Queen Elizabeth Reportedly Threw Shoes, Tennis Racket at Prince Philip During Heated Argument Caught on Camera: Book Claims
Royal expert Ingrid Seward recently released a book titled “Prince Philip Revealed”, offering an in-depth portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh’s life and legacy at age 99.
Seward, a seasoned royal journalist and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, has chronicled the British monarchy since the 1980s and penned over 20 books on the subject. For this latest biography, she interviewed several friends and insiders who knew Prince Philip personally.
In an interview with Fox News, Seward recalled one particularly dramatic moment between Queen Elizabeth, 94, and her husband that stood out during her research.
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On July 10, 1947, the first official photo of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten—formerly Prince Philip of Greece—was released following their engagement announcement.
Captured at Buckingham Palace, it marked the debut of the princess’s engagement ring.
During a royal tour of Australia in 1954, the royal couple was granted a rare weekend break. However, while filming a documentary about their visit, tensions boiled over between the two. Seward said fatigue played a major role.
“They were both utterly exhausted,” Seward said. “The film crew was stationed outside their modest villa when suddenly Prince Philip stormed onto the balcony—only to be followed by a pair of tennis shoes and a tennis racket flying at him.
The queen then appeared, yelling for him to come back, and physically pulled him inside. You can imagine the press secretary on site being completely horrified.”
Ingrid Seward has just unveiled a detailed biography about Prince Philip.
Seward said the royal press secretary quickly sprang into action, ordering the camera crew to stop filming immediately or face consequences.
“He ran up and demanded, ‘You cannot film this,’” she recalled. “‘This is a nightmare. Hand over the footage. You weren’t supposed to be recording.’”
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On November 20, 1947, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip waved to onlookers from Buckingham Palace’s balcony just after their Westminster Abbey wedding.
According to Seward, the footage was eventually handed over to Queen Elizabeth, who later approached the crew to offer an apology.
“She told them, ‘I’m sorry you had to see that, but I suppose every marriage goes through these moments, doesn’t it?’”
Seward added that the royal marriage, now over 70 years strong, was not without its share of spats.
“Philip could be quite blunt with her,” Seward noted. “He had a habit of driving recklessly fast, which made her nervous.
“She would start taking deep breaths, and he’d snap, ‘If you keep breathing like that, I’ll throw you out of the car.’ A companion once asked why she didn’t push back. Her response? ‘Because he might actually do it!’”
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“But she certainly held her own,” Seward continued. “He might call her a ‘bloody fool’ or say she was speaking nonsense, but she’d respond in her own cryptic way, making him guess her meaning.”
Princess Elizabeth married naval officer Lt. Philip Mountbatten on Nov. 20, 1947, in post-war Britain. She ascended the throne in 1952, with Philip by her side for the rest of his life.
Seward believes that Philip’s unwavering commitment to supporting the queen played a major role in the success of their marriage.
“No one really knows the secret to a long marriage,” she said. “But in their case, Philip made a conscious choice to support the queen in every way.
“That meant embracing the monarchy’s values and ensuring the queen was supported at all times. He understood that the royal family must maintain the public’s respect, and he dedicated himself to upholding that.”
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In this 1951 archival photo, then-Princess Elizabeth is pictured at Clarence House with her husband Prince Philip and their children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
Prince Philip officially stepped down from public engagements in 2017. Over his lifetime, he served as patron or president of over 780 organizations, delivered 5,496 speeches, authored 14 books, and went on 637 solo overseas visits—alongside countless joint appearances with Queen Elizabeth.
