Prince Harry and Meghan Markle the likely successors to Prince Philip’s popular royal role

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be seen as the likely successors to Prince Philip’s popular role in the Royal Family.  

• The late Duke of Edinburgh “adored” barbecue cooking and honed his skills over time, much to the delight of his nearest and dearest. 
• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex might well have taken up the mantle as the Royal Family’s dedicated barbecuers.   
• This royal news comes as Duchess Camilla’s tropical look brought back the birthday vibes at a Sandringham engagement with Prince Charles.  

Nobody hosts on a scale quite like the Royal Family, with residences like Buckingham Palace and Balmoral the location of plenty of state visits and huge occasions over the years. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that there’s long been fascination over everything from the Queen’s bizarre dinner rule to the palace staff’s ingenious trick to prevent her being poisoned. But when it comes to family barbecues it seems there was much less ceremony - and absolutely no royal chefs involved at all! 

Opening up on the BBC’s Prince Philip documentary last year, Prince William fondly revealed that at “every” barbecue his grandfather had put his cooking skills to good use for his nearest and dearest.

With interviews filmed both before and after the Duke's death, Prince Philip: The Royal Family remembers featured anecdotes from his and the Queen's children and adult grandchildren. 

Prince William declared, “Every barbecue that I’ve ever been on the Duke of Edinburgh has been there cooking. We go on barbecues, and there’s no chef, there’s [no-one] else.”

The future King then reflected that Prince Philip’s love of cooking had been a labor of love, with the Queen’s “strength and stay” teaching himself how to do it over time.

“He’d be the first person to say when he started off he hadn’t got a clue what he was doing,” Prince William shared. “But such is the way that he is that he tackles a new challenge, and, you know, grapples it and learns as he does it. And he’s mastered it.”

Delving once again into the royal archives the documentary showed Prince Philip and Princess Anne happily tending to a huge grill together. Whilst Prince Charles believes there weren’t many recipes involved, he shared that his father “adored barbecuing” and was “brilliant at it”. 

“Cooking is something I love talking to him about,” added Sophie, Countess of Wessex. “He loves watching cookery programmes. Hairy Bikers, I think is one of his favorites.”

With Prince Philip's death in April 2021 life was forever changed for the extended Royal Family, with barbecues likely the focus of many more cherished memories. However, the role of family barbecue ‘master’ is something that could potentially be taken up by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

Back in 2019, The Mirror reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s UK home, Frogmore Cottage, underwent a major renovation. Opening up to the publication at the time, a source claimed that the couple prioritized an outdoor entertaining space, complete with a hand-built BBQ.

“Living in the countryside, the Duchess feels that the outside is just as important as the inside especially in the summer when relaxing in the garden,” they alleged. “As part of the large-scale development of Frogmore Cottage, it was suggested that the Duke and Duchess wanted a cozy outdoor area where they could entertain guests and allow them to relax."

"The area includes a new patio deck with hand built outdoor BBQ. Cozy outdoor seating also gives them a perfect place to host their family and friends," they added.

Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "stepped back" as senior royals they have settled in their Santa Barbara mansion. This means there are fewer opportunities for family meals, but their reported passion for hosting and outdoor BBQs could see them follow Prince Philip as royal barbecue aficionados as they hone their own barbecue cooking skills in the US.