London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Dec 23, 2025

The best of Prince Philip's gaffes, quotes and quips

The best of Prince Philip's gaffes, quotes and quips

Prince Phillip occasionally put his foot in his mouth over the years – and his reputation for gaffes is perhaps how he was best known.

The Duke of Edinburgh gained both fans and critics after saying a number of controversial things since his marriage to the Queen in 1947.

He shocked and sometimes delighted the public with his outspoken remarks and clangers.

His reputation for plain speaking often led to controversy, but he was once branded a ‘national treasure’ by the press for his inability to curb his off-the-cuff remarks.

His most well-known gaffes include saying British women couldn’t cook, calling a parking attendant a ‘bloody silly fool!’ and asking an Aborigine entrepreneur if his people still threw spears at each other.

Prince Phillip eased up on making controversial comments over the past few years mainly because he made fewer public appearances. He retired altogether from public life in August 2017.

We’ve put together a list to remind you of his biggest best gaffes, quotes and quips:

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh takes part in The Thames River Pageant, as part of the Diamond Jubilee, marking the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on June 3, 2012 in London, England


‘British women can’t cook’ (in Britain in 1966).

‘What do you gargle with, pebbles?’ (speaking to singer Tom Jones after the 1969 Royal Variety Performance).

Singer Tom Jones, right, shares a joke with the Duke of Edinburgh


‘I declare this thing open, whatever it is.’ (on a visit to Canada in 1969).

‘Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed’ (during the 1981 recession).

‘If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.’ (at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting).

‘It looks like a tart’s bedroom.’ (on seeing plans for the Duke and Duchess of York’s house at Sunninghill Park in 1988)

‘Yak, yak, yak; come on get a move on.’ (shouted from the deck of Britannia in Belize in 1994 to the Queen who was chatting to her hosts on the quayside).



Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and Life Member of the Grenadier Guards Association, visits the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards on February 24, 2014 in Aldershot, England


‘We didn’t have counsellors rushing around every time somebody let off a gun, asking “Are you all right? Are you sure you don’t have a ghastly problem?” You just got on with it.’ (about the Second World War commenting on modern stress counselling for servicemen in 1995).

‘How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?’ (to a driving instructor in Oban, Scotland, during a 1995 walkabout).

‘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 1996, amid calls to ban firearms after the Dunblane shooting).

‘Bloody silly fool!’ (in 1997, referring to a Cambridge University car park attendant who did not recognise him).

‘It looks as if it was put in by an Indian.’ (pointing at an old-fashioned fusebox in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999).



‘Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf.’ (to young deaf people in Cardiff, in 1999, referring to a school’s steel band).

‘They must be out of their minds.’ (in the Solomon Islands, in 1982, when he was told that the annual population growth was 5%).

‘You are a woman, aren’t you?’ (In Kenya, in 1984, after accepting a small gift from a local woman).

‘If you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.’ (to British students in China, during the 1986 state visit).

Prince Phillip has described a lot of things and places as ‘ghastly’ including Beijing in 1986 when he was on a tour and Stoke-on-Trent in 1997 when he was visiting.

Talking to neighbour Elton John’s about his beloved Watford themed Aston Martin, in 2001: ‘Oh, it’s you that owns that ghastly car is it? We often see it when driving to Windsor Castle.’

Prince Philip, In Deep Concentration, Competing In The Cross Country Section Of The International Carriage Driving Grand Prix Championships At The Royal Windsor Horse Show.


‘Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species in the world.’ (in Thailand, in 1991, after accepting a conservation award).

‘Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease.’ (in Australia, in 1992, when asked to stroke a Koala bear).

‘You can’t have been here that long – you haven’t got a pot belly.’ (to a Briton in Budapest, Hungary, in 1993).

‘Aren’t most of you descended from pirates?’ (to a wealthy islander in the Cayman Islands in 1994).

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (3L) stands with her husband Britain’s Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (3R), her son Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (2L) and his wife Britain’s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (L), and her grandson Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (2R) and his wife Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.


‘You managed not to get eaten, then?’ (suggesting to a student in 1998 who had been trekking in Papua New Guinea that tribes there were still cannibals).

In Germany, in 1997, he welcomed German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at a trade fair as ‘Reichskanzler’ – the last German leader who used the title was Adolf Hitler.

‘You’re too fat to be an astronaut.’ (to 13-year-old Andrew Adams who told Philip he wanted to go into space. Salford, 2001).

‘I wish he’d turn the microphone off.’ (muttered at the Royal Variety Performance as he watched Sir Elton John perform, 2001).

‘Do you still throw spears at each other?’ (In Australia in 2002 talking to a successful aborigine entrepreneur).

‘You look like a suicide bomber.’ (to a young female officer wearing a bullet-proof vest on Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in 2002).

The Queen And Prince Philip Chatting Together During The Royal Windsor Horse Show In The Grounds Of Windsor Castle.


‘Do you know they’re now producing eating dogs for anorexics?’ (to a blind woman outside Exeter Cathedral, 2002)

‘Well, you didn’t design your beard too well, did you?’ (to designer Stephen Judge about his tiny goatee beard in July 2009).

‘There’s a lot of your family in tonight.’ (after looking at the name badge of businessman Atul Patel at a Palace reception for British Indians in October 2009).

‘Do you work it a strip club?’ (to 24-year-old Barnstaple Sea Cadet Elizabeth Rendle when she told him she also worked in a nightclub in March 2010).

‘Do you have a pair of knickers made out of this?’ pointing to some tartan (to Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie a papal reception in Edinburgh in September 2010).

‘Bits are beginning to drop off.’ (on approaching his 90th birthday, 2011)

Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh wear safety glasses during a laser surgery demonstration at the opening of University College Hospital in London on October the 20th 2005.


‘How many people have you knocked over this morning on that thing?’ (meeting disabled David Miller who drives a mobility scooter at the Valentine Mansion in Redbridge in March 2012)

‘I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress.’ (to 25-year-old council worker Hannah Jackson, who was wearing a dress with a zip running the length of its front, on a Jubilee visit to Bromley, Kent, in May 2012)

‘The Philippines must be half empty as you’re all here running the NHS.’ (on meeting a Filipino nurse at a Luton hospital in February 2013)

‘Most stripping is done by hand.’ (to 83-year-old Mars factory worker Audrey Cook when discussing how she used to strip or cut Mars Bars by hand in April 2013)

‘(Children) go to school because their parents don’t want them in the house.’ (prompting giggles from Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban after campaigning for the right of girls to go to school without fear – October 2013)

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh feeds Donna the elephant during the opening the new Centre for Elephant Care at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo on April 11, 2017


‘Just take the f***ing picture.’ (losing patience with an RAF photographer at events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – July 2015)

‘You look starved.’ (to a pensioner on a visit to the Charterhouse almshouse for elderly men – February 2017)

‘I’m just a bloody amoeba.’ (on the Queen’s decision that their children should be called Windsor, not Mountbatten).

‘Gentlemen, I think it is time we pulled our fingers out.'(to the Industrial Co-Partnership Association on Britain’s inefficient industries in 1961).

The Scots were also unhappy with the Duke of Edinburgh when he asked a driving instructor in the country in 1995: ‘How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?’

Another country that was upset with him was Italy after the Prime Minister offered him a brilliant wine from the region in 2000 but he declined saying: ‘Get me a beer. I don’t care what kind it is, just get me a beer!’

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, wearing a mac and top hat, trudges through the mud during a wet Derby Day on June 6, 1990 in Epsom


‘Are you asking me if the Queen is going to die?’ (on being questioned on when the Prince of Wales would succeed to the throne)

‘If the man had succeeded in abducting Anne, she would have given him a hell of a time while in captivity.’ (On a gunman who tried to kidnap the Princess Royal in 1974).

‘I hope he breaks his bloody neck.’ (when a photographer covering a royal visit to India fell out of a tree)


‘If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she’s not interested.’ (on the Princess Royal)

‘When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.’ (on marriage).

‘It’s a pleasant change to be in a country that isn’t ruled by its people.’ (to Alfredo Stroessner, the Paraguayan dictator).

‘Where did you get that hat?’ (supposedly to Queen at her Coronation).

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
UK Fashion Label LK Bennett Pursues Accelerated Sale Amid Financial Struggles
U.S. Government Warns UK Over Free Speech in Pro-Life Campaigner Prosecution
Newly Released Files Shed Light on Jeffrey Epstein’s Extensive Links to the United Kingdom
Prince William and Prince George Volunteer Together at UK Homelessness Charity
UK Police Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’ as Authorities Recalibrate Free Speech Enforcement
Scambodia: The World Owes Thailand’s Military a Profound Debt of Gratitude
Women in Partial Nudity — and Bill Clinton in a Dress and Heels: The Images Revealed in the “Epstein Files”
US Envoy Witkoff to Convene Security Advisers from Ukraine, UK, France and Germany in Miami as Peace Efforts Intensify
UK Retailers Report Sharp Pre-Christmas Sales Decline and Weak Outlook, CBI Survey Shows
UK Government Rejects Use of Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Aid for Ukraine
UK Financial Conduct Authority Opens Formal Investigation into WH Smith After Accounting Errors
UK Issues Final Ultimatum to Roman Abramovich Over £2.5bn Chelsea Sale Funds for Ukraine
Rare Pink Fog Sweeps Across Parts of the UK as Met Office Warns of Poor Visibility
UK Police Pledge ‘More Assertive’ Enforcement to Tackle Antisemitism at Protests
UK Police Warn They Will Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
×