Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's 'special place' where they did their own washing up is nowhere near as grand as Buckingham Palace
They both had their reasons for loving this 'secluded' royal home on the Sandringham estate
Queen Elizabeth had a number historic properties she could live at and she’s known to have had a particular soft spot for Windsor Castle, Sandringham House and Balmoral. However there’s a humbler home that was also very "special" to her and Prince Philip, according to royal expert and woman&home correspondent Emily Andrews.
Whilst it is a royal residence, it’s "secluded" and this allowed the couple to enjoy living in a down-to-earth way. On a recent episode of her and Reverend Richard Coles’ Catching Up With The Royals podcast, Emily answered a question about Wood Farm, which was where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh lived after he retired in 2017.
"He wanted nothing more to do, really, with royal life after that. He went to live and retire at Wood Farm and he actually didn’t see the Queen very much," she claimed. "[It] was where he painted, it was his home. And it always has held a special place for him and the Queen."
Although she lived apart from her husband a lot whilst she carried out her duties, Queen Elizabeth reportedly enjoyed spending time with him at Wood Farm when she could. Sandringham House and Gardens are open to the public from March/April until October and if this coincided with her visiting Norfolk, she went to the farm instead.
"Often he and the Queen when Sandringham was open to the general public or whatever, he and the Queen would live at Wood Farm, doing their own washing up, maybe even stacking the dishwasher," Emily declared.
The royal expert confirmed to co-host Richard that the home was "not very grand" even though it’s "quite a big place". It’s still hard to imagine the Queen and Philip doing the dishes, yet the monarch’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter previously referenced her willingness to wash up at Balmoral in a piece for woman&home.
"No sooner had I started than I heard footsteps and, thinking it was the Lady-in-Waiting coming to give me a hand, I casually said over my shoulder, ‘Okay, I’ll wash you dry,’ but it was not the Lady-in-Waiting. The Queen washed up and I dried, and no, she did not wear rubber gloves to protect her hands," he wrote.
Perhaps it made a refreshing change for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip to do these kinds of household chores themselves and to spend time together in such a private place. Emily Andrews described Wood Farm as "secluded" and expressed her belief that this is why Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor moved there first whilst Marsh Farm is being renovated.
Wood Farm has rarely been photographed and a courtier previously suggested to the Daily Mail that the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had other reasons for loving the residence which tied into their interests.
"They adored the simplicity of what Wood Farm represented," they alleged. "For the Duke, it was the light which he thought was perfect to paint by, and the proximity to the sea only a couple of miles away. The Queen likes the unfussiness - the sense of getting away from it all and being able to slip out for a walk with the dogs whenever she likes."
