thwarted by the rigid rules of the existing courtiers. The fact that he was labeled as a “foreigner.” It took him years to establish a role for himself, but he did it eventually.

    Imagine if he’d had some compassion or empathy for what the consorts in his wake went through. If he’d lent an open hand of support to Meghan, for example, based on the common ground they share, even if they are several generations apart. Philip, Camilla, Kate, Meghan–that could have been a real foursome, a royal brain trust that would have been interesting. But this is a family that thrives on dysfunction, which breeds isolation and expects complete loyalty.

    • MsIam says:

      “Morals are for commoners, and there’s nothing worse than being common.” Wow so that totally explains why Tatler went after Kate for trying ice out Rose. Looking at the aristocrats is like watching how sausage is made.

  19. Sunday says:

    Kaiser astutely recognized the key takeaway here, the tactic that the British press takes in this article – “strenuously deny something while giving excessive details about the thing that’s being denied.”

    This is the same barely veiled, passive aggressive tactic as floating Work-Shy Will in the headline, and then saying within the article ‘nooo, of COURSE will isn’t work-shy, he’s been on Zoom, isn’t that SUCH hard work?’

    Obviously the audience for these articles includes both those that can read between the lines and those that accept the stories at face-value, but the real interest here is the fact that these digs are being made at all. If it were just the usual suspects within the British press I’d say that perhaps their typical clickbait isn’t generating enough revenue, so the media is trying to adjust their approach without rocking the boat too much. However, Tatler is seemingly also getting in on the game, with their not-so-secret removal of that paragraph followed by the ‘beloved artists’ and ‘royal mistresses’ stories, and Tatler is usually above the fray of the pedestrian battle for clicks. Therefore, to me this indicates that the press smells blood in the water and is circling their prey. Let’s watch and see what (or who) the royals try to use as chum.

    • A says:

      See also: the way Richard Kay extensively quoted the Tatler article on Kate in the column he wrote trying to deny the Tatler article on Kate.

  20. Chelle says:

    Even if Phil hasn’t cheated, he and Penny sure look emotionally entangled in something. For the record, I do think he has been and currently is in a long standing affair with her. I wish QEII were so inclined or currently has the equivalent if Phil is otherwise entangled.

  21. Candikat says:

    Ingrid Seward is a deeply weird woman who has devoted her life to the BRF without getting much in return. If you want a chuckle, check out video interviews of her from the 80s when she was SWF-ing Diana, haircut, head tilt, doe eyes, and all. Creepy!

  22. MsIam says:

    “Not one iota of hard evidence of his affairs has emerged”. Well, duh Ingrid, they didn’t do phone hacking or fly drones back then. Lucky for Phillip he didn’t have to endure his own “tampon-gate” like his son.

  23. Sarah says:

    “Ingrid Seward (c-word, more like)”

    YES

  24. SM says:

    Since my knowledge about the puppet monarchs comes mainly from the Crown, it did strike me that Matt Smith played Philip as an utter a-hole. Someone who walks, talks and breaths as if he is above everyone else even his wife. If that is accurate and probably the research he did for the role as well as direction suggest this is what they aimed for, then none of this is surprising. It is rather interesting that the actor portraying the older Philip toned it down on this a-hole vibe a bit. But it still is there

  25. Sass says:

    INGRID C-WORD 😂🤣😭

  26. JaneEyreApparent says:

    Has he slept with other women? Yes, without a doubt. But…we probably shouldn’t assume it about all of them. I’ve always gotten along with guys and have had a mostly male friend group for the last 30 years. I found out a few years ago that many people were assuming that I was sleeping with/ had slept with most of them. It was super uncomfortable.

  27. candy says:

    His chemistry with Penny Brabourne is off the charts. They are effervescent in each other’s company and look purely happy. If he wants to die at peace with her at Wood Farm, I’m surprised an intervention is taking place. The takeaway being I still get you on our wedding day and on your death bed.

  28. Mariane says:

    lol Ingrid is so desperate to sell this book that she’s listing his old mistresses. This is intresting as with other reports like staff striking and Charles mandating no cloth hangers and ball courts in his plot in Cornwall. Tbe tabs are really going after them now and I’m here for it☕

  29. Nightsky says:

    This is not indicative of anything really but I do have a wee PP story from the mid 80’s. My friend’s Mom owned a club… once a very popular “gentlemen’s club” in the 40’s I believe. She revived it and turned it into a special banquet facility for exclusive gatherings. Weddings, VIP functions, special dinners, meetings, whatnot. Anyway, Prince Phillip was due for a visit to my city and the club was booked to host a dinner in his honor. My friend was assigned to be his personal server for the evening. And was told in advance they wanted her in this role as she was the most attractive female on staff. She had to undergo training and heaps of instructions on etiquette and the manner in which she was to interact with and serve PP. He apparently drank like a fish, was quite informal (with her anyway), and worked out a little signal with my friend, Audrey, when he wanted a refill. She was stationed a short ways behind him during the dinner and he would wiggle his fingers behind his back to indicate he wanted another drink. She said he was quite flirtatious and charming with her throughout the evening and at the end he groped her ass! Not in a gross, grabby way… he just sort of let his hand rest on her butt, then gave it a squeeze. And he winked at her. She was delighted by the experience. 🙂

    • Molly says:

      Sorry….I’m disgusted by the experience

      • Nightsky says:

        I was kind of disgusted too Molly. But my friend was a bit of a wild one…. not a shy gal when it came to the fellows as I recall. I had also been asked to work the dinner but had to decline as I was scheduled to work at my regular job. Perhaps had I done the PP dinner I too could say he groped my butt…. blech :/

    • Harper says:

      Thanks for the scoop Nightsky. I loved it!

    • Julia K. says:

      Very interesting! So much for “how can I get in trouble when I have security with me at all times.”

      • Nightsky says:

        This reminds me of something my friend told me…. that PP’s security detail were very serious and intense about the whole protocol thing. They made it clear Audrey was not to make any unnecessary chitchat with PP and to absolutely mind her etiquette instructions to a T. Except that PP didn’t appear to give a damn about the etiquette business and seemed to delight in being informal and flirting with his very pretty server. My friend said she thought he was just out to have fun – maybe because QE was not with him? 🙂

  30. Tursitops says:

    Ah yes, I had forgotten that if there is no “hard evidence” then it didn’t happen. Someone should remind Ms. Seward that beyond a reasonable doubt isn’t the standard in the court of public opinion.

  31. Shannon says:

    This smells like an attempt at revisionist history. It’s like they’re preparing for glowing reviews before he dies. But to start early than late…I guess.

    My two cents.