His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh attended the TT on two occasions 20 years apart, writes John Watterson.

His first visit was in 1949 when he was present at what was the inaugural 500cc Grand Prix (MotoGP) race. He flagged the riders away at the start and Norton’s Harold Daniell was the winner.

He was also present for the Lightweight 250cc race won by Manliff Barrington on a Guzzi.

Auto-Cycle Union patron from 1952 until the time of his death last Friday, the Duke also attended the TT in 1969 when he was again taken round the Snaefell Mountain Course on closed roads by long-time official car driver Brian Mylchreest.

Both then and in 1949, the open-top cars (without the use of seat belts on each occasion!) were followed by vehicles containing police detectives as security.

The MGB in 1969 was a factory demonstrator and the Jaguar XJ6 that followed the Duke was a demonstration car driven by Peter Kneale the advocate.

Brian Mylchreest’s son David drove Prince William on a lap of the course in an X-type Jaguar in 2003 when the royal visitor was 21.

David recalled a private detective taking him to one side reminding him that he was driving a future heir to the throne round the TT course.

The Duke met Geoff Duke on his second visit to the TT, but Peter Duke remembered it was on another occasion that his grandfather Rev R. H. ’Bertie’ Reid, (Manx Motor Cycle Club president at the time) and nana Eunice were guests on Britannia in Douglas Bay.

They apparently enjoyed an extensive pink gin ’tasting’ with Prince Phillip that went on quite late!

Prince Michael of Kent, a paternal first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, visited the Manx Grand Prix in Millennium year 1979.