The Prince of Wales, 72, recalled his last conversation with the Duke of Edinburgh days before his death in a new clip from the BBC documentary published in Daily Mail.
During the initial conversation, Charles explained that he spoke with his father at Windsor Castle in April 2020 and delicately brought up the topic for his upcoming 100th birthday.
“We’re talking about your birthday,” Charles said, knowing Philip was not particularly interested in the idea. He also noticed that his father was a little hard to hear at the time, so he repeated himself again with a louder volume: “We’re talking about your birthday and whether there’s going to be a reception!”
Charles remembered his father’s answer: “Well, I have to be alive for it, right?”
“I knew you would say that!” Charles replied.
Prince Philip: The royal family remembers program was first released on September 11, where Charles and his sons teased their memories with their grandfather.
“He’s always been a huge presence behind everything we’ve done, really,” Prince William explained in the trailer.
His brother, Prince Harry, also chimed in during the clip: “What you see is what you got with my grandfather. He was unapologetic to him. ”
Other members of the royal family also appeared in the trailer, including Zara Tindall the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips – who also shared their best memories of Philip.
“We were lucky to have him for almost a hundred years,” Charles recalled during the preview.
The BBC announced the upcoming documentary on September 8, noting that the film was originally conceptualized to mark the milestone of its 100th birthday Queen Elizabeth’s husband. After Philip’s death in April 2020 at the age of 99, the documentary instead became a memorial project.
The TV special will feature interviews with the royal couple’s four adult children, eight adult grandchildren (which include the Duke of Cambridge, 39, the Duke of Sussex, 36 and Tindall, 40) as well as other royal family members and Philip’s longtime household staff.
“The documentaries have been inside Buckingham Palace to meet the Duke’s longtime staff and capture his studio, private office and library, just as they were in his seven decades at the heart of royal life,” the British television network explained in a press release. “With special access to the Queen’s private film collection, this film is an unsurpassed portrait of a man with a unique place in royal history — of those who knew him best.”
Prince Philip: The royal family remembers premieres in the UK on Wednesday 22 September at 21.00 on BBC One.
