Prince Philip: Goodbye, and thanks for all the gaffes
Prince Philip’s mouth often got him trouble. But that’s why we loved him.
Prince Philip’s mouth often got him trouble. But’s that we loved him.
Prince Philip giving a speech in 1956:
It is my invariable custom to say something flattering to begin with so that I shall be excused if by any chance I put my foot in it later on.
The Duke of Edinburgh never cared much for customs. Philip at an event in Canada, 1969:
I declare this thing open, whatever it is.
He thought the whole thing a bit silly. Philip in an interview with British journalist Jeremy Paxman for the book ‘On Royalty’, published September 6 2007:
Any bloody fool can lay a wreath at the thingamy.
The Duke certainly never cared about political correctness. Philip talking to singer Tom Jones after the Royal Variety Performance, November 16, 1969:
What do you gargle with, pebbles?
He did not hold back with politicians. Philip meeting female Labour MPs at a Buckingham Palace drinks party, 2000:
Ah, so this is feminist corner then.
He did not hold back with his own children. Philip on his horse-loving daughter Princess Anne, 1970:
If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she isn’t interested.
And he wasn’t much smoother with the general public either. Prince Philip talking with a local official at a Canadian airport, 2000:
Official: What was your flight like, Your Royal Highness?
Philip: Have you ever flown in a plane?
Official: Oh yes, sir, many times.
Philip: Well, it was just like that.
Philip could sometimes really put his foot in. The Duke talking to Aboriginal leader William Brin in Queensland, March 2, 2002:
Do you still throw spears at each other?
Luckily, most people saw his attempts at humour. Mr Brin’s reaction to London’s Telegraph, March 2, 2002:
I thought it was quite funny, but I was quite surprised he said it.
Not that it would have stopped the Duke. Philip talking to a 13 year old who wanted to fly a spacecraft at Salford University, July 2001:
Well, you’ll never fly in it, you’re too fat to be an astronaut.
The Duke was not exactly made for modern royal life. Philip in an interview in 1992:
I’d much rather have stayed in the Navy, frankly.
It’s why so many people loved him too. What he did make of his legacy? Philip speaking to BBC News, June 9, 2001:
I couldn’t care less
But he got up every day and shook all those hands for one lady. Philip speaking in London, November 20, 1997:
You can take it from me, the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.
St Peter, this prince deserves a beer. The Duke’s response to be offered fine wines by Italy’s then-prime minister Giuliano Amato in Rome, 2000:
Just get me a beer. I don’t care what kind it is, just get me a beer.
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