‘Prince Philip’s the most popular royal among staff’: The Crown star Matt Smith claims the Duke of Edinburgh is ‘the one they love’ because he’s a ‘man of the people’
- Actor Matt Smith played Prince Philip in first two series of Netflix’s The Crown
- The star claimed the royal, 97, is the most popular among household staff
- Said the Duke of Edinburgh is a ‘man of the people’ and still has a ‘cheekiness’
- The role will be taken up by actor Tobias Menzies for the upcoming season
Kate, Meghan, George and Charlotte might be much-loved by the public, but it is Prince Philip who is apparently most popular among royal staff.
Actor Matt Smith, who played the Duke of Edinburgh in hit Netflix series The Crown, claimed Philip, 97, is ‘the one they all love’ because he is a ‘man of the people’.
The star, 35, also suggested ‘royal protocol’ had not ‘dogged’ Prince Philip in the same way that it had other members of the family.
High praise: Actor Matt Smith, who played the Duke of Edinburgh in hit Netflix series The Crown, claimed Philip, 97, is the most popular royal among staff because he is a ‘man of the people’. Pictured, Smith in character opposite Claire Foy as the Queen
Personable: The Duke of Edinburgh, 97, still maintains a ‘naughtiness’ and a ‘cheekiness’ that endears him to staff, according to Smith. The actor added the royal is ‘brilliantly funny’
Speaking in an interview with Variety, Smith said: ‘All the research I did found him [Prince Philip] to be brilliantly funny, very clever, very popular.
‘In the royal house he’s the most popular of all of them. If you’ve talked to any of the staff, Philip’s the one they all love really. I think more than a lot of them, he’s a bit more of a man of the people.
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‘The royal protocol hasn’t dogged him in quite the same way his whole life and there’s a sort of rebellion in him and a naughtiness and a cheekiness.
‘I think he’s quite affable and open by all accounts with the staff. They all love him.’
Smith, who is dating Mama Mia! star Lily James, 29, played the Duke of Edinburgh in the first two series of The Crown, opposite Claire Foy, 34, as the Queen.
Charming: The Duke of Edinburgh, pictured at a Buckingham Palace engagement in August last year, has won over the public and household staff alike, according to Smith
The role will be taken up by Outlander star Tobias Menzies for the next two series. Olivia Colman will play the Queen.
Smith jokingly suggested the Duchess of Sussex could return to her acting roots to play herself when her character arrives in the storyline.
Earlier this year the actor revealed how he used his phyiscality and his voice to transform himself into Prince Philip, despite being ‘obviously from the wrong class’.
Hollywood couple: Matt Smith, 35, pictured with actress girlfriend Lily James in New York in May last year, added Philip has not been ‘dogged’ by ‘royal protocol’ in the same way
Speaking on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, he said: ‘You know, you watch and you pay attention to as much video footage and you read as much of the history, the context of those people.
‘For me, usually, there is one physical thing and one vocal thing that I just repeat, repeat, repeat.
‘For him, he would always walk with his hands behind his back so I would always walk with my hands behind my back.
‘And then the other thing, which I have kept to this day, and which makes Claire [Foy] laugh, is I say “Oh, no, yes”, “oh, no, absolutely, fine”. Or I would say “Olympic”, because he says “Olympic” in a perfect way.’
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