August 15 1999 BRITAIN
Official: Philip is not a fool
Jack Grimston and Paul Nuki
HE may be tactless, but he is not stupid. Geneticists have discovered that the Duke of Edinburgh has narrowly escaped inheriting a gene associated with lower intelligence. The mutated gene is, however, common among many of his relatives in the European royal houses. It was carried by the Queen's grandfather, King George V.
The gene was uncovered by accident after the duke allowed scientists to record his DNA blueprint as part of an investigation into the remains of the Russian royal family. Prince Philip is related to the last tsar, Nicholas II, on his mother's side.
The analysis, conducted by scientists at the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham with Russian collaboration, showed that, unlike some of the tsar's immediate family, the duke does not carry the genetic mutation. Other relatives of the royal family who were tested at the same time do have it.
The missing gene will frustrate royal-watchers hoping to explain Philip's near-legendary gaffes stretching back 30 years. Only last week, during a visit to an electronics factory, he described a fuse box as looking as though it had been "put in by an Indian".
Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director of Burke's Peerage, said the royal family had constantly suffered from physical and mental problems caused by marrying close relatives.
"It is a miracle the Duke of Edinburgh is so normal considering the many generations of inbreeding that produced him." It is uncertain whether the scientists have tried to explain to the duke how lucky he is. The link between genetics and IQ scores was found only four years ago, when the primary differences between a group of American children with IQs of 130 and another group with IQs of 82 was a single gene, EST00083.
The gene is inherited through the female line and arrived in the British royal family in 1863 when the Danish princess Alexandra married her cousin the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. The mutation is also thought to exist in many members of the Danish and Greek royal families.
Mark Thomas, a genetics lecturer at University College London, said there was hope for anyone who had the gene. A Japanese man treated for a similar condition saw his IQ immediately increase by 20 points.
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