The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated his 98th birthday last June, two years after announcing his retirement from royal duties. During his incredible life, the Queen’s consort has become particularly renowned for his witty-one liners and unconventional behaviour. His reputation for plain speaking has often led to controversy, and his undiplomatic language has landed him in hot water on more than one occasion as he reportedly enjoys swearing.

In 2000, Philip famously described the new £18million British Embassy in Berlin, which the Queen had just opened, as a “vast waste of space” and ten years later was caught telling a photographer to “just take the f***ing picture” during a photocall with Battle of Britain war veterans.

According to a 2011 report by the Daily Mail, the Prince’s hot-headed nature truly emerged when the Conservative Party and then Labour Party decided to decommission the beloved Royal Yacht Britannia after 22 years in service to save money.

In particular, the Duke of Edinburgh took particular offence at the behaviour of former Tory Cabinet minister Michael Portillo.

The report, written by royal correspondent Robert Harman, reads: “Then Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, produced a new policy and got it past a weary Cabinet: if re-elected, the Tories would build a new Royal Yacht.

“However, Mr Portillo had omitted to follow one important convention regarding royal issues.

“He failed to clear the plan with the Labour Opposition.

“So, day after day on the election trail, old-style Labour politicians like John Prescott gleefully extolled the scrapping of what was presented as a millionaire’s toy.

“The fact that Britannia had originally been commissioned by a Labour Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, was never mentioned.

“As the Duke of Edinburgh observed some years later: ‘Portillo got involved and made a complete b******s of it.

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W“‘Absolutely idiotic.’”

According to the publication, at the decommissioning ceremony in Portsmouth in 1997 the Prince’s anger was in plain sight.

The Queen was also photographed shedding tears in public for the first and only time.

Years later, Tony Blair reportedly admitted that he deeply regretted scrapping the vessel.

Mr Harman added: “What the Royal Family may find particularly intriguing – and infuriating – 14 years later, is that Tony Blair now deeply regrets his part in it.

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“As he tells me: ‘I think if it had happened five years into my time [as Prime Minister], I would have just said ‘no’.

“I’ll tell you this,’ he says, lowering his voice, ‘I didn’t want to get rid of it. After we’d agreed to get rid of it, I actually went on it and I remember, as I stepped on, thinking: ‘That was such a mistake to have done that.’

“‘And I think it was Prince Charles who was showing me around and I could see him thinking: ‘Thank you for that.’”

Lord Dannatt, one of the Queen’s former advisers, told the Daily Telegraph in 2017 that axing Royal Britannia caused “great hurt” to Her Majesty but also did “lasting damage to the standing of the United Kingdom”.

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