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All the stars were out for the Royal Variety Show at Auckland’s St James Theatre on October 18, 1981. What a night. There was Billy T James and Sir Howard Morrison, John Rowles and the Royal New Zealand Ballet. And then there was the late addition of Ginette McDonald’s comic character, Lyn of Tawa, stepping in for female impersonator Marcus Craig. The guests of honour, the Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived at the St James in a black Rolls-Royce, greeted by Prime Minister Robert Muldoon and his wife, Thea, as an expectant New Zealand tuned in for the live broadcast.
That was Prince Philip during a speech to a group of industrialists in 1961. Over 70 years of official events, he seemed determined to prove this point true. Clocking up 22,219 solo engagements before he retired in August 2017, the Duke of Edinburgh, who has died in London aged 99, became renowned for being gaffe-prone. As recently as New Year s Eve in 2017, the Duke of Edinburgh pointed at a man with a beard and asked Is that a terrorist? The then 96 year old is said to have made the comment while talking to Princess Anne as members of the family progressed to a New Year s Eve service at St Mary Magdalene church, near the Queen s Sandringham home.
Here are some of Philip’s famous comments:
Prince Philip’s 50 most outrageous comments
“British women can’t cook” – in Britain in 1966.
2. “What do you gargle with – pebbles?” – speaking to singer Tom Jones after the 1969 Royal Variety Performance.
3. “I declare this thing open, whatever it is” – on a visit to Canada in 1969.
4. “Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed” – during the 1981 recession.
5. “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.
THE Duke of Edinburgh, quizzical, witty and controversial was the Queen’s greatest source of support, her confidant and the man she relied on above all others. His lifelong role was to ensure he never let her down and their long-lasting marriage was arguably one of the world’s best-known relationships. Although he was not officially given the title of Prince Consort, Philip, a private, enigmatic man of strong character, was always there, one step behind, ready to lend the Queen a helping hand. Through his stewardship, he also had a profound effect on the development of the British monarchy. In public, the Duke never attempted to upstage the woman he loved. In private, it was Philip the Queen would defer to.