Prince Philip Quotes

Source: Wikipedia (Archives New Zealand)

Prince Philip on royal duty: In his own words 

Despite the DoE's many achievements in a long life of service, some will remember him as a man who was often blunt, sometimes to the point of giving offence. 

His supporters always said his sense of humour was misunderstood and his remarks often taken out of context. And he himself was not unaware of his reputation - he once described himself as a "cantankerous old sod". 

Here are some of his most well-known lines, in chronological order. You may find some of the quotes below offensive. 

2. "Dontopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years." 

According to Time magazine, the duke coined a new term for his verbal missteps - incorporating the Latin words for "mouth" and "foot" - in a speech to the General Dental Council in 1960. 

3. "Looks like the kind of thing my daughter would bring back from her school art lessons." 

Giving his view on some Ethiopian art during a tour of East Africa in 1965. 

5. "I would very much like to go to Russia - although the bastards murdered half my family." 

When asked in 1967 if he would like to go to Moscow to help ease Cold War tensions. 

8. "Everybody was saying we must have more leisure... Now... they are complaining they are unemployed." 

In 1981, as the country was deep in recession.

9. "You are a woman, aren't you?" 

Just checking, as he accepted a small gift from a local woman during a visit to Kenya in 1984. 

10. "If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed." 

This was one of the duke's most infamous insults, made to a group of British students during a visit to China in 1986. The term is a racist way of describing people from East Asia, and the Daily Mirror and the Sun reported the comments at the time using the headlines "The great wally of China" and "The duke gets it wong". Years later, Prince Philip suggested the outcry had been disproportionate, adding: "The Chinese weren't worried about it." It's difficult to say how it was received in China at the time, as media was very restricted and China was keen to forge a closer diplomatic relationship with the UK. However, the state-run Global Times said in 2011 that reaction at the time had been "extremely fierce", and the Sina News website described the comments as inappropriate. A similar comment made by a German politician in 2016 prompted a Chinese government official to say that that the remarks showed "a baffling sense of superiority entrenched in some western politicians". 

Quizlet A:

11. "Ghastly" 

How the duke somewhat undiplomatically described Beijing (then Peking) on that same 1986 tour. 

13. "Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease." 

In Australia in 1992 when he was asked to stroke a koala. 

16. "You're not wearing mink knickers are you?" To a fashion journalist in Toronto at an event in 1993 in aid of the World Wide Fund for Nature. Years later, the woman said she hadn't been offended, adding: "It reminded me that in the stuffy world of the royals, at least he knows how to crack a joke." 

18. "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?" To a Scottish driving instructor in Oban in 1995. 

19. "If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?" In response to calls to ban firearms after the Dunblane shooting in 1996 in which 16 children and a teacher were murdered. 

21. "Reichskanzler" 

Welcoming German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at a trade fair in 1997. Unfortunately, the last German leader to have used the title was Adolf Hitler. 

23. "You managed not to get eaten then?" 

To a British student who had been trekking on the Kokoda trail in Papua New Guinea in 1998. 

24. "Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf." 

Speaking to a group of young deaf people in Cardiff in 1999 who were standing near a steel band. Members of the British Deaf Association said they were "shocked" and "insulted" - the palace said it was meant to be "light-hearted". 

25. "It looks as if it was put in by an Indian." 

One of the most infamous comments. In 1999, the duke made the racist remark when referring to an old-fashioned fuse box in a factory near Edinburgh. It upset equality groups and some politicians, and a spokesman for the duke later said he regretted any offence caused and accepted that the comments were inappropriate. 

27. "And what exotic part of the world do you come from?" 

To politician Lord Taylor of Warwick - the first black Conservative peer - at a Commonwealth party in 1999. "Birmingham," Lord Taylor replied. 

30. "Get me a beer. I don't care what kind it is, just get me a beer." 

He is said to have uttered this upon being offered fine local wines by Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato at a dinner in Rome in 2000. 

Quizlet B:

31. "The North East? You want to stop letting the bloody Japs take all your jobs." 

To journalist Peter Barron from the Northern Echo at a lunch in 2000. Japs is considered a derogatory term by many Japanese people. Barron, who went on to edit the newspaper, only revealed the exchange in 2017 following the duke's retirement. "With all due respect to the retiring duke," he wrote, "We're still very grateful in the North East for the jobs created by the likes of Nissan and Hitachi." 

32. "You're too fat to be an astronaut." 

To a 13-year-old boy, Andrew Adams, who told him in 2001 that he wanted to go into space when the two met at an event at Salford University. The youngster said the remark had hurt his feelings.

35. "Still throwing spears?" 

Another well-known one. The duke asked Aboriginal-cultural-park-owner William Brim during a royal visit to Cairns in Queensland in 2002 whether his community "still threw spears at each other". "No, we don't do that any more," replied Mr Brim, a successful entrepreneur. 

36. "You look like a suicide bomber." 

To a young policewoman wearing a bullet-proof vest on Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in 2002. 

38. "Not a lot, judging by the tie he is wearing." 

Reportedly uttered by the duke in 2002 when the Queen asked a teenage Army cadet maimed by an IRA bomb how much sight he had left. The boy's mother said she was shocked by what he'd said, but believed he was trying to put people at ease with a joke. 

 

41. "So who's on drugs here?" 

To members of the Bangladesh Youth Club in London in 2002. Pointing at one 14-year-old he observed: "He looks as if he's on drugs." The young man in question was reportedly very upset and later refused to speak to the duke. 

43. "You look like you're ready for bed." 

To the president of Nigeria - who was in traditional national dress - in 2003.

45. "I will pass on that, if you don't mind." 

His response when a journalist asked what he had thought of Africa during his four-day state visit to Nigeria in 2003.

47. "Romania? You didn't go across to help in one of those orphanages, did you?" 

To a Duke of Edinburgh Award winner in 2006 who said he had worked there. When the student replied "No", Philip said: "Ah good. There's so many over there you feel they breed them just to put in orphanages." Tens of thousands of children were found living in terrible conditions in state institutions following the fall of communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989. Tony Allen, of the Romanian Orphans Appeal, said the comment was "disgusting". 

48. "Absolute bloody nuisances. They're a pain in the neck."

The offending subject in question? Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. Interviewed by the Daily Telegraph in 2006, the duke said he hoped to do "as little as possible" during the London Games. 

51. "Tourism is just national prostitution." 

To a professor of tourism during a state visit to Slovenia in 2008. 

Quizlet C:

52. "I thought Eastern women just sit around smoking pipes and eating sweets all day." 

To a group of belly dancers in Swansea in 2008. They said later it was an "honour to be insulted by royalty". 

53. "There's a lot of your family in tonight." 

After looking at the name badge of businessman Atul Patel at a Buckingham Palace reception for hundreds of influential British Indians in 2009. "Absolutely no offence was taken," a spokesman for Mr Patel's LHA-Asra housing group, said at the time. 

54. "Well, you didn't design your beard too well, did you?" 

Commenting on designer Stephen Judge's goatee at a palace garden party in 2009. The duke told him he "must try better" with his facial hair in future.

58. "Do you have a pair of knickers made out of this?" 

To then Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie in 2010, while pointing to some tartan. 

59. "Do you work in a strip club?" 

To 24-year-old Barnstaple sea cadet Elizabeth Rendle in 2010 when she told him she also worked in a club. She said it was a joke and no offence was taken. 

60. "Are you running away from something?" 

To British expatriates in Abu Dhabi in 2010. 

61. "Bunny hugger" 

In 2011, when explaining why he did not see himself as "green". "I think that there's a difference between being concerned for the conservation of nature and being a bunny hugger... people who simply love animals," he added. 

63. "I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress." 

In 2012, to 25-year-old council worker Hannah Jackson, who was wearing a dress with a zip running the length of its front. 

64. "How many people have you knocked over this morning on that thing?" 

To mobility scooter user David Miller in 2012, during a visit to north London. 

65. "The Philippines must be half empty as you're all here running the NHS." 

On meeting a Philippine nurse at Luton and Dunstable Hospital in 2013.

68. "You should get wheels." 

A suggestion made to double amputee soldier Cayle Royce in 2013. The 27-year-old found the remark hilarious, saying of the duke: "He's such a great person - really comedy." 

71. "Who do you sponge off?" 

To a group of female volunteers at a community centre in east London in 2015. One of them, Nusrat Zamir, said she knew the duke was "just teasing" and joked back: "We're all married so it's our husbands." 

72. "I suppose you've got to announce in an English accent so everyone can understand you." 

To a train announcer in Birmingham in 2015. He made the remark after reportedly asking her whether she broadcast departure information in her Birmingham accent and she said no. 

73. "You can't claim any of them back. Besides, we check your luggage before you go." 

To President Xi of China at a private viewing of Chinese treasures from the Royal Collection in 2015. 

76. "When are they going to throw you out?" 

To a veteran at a homeless hostel in London in 2016. 

Quizlet D:

*Source: BBC News

*Click on the link to view photos and to see the complete list of quotes.