Updated 2:29 PM ET August 11, 1999
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Philip was lambasted
Wednesday as a "daft old man" who should withdraw from public life
after he added to a long string of gaffes with an insulting joke about
Indians.
The Mirror tabloid said the prince, husband of Queen Elizabeth, should
"stop making public appearances and retire to the hunting, shooting
and fishing set where his racist, sexist views would be better
received."
The Greek-born prince's latest slip of the tongue came Tuesday as he
toured a high-tech company near Edinburgh in Scotland and noticed a
poorly wired fuse box.
"It looks as though it was put in by an Indian," he remarked to the
factory manager.
The prince, who is also the Duke of Edinburgh, is legendary for
putting both feet in his mouth with remarks that have managed to
offend the deaf, Hungarians, Chinese and Scots, among others.
Buckingham Palace issued a rare apology for his latest indiscretion but
that did little to appease members of the Indian community, racism
watchdogs and editorial writers.
"There's something basically wrong with the family who live up The
Mall (site of the palace)," the Sun tabloid said.
"It would be hard to think of a remark more likely to offend one of the
most hard-working sections of our community. But what would the
free-loading prince know about work?"
The Mirror said Prince Philip's remarks showed him to be "an
insensitive and insulting person who doesn't seem to care what he says
or whom he upsets."
"Other families have daft old men who are a constant source of
embarrassment," it said. "But his more recent antics go beyond a
laugh."
The upmarket Times bestowed the "Duke of Edinburgh award for
diplomacy" on the duke himself and ran a selection of his most
infamous gaffes under a photo of the prince with a "speak no evil"
hand over his mouth.
___________________________________________________________ ARE YOU A FREELANCE WRITER? Then you should be a member of the NATIONAL WRITERS UNION! The only labor union committed to improving the economic and working conditions of all freelance writers. For more information visit our web site <http://www.nwu.org>, call (212) 254-0279, or email <nwu at nwu.org>.