Prince Philip apologised to Richard Nixon for faux pas with lame toast during White House visit
The Duke wrote to humbly apologise for failing to toast the president s health as dictated by protocol during a stag dinner in his honor
Credit: Paul Schutzer /The LIFE Picture Collection
Throughout his decades in public life, Prince Philip was known for putting his royal foot in his mouth with occasional off-the-cuff remarks that could be embarrassing. But his faux pas at a White House dinner with President Richard Nixon in 1969 was enough for Philip to actually lose sleep.
In a handwritten note to the president uncovered by archivists at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, the Duke of Edinburgh wrote to humbly apologise for failing to toast the president s health as dictated by protocol during a stag dinner in his honor.
Known for his quick wit and willingness to be self-deprecating, Philip s brand of cheekiness didn t always go over well, and sometimes veered into racism. In 1995, he asked a Scottish driving instructor, “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?” Seven years later in Australia, when visiting Aboriginal people with the queen, he asked: “Do you still throw spears at each other?”
While visiting a military barracks, Philip asked a sea cadet instructor if she worked in a strip club, and even said to a woman who had lost two sons in a fire that smoke detectors were a damn nuisance. I’ve got one in my bathroom, and every time I run my bath, the steam sets it off.”
Known for his quick wit and willingness to be self-deprecating, Philip s brand of cheekiness didn t always go over well, and sometimes veered into racism. In 1995, he asked a Scottish driving instructor, “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?” Seven years later in Australia, when visiting Aboriginal people with the queen, he asked: “Do you still throw spears at each other?”
While visiting a military barracks, Philip asked a sea cadet instructor if she worked in a strip club, and even said to a woman who had lost two sons in a fire that smoke detectors were a damn nuisance. I’ve got one in my bathroom, and every time I run my bath, the steam sets it off.”