How Poprad charmed Prince Philip … a brief memory of the Royal who would have been 100 years old

Prince Philip died aged 99, nine weeks before his centenary.

To mark his birthday the Queen was presented with a new rose named after the Duke of Edinburgh. The pink rose was bred by the Royal Horticultural Society and planted in the gardens at Windsor Castle last week.

This week also marked the Queen’s official birthday…

Poprad-based writer, journalist and AirTV International broadcaster Leigh G Banks remembers a charming and amusing few minutes with Philip in town.

Leigh writes:

“In 2006 the Queen and Prince Philip paid a whistle-stop tour to Central Europe and stopped off in Poprad. I was lucky enough to spend a short time with him and we chatted about many things – not least the health-giving powers of the small mountainside city which stands over an ancient thermal lake.

As the Royal Consort and I walked around a top hotel charged by the harnessed thermal qualities of the lake, he asked many questions and was impressed by the clean air, the bright ‘shark teeth’ of the looming High Tatras mountains. Finally, he looked me directly in the eye and said: “Do you think I could come and live here?”

It was obviously a gentle joke – but something about Poprad had caught his imagination.

Many people, particularly, in the UK have derided the Prince for his sometimes abrupt manner and his ribald sense of humour. Others have attacked him with unproven conspiracy theories.

These are not things to discuss now. All I can say is for those few minutes, I found him engaging, friendly, charming and funny.

Thank you Prince Philip.

#princephilip #thequeen #royalfamily #windsorcastle “