Prince Philip's Tasteless Remarks

14 December 2009

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Britain's Prince Philip mocked a blinded hero Army cadet.

The Duke of Edinburgh - who has a reputation for making controversial gaffes - made a tasteless remark when he poked fun at the dress sense of Stephen Menary, who was just 14 when he was blinded and had his hand blown off after picking up a bomb.

After his wife, Queen Elizabeth asked the youngster - who was wearing a colourful striped tie - how much sight he had left, the prince joked: "Not a lot, judging by the tie he is wearing."

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

Stephen was wearing a striped tie, part of the uniform of the Army Cadet Force, when he met the royals at London's Hyde Park in 2002.

Recalling the incident, Stephen's mother Carol said the tasteless joke was met with silence and a disapproving glare from the monarch.

Speaking to UK TV talk show host Graham Norton, Carol added: "Prince Philip is completely out of touch with reality. Although I think there was no malice behind it, it was a tactless thing to say."

Prince Philip - who is notorious for his public gaffes - once asked a Kenyan dancer if she was a woman, and on a trip to China in 1986, he told British students: "If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed."

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