Prince Philip had a seriously impressive secret talent that not many people knew about

Earlier today, the royal family confirmed the tragic news that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, sadly passed away at Windsor Castle.

In a statement, the Palace said: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

'His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.'

Prince William and Kate Middleton have since shared tributes, alongside Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

As members of the public also share sweet stories about Prince Philip, details about the late Duke's very impressive secret hobby have resurfaced.

He became the first person to coax black truffles from British soil, according to The Times. Apparently, Prince Philip had been trying to grow truffles for twelve years but didn't have much luck. However, in recent years he produced French Perigord black truffles, which are a highly sought after rare delicacy.

The avid gardener planted more than 300 £15 saplings impregnated with truffle spores on Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate back in 2006, and had been nurturing them ever since.

The publication writes: 'His attempts to create a truffière in the royal fruit farm, which already yields apples, gooseberries and blackcurrants (including some that go into Ribena), had become an annual joke as trained truffle dogs repeatedly failed to find any of the fungi.'

The truffles are reportedly worth an eye-watering £200 per 100g - but the royal never intended to sell the truffles, instead choosing to offer them to friends and family when they visited him at Sandringham.

Our thoughts are with the Queen and the royal family at this difficult time.