Philip was `authentically himself'
WINDSOR, England
— Prince Harry praised Prince Philip Monday for his devotion to Queen Elizabeth and described the late duke as a mischievous host who could captivate guests with unpredictable remarks. Philip, 99, died Friday at Windsor Castle.
“Grandpa, thank you for your service, your dedication to granny and for always being yourself,” Harry, who returned from Los Angeles, said in a statement.
“He was authentically himself with a seriously sharp wit and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm and also because you never knew what he might say next.”
Philip's sense of humour and dedication to his duty earned him widespread popularity in Britain, but he was also criticized for off-thecuff comments, some of them racist, which shocked princes, priests and presidents.
He once asked, within earshot of Pope Benedict XVI and the Queen, if a female Scottish politician was wearing Tartan knickers.
Philip also asked president Jomo Kenyatta, at the most solemn moment of the Kenyan independence celebrations in 1963 as the British flag was about to be lowered: “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
Other remarks touched on the drinking habits of Scots and the national cuisine of Hungarians.
“It is true that he occasionally drove a coach and horses through the finer points of diplomatic protocol and he coined a new word — dontopedalogy — for the experience of putting your foot in your mouth,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.