The Moment Prince Philip Told Prime Minister Tony Blair’s People To ‘F**k Off’

Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is known for his straightforward and somewhat gruff approach. Queen Elizabeth’s husband retired from his royal duties in 2017, but he’s still widely regarded as a notable and prestigious member of the royal family.

On their golden wedding anniversary, the Queen thanked him for being her “strength” and for staying through all their years in marriage. One particular moment has the Queen “relish” at her husband’s straightforward attitude despite him hurling an expletive toward UK government ministers.

In the aftermath of Princess Diana’s tragic death in a car crash, the royal family found themselves pressured to handle the situation in a way that would appease everyone. Despite the Queen’s wish to keep the funeral services intimate, Prince Charles and Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that a public ceremony be held at Westminster Abbey. This reportedly caused the Queen to relent to the Prime Minister’s advice.

According to Adam Boulton, in his 2008 book “Tony’s Ten Years: Memoirs Of The Blair Administration,” the Prime Minister’s people jumped in on the preparations. To the dismay of the Queen, they started talking about where exactly to insert the young children Harry and William. At this point, Philip had just about enough of their incessant meddling.

“The events of that week in September 1997 were very sad, but as the spinners from Downing Street came to Buckingham Palace and started to kick around what roles Harry and William should play in the funeral, the Queen had relished the moment when Philip had bellowed over the speakerphone from Balmoral: ‘F*** off! We are talking about two boys who have lost their mother,’” narrated Boulton.

Anji Hunter, who was working for Blair at that time, witnessed the exchange. She recalled how shocked she was by the Duke’s exclamation and the sheer overwhelming emotion driving it.

“I can remember — it sends a tingle up my back,” she said in Channel 5’s documentary on Diana’s funeral. “We were all talking about how William and Harry should be involved and suddenly came Prince Philip’s voice. We hadn’t heard from him before, but he was really anguished.”