Mr King said it would've been 1976 or 1977 when he and his family were walking through London's Kew Gardens and the Duke of Edinburgh came by driving a carriage.

"He shouted out, 'oi, pick that up' and I turned around to see who he was talking to," Mr King said.

"There was a big lot of paper on the ground behind us so I told him that I didn't grow up surrounded by privilege so it didn't bother me if I was the one to pick it up, even though I didn't drop it.

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"He was a cantankerous sod at times but he did his job and had to sacrifice a lot to be second best to the queen."

Prince Philip died at Windsor Castle on Friday, aged 99 - or, as Mr King put it, "two months off a telegram from his missus".

The duke had twice visited Bathurst with Queen Elizabeth II - first in 1954 when the queen became the first reigning monarch to visit our shores and again in 1982 when thousands of people lined the route from the airport into the city to welcome the royal couple.

Mr King said Prince Philip's death was the end of an era for the royal family but would not have an impact either way on whether there was a renewed push for Australia to become a republic.

"I think when the queen goes we might see a difference," Mr King said.

"Charles is very popular in England and Scotland and is a brilliant bloke for doing things but he is not so popular in Australia, perhaps because there was such a strong following for Diana."

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