Prince Philip's biographer says he would've been 'embarrassed' by Queen's 'deeply personal' speech

Queen Elizabeth II paid a touching tribute to her late husband Prince Philip with her passionate speech at the COP26 summit, but the Duke of Edinburgh himself would have been "embarrassed" by his wife's gesture.

In her pre-recorded speech that was played at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday, the British monarch remembered her "dear late husband" who was passionate about protecting the planet. "It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet, lives on through the work of our eldest son Charles and his eldest son William," the 95-year-old said.

Robert Jobson, author of Prince Philip's "Century," said the Queen's speech was "wonderful" but "deeply personal" and something her late husband would not have been comfortable with.

Jobson explained that the royal, who passed away in April this year at the age of 99, would have been left red-faced by the public show of affection. He told Femail magazine, "I thought it was a wonderful, deeply personal touch. A tribute to a man of vision, that Prince Philip was. He would have been embarrassed. But it shows how rightly proud she was of him."

The royal biographer added that Prince Philip was certainly a "great champion for nature and the environment" and a "farsighted man who did so much to help preserve endangered species on this planet through his creation of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature."

It is believed that Prince Philip was not a fan of big words and gestures, and did not even want a "fuss" on his 100th birthday which was coming up just weeks after he took his last breaths. Following his death, royal biographer Nigel Cawthorne claimed that the Prince Consort himself "would not countenance public displays of affection," but the outpouring of grief from his family members had signalled a shift in the monarchy's approach to emotion.

"It is significant that not only Charles but even the Queen appears to have broken this rule. The stiff upper lip is no longer, and under Charles' increased influence it is likely to be phased out as out of tune with the times.," Cawthorne said at the time.