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Alan Titchmarsh said his interview with Prince Philip was ‘tricky’ (Image: GETTY)
Alan Titchmarsh revealed he once experienced a “tricky” interview with a royal, which led Princess Anne to offer a remark. The 76-year-old is well accustomed to interactions with members of the royal family, most notably King Charles, with whom he shares a common passion for gardening.
Alan Titchmarsh, the esteemed gardener and broadcaster, recently recounted a rather “tricky” interview he conducted with a member of the British royal family, which prompted a notable comment from Princess Anne. Now 76, Titchmarsh is no stranger to the royals, having shared many interactions with them, particularly King Charles, a fellow gardening enthusiast.
Titchmarsh and King Charles have often been seen together, with the gardener frequently praising the King’s commitment to environmental issues. However, Titchmarsh admits that the ease he shares with King Charles was not mirrored in his interactions with the late Prince Philip.
In an interview with Woman Magazine, Titchmarsh identified his most challenging interview as the one he conducted with Prince Philip for the Duke’s 90th birthday celebration. He described the experience as “tricky,” reflecting on their conversation prior to Prince Philip’s passing in 2021.
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Alan Titchmarsh opened up about his most challenging interview so far (Image: GETTY)
“I wrote and thanked him afterwards, and he wrote back saying, ‘Thank you. As you probably realised, being interviewed is not my favourite occupation’.
“The moment the interview finished at Windsor Castle, he said, ‘That it? Come on’. Alan added: “I followed him, and he took me round without the camera and showed me what he’d done after the fire. It was completely different on a one-to-one.”
Following the “tricky” encounter, Alan said Philip’s sister-in-law Princess Anne shared some words of reassurance. He added: “Afterwards the Princess Royal said to me, ‘It’s not you. He won’t tell us about his war’.
Alan said he was ‘slightly disappointing’ by the Queen’s questioning (Image: GETTY)
“He’s never wanted to put himself in front of [others who had served].” This isn’t the first instance Alan has been left underwhelmed by a royal encounter.
Upon being awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2000 by the late Queen Elizabeth II, he expressed that he was “slightly disappointed” by their conversation.
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2014, he recalled: “When I got up to the Queen she asked me ‘Are you busy?’ I was slightly disappointed by the generality of the question, but I told her about Gardeners’ World and Ground Force, which I was working on then.
“She chatted and then the hand came out for the handshake. We had been told when that happens you stop talking and go away.” However, what transpired next took Alan by surprise.
He continued: “As I shook her hand she said, ‘Well, you give a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure’.”
Reflecting on the discussion he had with his long-term wife Alison afterwards, he added: “I said to my wife, ‘You know I’d rather be buried than cremated.’ She said ‘What brought that on?’
“I told her that I wanted a headstone which said ‘Alan Titchmarsh MBE 1949-whenever. He gave a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure – Elizabeth R’.”