How Prince Philip navigated the most challenging of corporate dress codes 11 Apr, 2021 09:45 PM 5 minutes to read 1955: Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II durng the Ascot week Polo tournament in 1955. Photo / Getty Images 1955: Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II durng the Ascot week Polo tournament in 1955. Photo / Getty Images New York Times How do you convey royalty without overshadowing the most royal? There is a moment in the first season of The Crown when actor Tobias Menzies, playing the perennially tetchy consort of Queen Elizabeth II, bristles at the constraints of his job. With a case of lockjaw severe enough to cause concern for his molars, Menzies portrays the Duke of Edinburgh (whom the queen would not make a prince until five years after she succeeded to the throne) as an arch complainer, a man who views the 20th-century monarchy as little more than "a coat of paint" on a crumbling Empire.