You can’t even call these bloopers or flub-ups because they came from Philip, the Duke of Diplomacy. He will have meant every racist, bigoted, stupid thing he said - from the bottom of his heart. You’ll notice that Canada is one of his favourite targets. Canadians should be honoured.

1. To a driving instructor he met during a stroll in Oban, Scotland: “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them past the test?”

2. On Chinese eating habits:”If it has four legs and it’s not a chair, if it has two wings and it flies but it’s not an airplane, and if it swims and it’s not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.”

3. When talking to British students in China, he joked “you shouldn’t stay here too long, or you’ll turn slitty-eyed”

4. Said during a severe recession in 1981:”Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they’re complaining they’re unemployed.”

5. Insulting Canadians during a royal visit:”We don’t come here for our health. We can think of other ways of enjoying ourselves.”

6.Insulting French Canadians during a visit to Toronto:”I can’t understand a word they say. They slur all their words.”

7. To grieving residents of Lockerbie, Scotland, during a 1993 visit after a plane exploded and crashed into the town, killing everyone on board and several people on the ground (and shortly after a fire swept through ONE wing of Windsor Castle):”People usually say that after a fire it’s the water damage that’s the worst. We’re STILL trying to dry out Windsor castle.”

8. Comment when someone suggested in 1967 that a trip to Russia might improve diplomatic relations between Great Britain and the Soviets: “The bastards murdered half my family.”

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