I love PP, I think he is quite funny, it also became quite apparent in that interview that he is articulate and intelligent and has the memory of an elephant. I am pretty sure those "gaffes" are to see what the press say about the Royals, he knows exactly who has said what and when and I think they probably make up their minds as to whom and which papers are acceptable to give interviews too. Lets face it, if you were going to give an interview that seemed all nicey nicey as a "face" and then they turned it round on you when it went to press (have seen this happen a lot!!!) you would want to know who you were dealing with.
It may well be a firm, but actually it is a firm that people around the world admire and YES still come to this country in the hope of spotting them. The recent Wedding has proven that. This man will never retire, has been in the spotlight for over 60 years and when they got married they all thought they would have a little bit longer before having to take on the role of Queen. Her father died so young and they were never given the opportunity to back out, have a bit of time to themselves for longer than a year or so, he gave up his promising career to stand behind his wife, literally, and quite often he isn't allowed to stand next to her, never sits at the same table as her, he must be quite lonely, never really gets to speak to anyone without having to be polite and he never ever gets to have the coffee!
He has been instrumental in starting up the interest in environmentalism, which he has passed on to his son, he has supported so many many charities worldwide and has slowed down but not stopped and it is unlikely that he ever will. I wonder how many of us will still be working full time at 90?
I therefore respect him and the work he has done, the occasional biggoted comment is small as times have changed so very much, I still get seriously pissed of with my parents at times who are in their 70's but I equally know when my dad makes a gaffe it doesn't mean he is a nasty mean spirited old man who is inherently evil, he just hasn't changed quite as quickly as the world we are living in. And to be fair, in these days one week it is fine to say something and the following week you are being taken to the Court of Human Rights. No wonder it is confusing for the slightly older generation.
I also think its a bit mean to say all the things were gaffe's they have been taken over many many years and equally we have all admitted that the world has changed from the world of the 1980's to now! Interestingly nothing has been reported from before then!