Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, gardener Alan Titchmarsh shared the late Queen’s exasperation with her husband’s plans for their garden.

The marriage between Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip may have lasted for almost 74 happy years but even they had their disagreements, according to Alan Titchmarsh. In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, the legendary TV gardener revealed that Her Majesty had confided in him about a particularly frustrating gardening habit of her husband’s that was upsetting her.

The Queen told Titchmarsh that Philip was doing the “kind of gardening” that she was not fond of, with the TV star asking her what exactly she meant by that.

She replied that the late Duke had been using a “bulldozer” to build a pond at Balmoral, the Queen’s beloved home in the Scottish Highlands.

It was not the only interaction Titchmarsh had with Philip that required him to use some tact, as his book about the royal gardens provoked quite a reaction in the Prince.

Titchmarsh explained: “I wrote a book about royal gardens and the late Prince Philip wrote me a long letter back telling me everything I hadn’t got quite right. It went to about one and a half pages but he added that he did enjoy the book.”

The Queen was annoyed at Philip’s bulldozing (Image: Getty)

Prince Philip reportedly gardened with a bulldozer (Image: Getty)

Titchmarsh has long had a good relationship with the Firm and his friendship with King Charles in particular has left him impressed with the monarch’s green-fingered nature.

He said: “I enjoy his company. We talk about things but I don’t step in as an adviser.

“I can’t say I have ever advised him though. Actually, I don’t think he needs any tips from me, he is so experienced.

“The King is just the most amazing gardener. He’s achieved so much in so many different areas. And he has some really good staff who bring his ideas to fruition.”

The gardener and the King are good friends (Image: Getty)

The Queen made a cheeky comment about the “pleasure” caused by Titchmarsh

He recounted at the meeting how Her Majesty helped him to move a trestle table: “‘Ma’am’, I said. ‘We’re awfully close aren’t we? and she took hold of the table and said ‘yes – you pull and I’ll push’.”

Six months later during his investiture for his MBE at Buckingham Palace she reminded him of the incident, saying: “You gave a lot of ladies a lot of pleasure.”