The Duke of Edinburgh revealed the boozy secrets of the Buckingham Palace dinner table during a special trip to Dundee in July 1982.
Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 on April 9, was in the city to meet 600 Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme participants at Whitfield High School.
Prince Philip told the girls from St Leonards School in St Andrews that his favourite recipe was chocolate mousse with a “good dollop” of malt whisky added to it.
The St Leonards pupils were doing cookery as part of the scheme.
Dummy run almost landed in a construction site
Prince Philip arrived in a flame red helicopter on the grassed playing field following a dummy run which almost landed in a construction site.
Joe Morgan was depute rector at Whitfield High for 21 years and was the first teacher appointed to the new school which opened in August 1976.
“Maybe Whitfield was chosen because of its location at the top of a hill with nothing but farmland behind it and wide and flat playing fields.
“It was never said, but I suspect it was a good location from a security point of view.
Anyway, the helicopter made a dummy run before the event.
“It came in above the playing fields where it was to land, but in fact, it hovered for what seemed an unusual length of time.
“Eventually, it did land, and I spoke to the pilot.
“He said it was a most confusing experience!
“He knew where he was scheduled to land but was completely confused because of the housing estate which was being built by Barratt’s just over the school fence.
“You might remember that part of their advertising was to have, as I remember, a helipad at some of their sites, and there, just yards from his designated landing, was a huge helipad with the massive ‘H’ beckoning the poor pilot to land in the wrong place!”
Barratt helipad almost sent the pilot off course
Barratt was founded by Sir Lawrie Barratt back in 1958.
Barratt designed the houses, bought the land and dealt with the tradesmen.
This series of ads featuring actor Patrick Allen and the famous helicopter turned Barratt into a household name.
In later years he had helipads constructed at his major sites so he could check on progress.
“Thankfully Prince Philip wasn’t on the dummy run,” said Mr Morgan.
“He got it right in the end of course, but you can see how odd it must have looked from the air!”
Prince Philip was met by Lord Provost James Gowans and regional officials before inspecting a detachment from the Dudhope Air Training Squadron.
The young people taking part in the display had come to set up stalls, displaying the skills and techniques learned from the scheme.
Displays included floral art, pet care, archery and outdoor survival.
Prince Philip also watched a display of swimming and lifesaving in the pool and various athletic activities in the gym including weightlifting and judo.
Five girls from the 20th Dundee Girls’ Brigade were surprised that he seemed to know so much about the Cayman Island Turtle Farm, the subject of their display.
Prince Philip was impressed with the hospitality
The duke was particularly interested to hear about a group of unemployed young people from Perth who were attending a full-time course relating to the awards scheme at Perth College.
At the end of the visit he met nine members of the Tayside Golds Club, whose members were those who had gained a gold award in the scheme.
He signed the school’s visitors book at the end of his visit and left by helicopter for Moodiesburn for a display by participants in Glasgow.
“The day was a great success for all who took part and was blessed by warm sunshine throughout the day,” said Mr Morgan.
“It was a lovely day and there was a very nice feeling of camaraderie from all the schools involved.
“We were very pleased indeed that Whitfield was chosen as the venue for this – it was quite a feather in our cap!
“The duke was very impressed by the hospitality he received and got a big cheer from all of the children as he boarded the helicopter to go back to Glasgow.”
Fond memories of visit shared by former school rector
Former rector Peter Murphy said Prince Philip’s visit was one of the most successful and enduring memories from his time at Whitfield High School.
“I will never forget the arrival of the helicopter and the departure of the duke at the conclusion of the day when the large contingent of pupils were able to give him an enthusiastic farewell after a most thrilling day,” he said.
“A vast range of youngsters were able to come together from vastly different backgrounds.
“For me and Joe it is one of the most joyous experiences that we treasure as friends and as teachers.”
After retiring in 1993, Mr Murphy was elected as a Labour councillor in Angus and served as Depute Provost between 2007 and 2012.
The school merged with Linlathen High School in 1996 and the new school was renamed Braeview Academy.
The site of the former Linlathen school on Forfar Road is now occupied by Morrisons supermarket.
Prince Philip assumed the position of head of the family as the royal patriarch
The Duke of Edinburgh – quizzical, witty and controversial – was the Queen’s greatest source of support, her confidant and the man she relied on above all others for all of 73 years.
His lifelong role was to ensure he never let her down and their enduring marriage was one of the world’s best-known relationships.
Although he was not officially given the title of Prince Consort, Philip was always there, one step behind, ready to lend his wife a helping hand.
In public, the duke never attempted to upstage the woman he loved. In private, it was Philip that the Queen would defer to.
At home, he assumed the position of head of the family as the royal patriarch.
The duke became the longest-serving consort in British history and the oldest serving partner of a reigning monarch and although he was in poor health at the start of 2021 and spent several weeks in hospital, there was widespread sadness when Buckingham Palace confirmed his death, aged 99, on April 9.
