As England bid farewell to its history’s longest-lived empress, the only thing she could blame in the seven decades he spent always walking one step behind his wife were the jokes of dubious taste he made with enough. often, even on solemn occasions when protocol advises against such frivolous things.

The Duke of Edinburgh is a seemingly stern man and those who know him know that he always has a scathing remark ready to put anyone in their place, but it is also his direct and foreign personality that turns him -according to all unofficial sources- the most popular member of the the British royal family among the court staff, who adored him precisely because he was the most open and friendly insider.

Prince Philip’s shadow lingers even after his death and on Tuesday his grandson William received a reminder of how much he is still loved in certain circles during his visit to the East Belfast Mission in Ireland’s Skainos Center del Norte, as part of his tour to launch initiatives to help the homeless.

The Rev. Brian Anderson, who chaired the board of directors, explained that his grandfather had harassed politicians and civil servants into donating money needed to finance construction costs during a visit to the city in 2008. When he was shown plans for building the Skainos center, Felipe was impressed and asked why work has not started. His response, insufficient funds, did not please him at all, and he immediately greeted everyone present at the official event asking them to contribute.

“There was some swearing involved, but I’m not going to repeat myself. And three weeks later all the money showed up,” Anderson added.

“Sounds a lot like my grandfather,” Guillermo admitted without being able to suppress a laugh, adding afterwards that he always loved hearing anecdotes about Felipe.