Coronet speeds out Brandreth's revised royal book as Philip: The Final Portrait

Coronet will publish Philip: The Final Portrait by Gyles Brandreth this month, a fully revised and updated version of an earlier royal biography by the author and broadcaster.

Prince Philip, the longest-serving consort to the longest-reigning sovereign in British history, died last Friday (9th April) aged 99.  

Coronet publisher Mark Booth acquired world English language rights to Philip:The Final Portrait from Ed Victor Ltd, now part of Curtis Brown where Jonathan Lloyd now represents Brandreth. The book, which is being serialised by the Daily Mail this week, will be published in hardback, e-book and audiobook on Tuesday 27th April 2021.

Coronet said of Philip: The Final Portrait: "Building upon Gyles Brandreth’s acclaimed 2004 book Philip and Elizabeth, Portrait of a Marriage [Century], this extraordinary account is fully revised, presenting new information about the last 20 years alongside previously unpublished royal correspondence. Written with unique insight and authority by an author who knew the prince for more than 40 years, it is testament to an enduring friendship."

"Prince Philip never commented on the Netflix series 'The Crown', but this personal and revelatory book tells his side of the story: truly, it is the final portrait."

The synopsis reads: "Prince Philip has been at the heart of British public life since the news broke of a royal romance, when Princess Elizabeth fell in love at first sight with a tall, handsome naval officer. It is the story of this love affair which became a marriage lasting over 70 years that is at the heart of this book. Philip – elusive, complex, controversial, challenging, often humorous, sometimes irascible – is the man Elizabeth II once described as her ‘constant strength and guide’. Who was he? What was he really like? What is the truth about those ‘gaffes’ and the rumours of affairs? How did it feel to kneel before Elizabeth at her Coronation when he was no longer his wife’s equal but her subject, or relinquish the career he gave up to become ‘the world’s most experienced plaque unveiler’? Where did his drive to modernise the monarchy come from? This is the final portrait of an unexpected and often much misunderstood figure." 

Coronet has dubbed it "a powerful, revealing and ultimately moving account of a long life and a remarkable royal partnership".

Brandreth first visited Buckingham Palace as a child in the 1950s, when Prince Philip was president of the Automobile Association (AA) and Brandreth’s father was legal adviser for the organisation. In the 1970s Brandreth got to know Prince Philip when he became involved in the work of the National Playing Fields Association, the first national charity which Prince Philip took on when he married in 1947. Brandreth interviewed Prince Philip on a number of occasions.

Brandreth said: "It was a great privilege to know the Duke over so many years and remarkable to be given special access and help in writing his life story. It is an extraordinary story and unexpected in so many ways. He saw an early draft of my book and made some factual corrections, as well as a few caustic comments. He did not see the final version, but I hope it does him justice. I have not held anything back."

Brandreth is a writer, broadcaster, performer, former MP and Government Whip, now Chancellor of the University of Chester and a reporter on BBC1’s "The One Show" as well as a regular on Radio 4’s "Just A Minute". As a journalist he writes for the Telegraph and Daily Mail and is a columnist for the Oldie. He has appeared on stage, TV, and has written other non-fiction books as well as novels.