A Gaffe For The ‘Prince of Gaffes’: Publication Mistakenly Announce Prince Philip’s Death On Day Of Retirement
Prince Philip is one tough cookie as he survives yet another “death” announced by the media. In a massively erroneous report, the Daily Telegraph published an incomplete article online Wednesday announcing the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing.
The Guardian reported, that the article, which has since been taken down, read, “The Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving consort to a monarch in British history, has died at the age of XX, Buckingham Palace has announced.”
The incomplete article further read, “He will be given a royal ceremonial funeral in line with his wishes, which is expected to take place in seven days’ time.”
A spokesman for the Telegraph apologized for the mistake and said that publishing processes would be reviewed as a matter of urgency. Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Prince Philip has been prematurely announced as dead. Back in May, the Sun made a similar error when the Duke had first announced his retirement from public engagements. The article, which was swiftly removed after publication online, was titled “Prince Philip dead at 95, how did the Duke of Edinburgh die, etc etc.”
The Telegraph‘s incomplete article was published online on Wednesday as the still-alive Prince Philip prepared for his final day of public engagements. The 96-year-old monarch has accomplished 22,219 solo engagements since 1952. According to the Guardian, Buckingham Palace staff has calculated the Prince’s solo overseas visits to be at 637. He has visited 143 countries, delivered 5,496 speeches, and has carried out the role of patron for 785 organizations during his royal career. On top of all that, he still managed to write 14 books.
On Wednesday, on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, Prince Philip met the Royal Marines that had completed a mammoth 1,664-mile trek. This is his final official Royal event before he withdraws from public engagements. The Prince celebrated the achievements of the servicemen that had taken part in the 1664 Global Challenge, which was a series of strength and endurance feats aimed to raise funds and awareness for the Royal Marines Charity.
But perhaps, the Duke of Edinburgh is best known for his seemingly never-ending list of gaffes during his reign as Queen Elizabeth II’s husband. Throughout his career, his public appearances were not devoid of controversy. The Independent compiled some of his most popular gaffes.
In 1986, he told the 21-year-old British student, Simon Kerby, during his visit to China, “If you stay here much longer, you will go home with slitty eyes.”
If his comments were uttered at a much later time, when every thing you say can be easily judged on the Internet, it would probably be a cause for outrage as most of his comments border on racism. For example, he said to a woman in Kenya in 1984, after accepting a gift, “You ARE a woman, aren’t you?”
“It looks as though it was put in by an Indian,” the Prince once said of a fuse box during a tour of a Scottish factory in 1999. Later on, he clarified his comment and said, “I meant to say cowboys. I just got my cowboys and Indians mixed up.”
While on a visit in 1998, Prince Philip also said to a British student who had trekked to Papua New Guinea, “You managed not to get eaten then?”
Meanwhile, the Queen will continue her duties and public schedule, and she will be supported by other members of the royal family.
[Featured Image by Chris Jackson/Getty Images]
