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Retiring Duke of Edinburgh: 'I can't stand up much!'

Prince Philip, famous for his straight-talking ways, is on fine form during his first outing since announcing his retirement.

By Sunita Patel-Carstairs, News Reporter

Thursday 4 May 2017 16:02, UK

Why you can trust Sky News

The Duke of Edinburgh has been quick to joke about news of his retirement.

Shortly after Buckingham Palace announced the Duke was giving up his public royal engagements from the autumn, he and the Queen left their London residence for St James' Palace.

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They were there for a service for members of the Order of Merit and also hosted a lunch for those attending.

During the event, an attendee shook the Prince's hand and told him he was sorry to hear that he was standing down, to which the Duke replied with a chuckle: "I can't stand up much!"

While his joke was met with laughter, the Duke, who turns 96 next month, has shocked on occasion with his sometimes plain speaking, controversial remarks.

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Here are some more of his famous remarks from over the years:

:: When visiting China he told a group of British students: "If you stay here much longer, you'll all be slitty-eyed."

:: To expats in Abu Dhabi in 2012: "Are you running away from something?"

:: To Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, who was dressed in traditional African robes: "You look like you're ready for bed."

:: After accepting a gift from a Kenyan citizen he asked: "You are a woman, aren't you?"

:: At Salford University, he told a 13-year-old aspiring astronaut: "Well, you'll never fly in it, you're too fat."

:: In 2011, when a female Sea Cadet told him she worked in a nightclub, he replied: "Is it a strip club?"

:: To a fashion writer in 1993: "You're not wearing mink knickers are you?"

Image: 'How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test?' The Prince's question to a Scottish driving instructor
Image: The Duke of Edinburgh was filmed during an RAF photocall for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain as he shouted at a photographer
Image: 'It looks as though it was put in by an Indian.' His thoughts on an unsophisticated fuse box spotted during a tour of an electronics company
Image: 'You'll never fly in it, you're too fat to be an astronaut.' The Duke dashed a 13-year-old boy's ambitions of space travel
Image: 'Do you still throw spears at each other?' A question to an Indigenous Australian during a visit to the country in 2002
Image: 'People usually say that after a fire it's water damage that is the worst. We are still trying to dry out Windsor Castle.'
Image: 'Deaf? If you're near there, no wonder you are deaf.' The Duke to a group from the British Deaf Association who were standing near a band
Image: 'Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed.' His assessment of the 1981 recession
Image: '(Have you) a pair of knickers made out of this?' Raised eyebrows with a query about tartan underwear to the then leader of the Scottish Conservatives
Image: 'If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed.' A now infamous aside to a group of British students in China in 1986
Image: 'It's a pleasure to be in a country that isn't ruled by its people.' Comments to the then Paraguayan dictator General Stroessner
Image: 'You're about to see the world's most experienced plaque-unveiler.' At Lord's cricket ground, in a recent public engagement

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine, said: "I think people love the way that he's so outrageous and he says exactly what he thinks and he doesn't care who he's saying it to.

"They're very quick one-liners. It's really meant to make people laugh.

"I think people love it - they think he's a wonderful, wonderful old man."

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