Prince Philip’s four children have paid a heartfelt tribute to their father in a BBC documentary that aired in the UK overnight.

The Duke of Edinburgh died at Windsor Castle on Friday morning, following a recent stay in hospital. He was two months short of turning 100. He shared Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward with his wife, Queen Elizabeth II.

In the pre-recorded interview, his eldest son Charles said his father “didn’t suffer fools gladly” and would “probably want to be remembered as an individual in his own right”.

He went on to praise his father for the ongoing support he gave to the Queen throughout their life together, telling the program, “His energy was astonishing in supporting my mama, and doing it in such a long time. What he’s done amounts to an astonishing achievement, I think.”

Prince Edward, the Queen and Prince Philip’s youngest son, echoed his brother’s comments, saying his father never tried to overshadow the Queen “in any way, shape or form”.

“He’s always been that rock in the Queen’s life and certainly in the family that was exactly the same,” he said.

In a separate interview for television network ITV, the prince spoke of his parent’s incredible support for one another.

“My parents have been such a fantastic support to each other during all those years and all those events and all those tours and events overseas,” Edward said. “To have someone that you confide in and smile about things that you perhaps could not in public. To be able to share that is immensely important.”

He also added that his father had a “wonderful” sense of humour, however, he said that the media often portrayed him in an “unfair” light.

“The public image that certain parts of the media would portray was always an unfair depiction,” he said. “He used to give them as good as he got and always in a very entertaining way. He was always able to manage interviews and say things that the rest of us always dreamed we could say. He was brilliant. Always absolutely brilliant.”

Meanwhile, the Princess Royal, who was famously close with her father, remembered the prince as a great source of support and encouragement.

“I will best remember him as always being there and a person you could bounce off ideas, but if you were having problems you could always go to him and know that he would listen and try to help,” she told the BBC.

Prince Andrew remembered sitting on the sofa with his old man, saying they were just like “any other family”.

“Like any other family at the time, your parents went out to work during the day but in the evening – just the same as any other family – we would get together, we would sit on the sofa as a group and he would read to us,” he said.