God Save The Prince

Great Britain's Prince Philip recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Evidently he was born without a PC filter or Pause button in his brain, as evidenced by the following.

As Prince Philip turns 90, relive some of his most hilarious gaffes

His incredible energy, remarkable good health and strong sense of public duty have seen Prince Philip through countless official engagements over the course of his 64-year marriage to our Queen.

Yet it is the unashamedly politically incorrect comments he makes that have attracted the most attention over the years.

As the Prince celebrates his 90th birthday tomorrow, we pay tribute to what Philip himself described as ‘Dontopedalogy . . . the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practised for a good many years . . .’

ON STATE VISITS

‘Do you still throw spears at each other?’ To Aboriginal leader William Brin during a visit to the Aboriginal Cultural Park in Queensland, 2002.

‘We don’t come here for our health. We can think of other ways of enjoying ourselves.’ On a trip to Canada in 1976.

‘You managed not to get eaten then?’ To a British student who was trekking in Papua New Guinea, during an official visit in 1998.

‘Aren’t most of you descended from pirates?’ To residents of the Cayman Islands in 1994.

ON SCOTLAND

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

ON CLASS & MONEY

‘People think there’s a rigid class system here, but dukes have been known to marry chorus girls. Some have even married Americans.'

‘If you travel as much as we do, you appreciate the improvements in aircraft design of less noise and more comfort, provided you don’t travel in something called economy class, which sounds ghastly.’

‘We go into the red next year. I shall probably have to give up polo.’ On the Royal Family’s finances in 1969.

ON FOOD & DRINK

‘Get me a beer. I don’t care what kind it is, just get me a beer!’ On being offered fine Italian wines by Prime Minister Giuliano Amato at a dinner in Rome in 2000.

A man after my own heart.

And here's my personal favorite.

ON WOMEN

‘When a man opens the car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.’

No wonder the Brits love their royals....