PRINCE Harry reveals the Duke of Edinburgh ordered him to “come back alive” before he went off to war in Afghanistan.
Harry, 37, opens up about his dry sense of humour in a touching television tribute to his grandfather, who died in April aged 99.
Harry filmed his segment in California separately from the rest of the Royal Family.
His brother William and dad Charles were among others remembering Prince Philip in clips revealed today ahead of Wednesday’s hour-long BBC special.
Harry, in a white open-neck shirt, tells how his grandfather was always “unapologetically him”.
He says: “Going off to Afghanistan he was very matter of fact and just said, ‘Make sure you come back alive’.
Then, when I came back, there wasn’t a deep level of discussion, more a case of, ‘Well, you made it. How was it?’ [and] that’s how he was.
“He was very much a listener. He sort of set the scene for you to be able to share as much as you wanted to share but he would never probe.”
Harry, who was stripped of his military titles after quitting royal duty to live in the US with wife Meghan, spent ten years in the Army, rising to the rank of Captain.
He served two tours in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2012/13.
Days after Philip died, he issued a statement calling him the “master of the barbecue”.
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He flew back for the funeral in Windsor and was seen chatting to William afterwards despite their brotherly rift.
William also shares a hilarious anecdote about his grandfather, who was the brains behind the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
On an outing to a remote spot on the Queen’s Balmoral estate, they came across a group of young walkers undertaking an expedition for their award.
William recalls: “He stopped and wound down his window and said, ‘Good morning. How are you getting on?’
“To which the smallest young chap at the back turned round and effectively said, ‘Jog on grandpa!’” In fact, William says, the response was ruder than that.
But Philip wound the window back up, turned to his grandson and said: “The youth of today!”
William adds: “He found the whole exchange hilarious.”
‘JOG ON GRANDPA’
Harry, taking part in his first “family project” since quitting as a working royal, also praised the way he supported the Queen.
He says: “From my grandmother’s perspective, to have someone like that on your shoulder for 73 years of marriage — it doesn’t get better than that.”
Philip’s granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, emotionally reveals that he bonded with his great-grandson, August Philip — despite reports he never got to meet him.
She says: “I brought little August to come and meet him. I told him that we’d named him after him. It was such a lovely moment. We were very lucky to do that.”
Philip’s son Charles recalls the ex-naval chief’s unquenchable interest in all the Armed Forces — and how he was not shy in offering his strong opinions to generals.
He says: “Obviously the Navy was his main service. But he took an inordinate interest in everything to do with the other two.
“He read up an awful lot and thought about it and so he certainly put a lot of the generals and others through their paces if you know what I mean. He’d always thought of a better way of doing it.”
The documentary features interviews filmed both before and after his death.
William adds: “He’s always set a very good example about how we have to look after the welfare of the military and represent them and be there for them and understands the trials and tribulations that they all go through.”
Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers was originally conceived to mark his 100th birthday.
But he died 62 days before reaching his century.
Documentary-makers have this year been inside Buckingham Palace to capture his study, private office and library, exactly as they were during his seven decades at the heart of royal life.
The Queen will not appear but has allowed use of footage from her private cine-film collection.
Clips show Philip with his children in a rowing boat and larking about in the Scottish Highlands. More than a dozen members of the family and former staff pay tribute to him.
His son Prince Andrew, who is in hiding at Balmoral to avoid being served with a sex abuse lawsuit, is among those giving a lengthy appearance on camera.
Others include Prince Edward and his daughter Lady Louise who has since carried on the duke’s love of carriage racing.
Princess Anne and children Zara and Peter Philips and her second husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence also relive memories.
However Meghan is not among those who have recorded their tributes.
