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Queen Elizabeth II laughing whilst wearing a red coat and Prince Philip smiling in a blue suit© Getty

Prince Philip had cheeky sex book inside Buckingham Palace - official photographer reveals

Photographer Julian Calder speaks to HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
September 6, 2023
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A royal photographer has revealed the moment he discovered that the late Duke of Edinburgh had a copy of a well-renowned sex book on his shelves during a photoshoot.

Julian Calder, who took the striking portraits of the late Queen on the Scottish Moors, has shared some fascinating insights about capturing images of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the first episode of season two of HELLO!'s A Right Royal Podcast.

"I once did a portrait of Prince Phillip in his office. And he was standing there, and I was quite young at the time," he tells HELLO!

"And I'm looking through the lens, I thought 'God just behind his right ear is a book - The Joy of Sex' - and I had to say 'Prince Philip, should we move that?' And he laughed and he got his equerry to come and move it."

Dr Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex was first published in 1972 and became an international best seller.

In our first podcast episode, A Year On, Julian also shares how he got the late Queen to smile for one of his iconic photographs. Listen to the full episode here...

Meanwhile, writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth also joins HELLO!'s podcast hosts to share his favourite memories of the late monarch, and the close relationship the Queen had with Margaret Thatcher.

Elsewhere, HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash looks back at the past royal year and how much it has changed since the late Queen's funeral. And what the second year of King Charles' reign will bring.

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