The late Queen and Prince Philip had some much needed alone time during the Covid pandemic when they locked down at their beloved Windsor Castle

The late Queen and her husband Prince Philip grew closer as they shielded together during the coronavirus pandemic and bickered like many old couples, a royal aide claimed.

Except the then-94-year-old monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh weren’t just any old couple – and she let him know it. On one occasion, Philip was overheard telling his wife of 73 years “Oh, do shut up, you silly woman”, the unnamed palace aide claims. The monarch allegedly said as she replied to the nation’s longest-serving consort: “I am not a silly woman, I am the Queen.”

The couple spent the first Covid lockdown at Windsor Castle, where they shielded with about 20 staff members in what was dubbed HMS Bubble. In their unique relationship, only Philip put his arm around her, and they had been as close as they had been for years as they were brought together because of Covid, the Daily Mail reported.

The palace aide told how he was called in to wait on the couple because of staff shortages caused by the pandemic. He told the newspaper: “They bickered with one another. It was sweet but so unexpected. On one occasion I heard the duke say, ‘Oh, do shut up, you silly woman’, and the Queen replied, ‘I am not a silly woman, I am the Queen’. I couldn’t believe my ears but I was told this was how they always were with one another.”

The palace aide told how he was called in to wait on the couple because of staff shortages caused by the pandemic. He told the newspaper: “They bickered with one another. It was sweet but so unexpected. On one occasion I heard the duke say, ‘Oh, do shut up, you silly woman’, and the Queen replied, ‘I am not a silly woman, I am the Queen’. I couldn’t believe my ears but I was told this was how they always were with one another.”

A touching photograph of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh giving a glimpse of their lives away from protocol and ceremony was released ahead of of Philip’s funeral. The royal couple were pictured as they are rarely seen – relaxing together during a summer break and enjoying the stunning scenery of the Scottish Highlands on the Balmoral estate.

Looking completely at ease and smiling warmly at the photographer, Philip and the Queen relax on the grass at the Coyles of Muick, a beauty spot near the town of Ballater in Aberdeenshire. The duke lies back on a rug, propping himself up on his left elbow and has jauntily placed his hat on his right knee. Beaming at the Countess of Wessex – who took the picture in 2003 – the Queen, dressed in a tartan skirt, blouse and cardigan and a string of pearls, also sits on a rug.