Why was Prince Philip allowed to keep saying offensive things?

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There are so many examples of Philip saying offensive things such as:

"If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed." This was said to a group of students during a royal visit to China.

"If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?" This was said in response to calls to ban guns after the Dunblane incident.

"It looks as if it was put in by an Indian." This was Philip talking about a fuse box in a factory.

There are so many more examples. Why was he allowed to act this way whilst representing the Royal Family? I like a laugh, I can take a joke, but he was so often just really offensive.

The working class historicially were better on race than the UK upper classes - they were the driving force behind the abolitionist movement signing pettions raising funds and boycotting even when it cost hem though it usually the more middle middle-class Quakers and evangelicals who led parliamentary efforts who get the attention and get focused on in historical dramas more.

Philip was raised by his english aristocratic relatives - very different to a working class background values sadly.

I’m not a royalist at all but think there’s more than enough to focus on in the here and now isn’t there?

Maybe it's because people define 'offensive' differently? That's the problem with freedom of speech. It should also apply to people whose opinions you don't like.

Apologies to anyone who's 'triggered' by this old fashioned fact..

Why was Henry VIII allowed to execute wives, Why was William of Normandy allowed to make a landgrab, a la Trump? It makes as much sense, other 'times' were different, the current population doesn't get to set the agenda for the whole of History.

This. But don't let the 'racist' pitch fork wavers be deterred.

He was funny, darkly funny yes but he was funny. He wasn't bothered about the constant Phil the Greek or nazi slurs so probably presumed everyone else had an equally thick skin.

Oh please, as if that wasn't constantly said about him! It was in the papers every time he made these comments. Spitting image made a huge deal of it

You're talking about an incredibly privileged massively wealthy old white man. Born in. 1921. What a fucking shock he had some outdated, unacceptable ideas, so did a lot of people. Plenty still do. Who could possibly actually care, especially now he's dead and gone.

His comments were the subject of disdain and disgust as far back as I can remember, and I will be 70 in March. My parents were born in 1915 and 1919 respectively and they thought him abhorrent. Neither of them would've dreamt of speaking to anyone like that. Along with his racist comments he also enjoyed belittling people, people who had no chance whatsoever of answering back let alone punching him in the face. I had a friend who won an award for her ground breaking work on dyslexia. He picked up her book and said "so you're going to teach ga ga goo goo to the illiterate". He was an utter pig of a man who revelled in his superiority and held clear and obvious contempt for the minions.

And you see no problem with being ageist.

Prince Philip knew his role was as an icebreaker, he cracked a joke to put people at their ease so that when they met the Queen everyone was a bit more comfortable. Sometimes the jokes didn’t land, but on the whole he seemed to go down well. We all make mistakes and say stupid things, his just got written up.

Even if that is true it's performing monkeys who are your betters. I mean you are never going to be King or Queen are you ? Or even related to one.

You mean to tell us His Royal Highness, Prince, husband of a queen, father of the next king...had a major superiority complex and looked down on people?

Well Roger me sideways with a Tesco trolley, I'm shocked. Who would have guessed?

The slitty eyes comment was made in 1986 and caused a lot of controversy at the time.

A lot of his remarks caused upset at the time they were made.

So all this nonsense about "different times" doesn't really apply when, in those different times, the remarks were considered offensive.

Was he incapable of reading the room?

No, he had always been racist and he'd continue to be racist because he could.

This was the bloke who was patron of the WWF and had shooting targets for killing birds during the "season".

He was the husband of the monarch, and no one was ever going to tell him something was inappropriate. I doubt he cared if everything he did was massively contradictory, there'd still be people queuing up to give him accolades no matter what.

He seems to have shagged his way through life as well, so it's no wonder AMW took his father's lead and just ran with it.

Serving in the Falklands etc. hasn't given AMW a free pass, so why should the Third Reich give Philip one?

@ginasevern Great post

No, his jokes didn't land because they were racist, aimed at minorities and weren't funny.
Yet we, as a country, indulged him.

I pity those poor people he aimed them at who had to laugh along because of who he was

I'm just looking up the groups of people who wouldn't be here in Britain under the third reich...

Jewish and non Christian faiths, especially Islam, black people, Asians, people of mixed heritage, disabled, sick and vulnerable, roman gypsy, gay, political non conformists, anyone who failed to enrol their children in Hitler youth or league of maidens, anyone who stopped their daughters marrying elite SS men, the poor and unable to work, those with mental health problems...

I'm 'offended' that a man who fought to stop these racist, evil policies, is being portrayed in such string terms as a racist. He made mistakes. But his Duke of Edinburgh schemes welcomed all of the above for decades and helped people of all scenarios listed above unflinchingly.

Every post here criticising him, government, politics, anyone in power would have led you to a 1 way trip to Auschwitz or the UK equivalent if Philip and his generation had not stepped up. The comments about his sisters marry nazis are just nuts. Yes, they did. So what, it had nothing to do with him. He was a very young man studying at Dartmouth. What on earth could he do at 18yrs old??

There would be no racism today if we'd lost the war as everyone here would be white, Christian and conforming to a very warped ideology. Thank god for Phillip and men and women of his generation.

God, the knowledge of UK history among people is dire. It's pitiful. I'm offended people are so dumb and entitled to spout drivel. Idiots

You don't seem to understand that they were considered offensive by LESS people then would be outraged now.
When people talk about the times, they don't mean noone cared, it's never all or nothing. But 1986 was Jim Davidson on prime time TV, Bernard Manning, Roy Chubby Brown, etc etc. it was much more accepted then than it is now. That doesn't mean anyone is saying it was acceptable at the time.

So many people tying themselves in knots to try and prove he wasn't racist. Of course he was racist. Even my dad (who was a massive racist) had nothing on Philip.

I don't feel sorry for them. At all. They've done their utmost to turn every. single. fucking thing into some sort of ableist, racist (whatever ist ) fuckery and consequently made our lives more miserable for it.
I've had enough of them and their visual signalling crap.

He was Prince Philip.

They couldn't stop him driving either.

That doesn't mean that it is or ever was okay for the spouse of the monarch to join in with the racism.

Just because the lowest common denominator found it funny, doesn't mean Phillip should have joined them down there.

My son has got a book of Prince Philip faux pas . I guess he could say anything he wanted because he was an entitled arse and we all had to accept it .

He was lucky he didn't kill someone, it was bad enough that he caused physical injury.

But it's okay, he fought the Third Reich and had a poor childhood.

Again, nobody is saying it was ok. He found his jokes funny. He got away with it because a) lots of other people thought he was funny too and b) because he was a senior royal and he could say what the hell he liked.

Really don't get what you're struggling with here.

I'm no royalist by any means (which is the understatement of the century) but it wasn't part of his job description, as paid for by our taxes, to belittle and humiliate people. I have no doubt that all of the royals hold in contempt. They are the original self preservation society. But at least the rest of them haven't made it their mission to be so fucking rude and unpleasant when meeting the general public.

Bloody hell, what's the point in dredging this up? He's dead, he won't be making any more remarks! Yes he was inappropriate at times and some people found it offensive but I very much doubt he intended to be hurtful. I found him hilarious! At least he had the balls to say things as they were!

By all accounts he was often the nicest and warmest one there. It's not like everything he said was awful.

Meh, I half prefer the honesty of the stupid old duffer, to be honest. At least he was just himself.