Prince Philip is apparently not quite as impressed at having reached his centennial milestone as everyone else and is proving to be quite the “reluctant celebrant.”
According to a palace aide who spoke with The Telegraph, the Duke of Edinburgh not only “doesn’t want a fuss” made about his 100th birthday on June 10, he wants “nothing to do with any celebrations” at all. The source said, “Let’s just say we have a rather reluctant celebrant. You can’t do something if someone doesn’t want something doing.” They added that plans for the event will “have to be raised” in the New Year, but “The one person you can guarantee will not want anything to do with it, is the Duke.” Given the U.K.’s current coronavirus restrictions, the Prince just might get his wish granted after all, as insiders told the outlet the royals could choose to celebrate privately instead of having a big affair in order to respect safety protocol.
The Duke’s disinterest in marking the occasion should come as no surprise to those familiar with his prior remarks on the subject. In a 2000 interview with The Telegraph when discussing his wife Queen Elizabeth‘s 100th birthday, he told the outlet, “I can’t imagine anything worse. Bits of me are falling off already.” But if the royals really want to get Prince Philip excited to show up for his upcoming birthday celebrations, the answer is actually quite simple: just tell him some aliens have landed on the front lawn of Windsor Castle.
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