‘The Crown’ star Matt Smith recalls once Prince Harry called him ‘granddad’ at a polo match

The Crown star Matt Smith has recalled a candid interaction he once had with the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry.

Smith played the role of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the first two seasons of Netflix’s acclaimed drama series opposite Claire Foy’s Queen Elizabeth II.

He recently recalled a candid conversation with the Duke of Sussex at a polo match. “I met Harry once, at polo, which sounds a bit grand, but it wasn’t that grand,” said Smith during an appearance on NBC’s The Today Show on Thursday.

“And he walked up to me and went ‘Granddad,’” the House of the Dragon actor continued.

Smith further added, “He watched the show! Well, I can’t claim to know if he watches it currently, but he watched a bit of it then.”

The Morbius star, 39, recalled another fun anecdote with the royal family, including a lighthearted exchange he once had with the former Prince of Wales, now King Charles III.

“I told him that I thought he had fabulous shoes, which he told me he’d had for 30 years,” he said. “They were red, they were like red brogues. They were beautiful.”

During the conversation, Smith also revealed that he was told Queen Elizabeth II regularly watched The Crown on a “projector on a Sunday night” – but that her husband Prince Philip “definitely didn’t.”

Smith expressed hopes to return to the U.K. this weekend for Her Majesty’s funeral, saying, “I think it’s a piece of history. I think I just want to be in London. I want to experience it, I want to share in the ceremony of it really.”