Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Philip (born 10 June 1921) Consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

• "Where did you get that hat?" (1953 )
  • To his wife the Queen, immediately after her coronation

• "British women can't cook." (1966 )

• "What do you gargle with - pebbles?" (1969 )
  • Notes: Said to Tom Jones after the The Royal Variety Performance.

• "If you stay here much longer you'll all get slitty eyed." (1986 )
  • Notes: Said to British students in China.

• "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?" (1995 )
  • Notes: Said to a driving instructor in Scotland.

• "You managed not to get eaten, then?" (1998 )
  • Notes: Said to a student who had been trekking in Papua New Guinea.

• "Do you still throw spears at each other?" (2002 )
  • Notes: Said to an Australian Aborigine.

• "You were playing your instruments, weren't you? Or do you have tape recorders under your seats?" (2002 )
  • Notes: Said to a childrens band in Australia.

• "Do you know they have eating dogs for the anorexic now?" (2002 )
  • Notes: Said to a blind woman with a guide dog.

• "It is surprising the way things have changed since I first became chancellor of a university 50 years ago." (2003 )
  • Source: Opening a new reseach centre at the University of York .
  • Notes: The statement was widely misrepresented as referring to the University of York itself, rather than the University of Edinburgh, of which Prince Philip is Chancellor. (The York Chancellor at the time was Janet Baker, and the university was celebrating its fortieth anniversary.)

• "It looks like it was put in by Indians." (1999 )
  • Notes: Said after he saw a fusebox.

• "You can't have been here that long - you haven't got a pot belly." (1993 )
  • Notes: Said to a Briton in Budapest, Hungary.

• "If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine the Cantonese will eat it." (1986 )
  • Notes: Said at a World Wildlife Fund meeting.

• "Aren't most of you descended from pirates?" (1994 )
  • Notes: Said to an islander in the Cayman Islands.

• "Your country is one of the most notorious centres of trading in endangered species in the world." (1991 )
  • Notes: Said in Thailand, after accepting a conservation award.

• "Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf." (1999 )
  • Notes: Said to young deaf people in Cardiff, referring to a school's steel band.

• "Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed."
  • Notes: Said during the 1981 recession.

• "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?" (1996 )
  • Notes: Said amid calls to ban firearms after the Dunblane shooting.

• "Bloody silly fool!" (1997 )
  • Notes: Was referring to a Cambridge University car park attendant who failed to recognise him.

• "You are a woman, aren't you?" (1984 )
  • Notes: Said in Kenya, to a native woman who had presented him with a small gift.

• "You look like you're ready for bed!"
  • Said to the President of Nigeria, who was dressed in traditional robes...

• "It doesn't look like much work goes on at this University" (2005 )
  • Notes: Overheard at Bristol University's BLADE (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamic Engineering) facility, which had been closed in order that he and the Queen could officially open it

Attributed

• "Never pass up a chance to go to the loo." (when asked his secret for dealing with public appearances)

• "If people feel it has no further part to play, then for goodness' sake, let's end the thing on amicable terms without having a row about it." (on sentiment against the British monarchy)

See also

• Elizabeth II