His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT, OM, GBE was at the forefront of British public life since he married Princess Elizabeth in 1947. In the seventy years since, his wit (and the occasional ‘gaffe’) continued to endear him to the nation, as he travelled the world taking his unique and charmingly British sense of humour to its far-flung corners. Hailed as a god by a tribe in Vanuatu, the Prince had his fair share of brickbats from the media nearer home, but his outspokenness never failed to raise laughs – and eyebrows. From notorious one-liners to less newsworthy witticisms and from plain speaking to blunt indifference, the Prince did what we all wish we could do now and again – forget polite conversation and say what he thought.
