Prince Philip was known for airing what was on his mind, no matter how savage it was and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen discovered this first hand.
The interior designer who is celebrating the release of his book More, More, More, has recalled meeting the Queen’s late husband years after working at Buckingham Palace.
Laurence, 57, has been known for his love of bright colours and maximalism over the years but it appears the Duke who died in April 2021, aged 99, was not impressed.
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Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, Laurence said: “There was a bit in the corner, it was right at the beginning of my career.
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“It was obviously something I was extremely proud of and I remember my family was very proud.
“I remember many years later, standing in that position with the Duke of Edinburgh because we were part of the Cutty Sark Trust, he was the main man and I was the celebrity patron.”
He continued: “Just trying to find something to say, we were waiting for people to arrive and I said ‘you know sir, I designed the floor that used to be here.’
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“He had his hands behind his back, he rocks backwards and forwards and said ‘Oh, I never liked it.'”
But while others may have been left completely taken aback by this, Laurence continued: “The sheer brutal honesty of it which was quite brilliant.
“I think anybody else would have fluffed it, I should have been brave enough and said ‘do you like the one that’s here now.’
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“I would have been an interesting conversation.”
Discussing his latest book, he said: “Maximalism is a word which has been around for a while but it’s a style that’s happened kind of quickly, more than anything from lockdown.
“People were trapped in the rooms that they’ve made for themselves which were predominantly grey and they wanted more, more, more.
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“I mean, it’s kind of an anti-design book, I’ve literally sacked myself by doing this because it’s all about saying to everybody ‘don’t listen to people like me, we’re all about snake oil, what you’ve got to do is do it for yourself.'”
“I made the point in the book that Karl Lagerfeld who was the ultimate minimalist, was actually the greatest maximalist because he took minimalism and made it so maximal,” he gushed.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
