DESPITE more than 70 years of marriage, Prince Philip only ever had one complaint about the Queen, according to a royal expert.

Biographer Gyles Brandreth appeared on Lorraine on ITV1 to remember the Duke of Edinburgh as the Queen celebrated her 95th birthday.

The Queen lost her husband on Friday April 9 at the age of 99, before he was buried last weekend at the St George’s Chapel.

Lorraine asked her guest for his memories of the Duke which he was happy to share with viewers.

He said: "Well, the only time he ever complained about the Queen. He knew his whole life was the Queen.

"He would always turn up, dressed, one step behind her. He served her. But he did tell me once - he did say to me 'oh, she is never off the phone.'"

Gyles added: "Never off the phone. Who is she talking to? Well, I tell you, I think she was probably - and this, in a sense, is the hope for the future - is that I think she was on the phone in the evening to her horse racing managers about the horses.

"I think in the afternoon she would take her dogs for a walk every day."

Gyles described the time he was told off by Prince Philip, a stickler for detail, about a detail he got wrong in about the Duke’s father in a book.

Gyles recalled: "My father did not float down to the south of France. My father went by train.

"He wanted things to be accurate."

On Wednesday the Queen sent a message of thanks to the nation during a time of “great sadness”.

In a Buckingham Palace statement, released on behalf of the Queen, tributes were paid to the late Prince Philip.

It read: “I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate.

“While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those withing the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world.

“My family and I would like to thank you for all the support and kindness shown to us in recent days.

“We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life.”