It is well-known that, despite his stiff upper lip, the quick-witted Prince Philip, had a penchant for practical jokes sometimes driving the late Queen mad with his antics.

In a BBC documentary titled Prince Philip: The Family Remembers, King Charles III has revealed the cheeky parting shot the Duke made over the phone just hours before his passing on April 9, 2021 at the magnificent age of 99.

As Queen Elizabeth II was Britain’s longest-serving monarch, so too was Prince Philip the longest-serving royal consort. The BBC documentary pays tribute to his life, legacy, and unbreakable sense of duty but also sheds light on his mischievous side.

In the documentary, Charles recalls speaking to his frail father over the phone and discussing the Duke’s upcoming 100th birthday celebrations.

Charles was compelled to raise his voice so his father could hear him and said, “We’re talking about your birthday! And whether there’s going to be a reception!”

Still sharp as a razor the Duke retorted swiftly off the bat, “Well, I’ve got to be alive for it, haven’t I?”

Charles remembers the call fondly in the documentary, “I told him ‘I knew you’d say that!'”.

Another comment from Charles centres around the benefits of having young parents, particularly his father.

In the movie, Charles said: “He was marvellous at arranging silly games. I mean, the fun of having obviously young parents was… there were lots of chasing around and mad things.”

Also in the documentary, Prince William, the then Duke of Cambridge, also comments on his late grandfather’s humorous side. 

According to William, one of his favourite games was to trick his grandchildren into squirting mustard all over the ceiling – much to the Queen’s annoyance.

William said, “He used to take the lid off [the tube] and put it in your hands … and then he’d squish your hands together to fire the mustard onto the ceiling.”

“He used to get in a lot of trouble from my grandmother,” he added.

William’s cousins, Princess Anne’s children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, also remembered the mustard experience.

“He gets you to hold it in your hands and I can’t remember exactly what he says — but he ends up slamming your hands together… it goes all over the ceiling,” Zara said.

Her brother Peter added: “I actually think the marks are still there.”

Queen Elizabeth also had a mischievous side, it has been revealed.

Speaking to The Herald Sun, her former aide Samantha Cohen recently disclosed that she loved it when things didn’t go according to plan. 

“The Queen had no ego, she was so comfortable in herself, yet she loved it when things went wrong,” Cohen revealed.

“If a cake was not cutting or a plaque didn’t unveil, because everything was so perfectly organised, it spiced her life up when things went wrong.”