Prince Philip was known for his sense of humor. Of the 775 rooms at Buckingham Palace, the late Duke of Edinburgh is said to have really loved the Chinese Dining Room, located in the East Wing. Rich in Chinoiserie design, the room was the setting for a playful habit of Queen Elizabeth's husband.
Under the mantel, where an ornate clock sits in the room, is a dragon. Prince Philip, HELLO! has learned, would hide peas in the mouth of the dragon to test the housekeeping staff at Buckingham Palace. It was the Duke's way to see if they were really checking... and, yes, they were.
King Charles' father died in 2021 at the age of 99. In a message after Prince Philip's death, Prince William described his grandfather's sense of humor as "mischievous."
© Matt Dunham - WPA Pool / Getty ImagesIn 2025, the Prince of Wales spoke with actor Eugene Levy about his late grandfather creating "quite a few laughs". "My grandfather was incredibly amusing," William said during an episode of Apple TV's The Reluctant Traveler, noting: "Sometimes not deliberately, sometimes by accident!"
The Prince continued: "But we had a lot of laughs and he had a great sense of humor, as did my grandmother as well, actually. But my grandfather definitely was the one who would create quite a few laughs. And it was, you know, it was happy times. There was always a warmness, there was always a laughter, there was always a family feel. And my grandparents loved having the family around them, so we were always encouraged to turn up and be around."
The Duke used to prank his grandchildren. William and his cousins Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall recalled their grandfather's mustard prank in the 2021 BBC One documentary, Prince Philip: The Royal Family Remembers.
© Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images"One of the games he used to enjoy playing was, when we used to go for family barbecues, instead of like a mustard pot we had a mustard tube, a squeezey mustard tube, and he used to take the lid off and put it in your hands," William shared.
Peter revealed that their grandfather would get them to hold the tube. Zara then shared: "He gets you to hold it in your hands and the lid's off and I can't remember exactly what he says, but he ends up slamming your hands together." William added: "And then he'd squish your hands together [to] fire the mustard into the ceiling."
"It went all over the ceiling," Zara remembered.
© Phil Walter/Getty ImagesPrince William admitted that Prince Philip "used to get in a lot of trouble from my grandmother [the late Queen Elizabeth] for covering most of the places we had lunch and things with mustard on the ceiling." The Prince of Wales pointed out that his grandfather "enjoyed those jokes" and "enjoyed messing around with the children".
The Chinese Dining Room where Prince Philip would hide peas to test palace staff is among the rooms featured in the East Wing Exclusive Guided Tour. The 90-minute tours, with expert guides at the helm, take visitors beyond the palace gates and through the East Wing, visiting the Chinese Dining Room, along with the Principal Corridor, the Yellow Drawing Room and the Centre Room, where guests can see the iconic balcony where members of the royal family gather for events such as Trooping the Colour.
The East Wing Exclusive Guided Tours take place every Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday through March 30, 2026.
