Prince Philip Compares Lockerbie Plane Crash to Water Damage at Windsor Castle
Tragedy struck Scotland in 1988 when terrorists bombed Pan Am Flight 103, ending in the demise of 259 people on board and an additional 11 in Lockerbie, where the plane landed. In 1993, Prince Philip visited the location, where he made a cringe-worthy comparison to the previous year’s Windsor Castle fire, which took no lives. “People usually say that after a fire, it is water damage that is the worst,” he said. “We are still trying to dry out Windsor Castle.” But this isn’t the first time the former Duke of Edinburgh put his foot in his mouth. He was known for being racist and problematic as well.
Philip, who passed away at 99, was the longest-serving consort in the history of the British monarchy. While he’s remembered for his work with charity organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature, he’s repeatedly made offensive statements. In 1986, while on a visit to China, Philip described Beijing as “ghastly.” He also told British students: “If you stay here much longer you’ll all be slitty-eyed.” That same year, while speaking at a World Wildlife Fund meeting, Philip made an insensitive comment on Cantonese cuisine. “If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an airplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it,” he said. This doesn’t even begin to show the tip of his problematic iceberg.