Prince Philip had a secret skill which ‘inspired a Poirot scene’ – as Sir David Suchet reveals the Duke was incredibly proud of his dexterity

• Duke of Edinburgh showed off ‘incredibly dextrous’ abilities to Sir David Suchet
• Actor met Philip at a Buckingham Palace lunch with the late Queen Elizabeth II

The late Prince Philip had a secret skill of being able to perfectly cut and peel a mango, Sir David Suchet has revealed.

The Duke of Edinburgh showed off his ‘incredibly dextrous’ abilities to the actor at a Buckingham Palace lunch with the late Queen Elizabeth II.

His knife skills were so impressive that Sir David went on to include them in an episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot in which the Belgian detective credited ‘a certain Duke’ with showing him how to eat one.

Sending a copy of the film to the Palace, the acclaimed actor said he was henceforth known as ‘Mango Man’ by the late Prince Philip.

Speaking to Candis magazine, the 77-year-old said: ‘The Queen would sometimes host small, intimate lunches at Buckingham Palace and I was lucky enough to be invited to one.

In The Theft of the Royal Ruby, Sir David Suchet’s character Poirot spots a mango in a fruit bowl and demonstrates how to eat one, before telling the owner: ‘A certain Duke taught me’

The scene shows the Belgian detective cut a mango with a knife at a country house

Poirot credits ‘a certain Duke’ with showing him how to eat the mango

Sir David included the Duke of Edinburgh’s skill in an episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot

‘I was talking to the Duke of Edinburgh at the moment the fruit bowl reached me. I didn’t want to break eye contact with him, so I reached over my shoulder and found I’d picked a mango.

‘Now, the only think I knew about a mango was that it’s best eaten in a bath when you can make as much mess as you’d like – but I was at Buckingham Palace.

‘So, I made the snap decision. I turned to Prince Philip and said ‘Excuse me Sir, I think I might embarrass myself if I try to eat this mango.

‘He picked up the cue immediately – ‘Don’t worry’, he said ‘give it to me and I’ll show you how’. So saying, and in front of everybody, he demonstrated how to cut and peel a mango.

Prince Philip is pictured in London on October 18, 2013. He died on April 9, 2021 in Windsor 

Sir David Suchet at an investiture ceremony with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2002

Sir David shares a joke with Queen Elizabeth II at the Almeida Theatre in London in March 1999

‘He was incredibly dextrous in the process, at the end of which he looked at me and said ‘Voilà’ – just like Poirot – everyone laughed.’

Afterwards, Sir David rang his producer to tell him the method had to be included in a Poirot film.

In The Theft of the Royal Ruby, as requested, Poirot visits a grand country house, spots a mango in the fruit bowl where he demonstrates how to eat one, before telling the owner: ‘A certain Duke taught me’.

‘The film complete, we sent a copy to the Palace,’ he continued. ‘Forever after, whenever I was at a function attended by Prince Philip he’d say ‘ah, Mango Man’.’

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