THRIFTY Prince Philip continued to wear same the black shoes he used on the day he married the Queen for more than seven decades.
Having first worn the smart leather shoes on his wedding day in 1947, the down-to-earth Duke of Edinburgh donned the same pair at many formal occasions over the years – having them resoled when needed.
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The late Prince Philip wore that very pair of shoes at an event he was invited to by CBI president Lord Karan Bilimoria in 2011 at the Zoroastrian Centre in London.
Visitors were asked to remove their shoes and, after speeches and lunch, the Duke sat beside Lord Bilimoria as he put them back on.
He said Prince Philip continued to use the shoes he first wore at his wedding on November 20, 1947, to the then-Princess Elizabeth out of “sentimentality”.
“He told me once that he was wearing the shoes from the day that he got married,” Lord Bilimoria told MailOnline.
“We were next to each other and tying up our laces when he told me that those were the same shoes from his wedding day. It was amazing.
“Who knows how many times they would have been re-soled or repaired?
“But they were the original shoes. They were traditional black leather shoes.
“He had had those shoes literally for more than 60 years.
“And that is because of his sentimentality. It was that genuineness which was ever present.
“It just shows what a wonderful person he was. He showed what a wonderful husband he was too.”
Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 on April 9, will be laid to rest today.
The Duke – who was married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than 73 years – will get his dying wish of a small “no-fuss” funeral, thanks to ongoing Covid restrictions.
