Prince Philip's most excruciating gaffes and jokes

After news of a rush meeting at Buckingham Palace leaked early on Thursday morning, a flurry of speculation began to arise that suggesting that Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, had died. As reports turned out, however, Prince Philip has decided to step down from public life.

Millions online were more curious than ever about the life of the 95-year-old in the wake of the prince's announcement. Prince Philip has developed a reputation through the years for being brutally blunt, and is best known for his jarring and often offensive statements.

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One of his most notable in a string of gaffes as the Queen's consort came in 1999 when the prince reportedly made an offensive joke at the expense of children from the British Deaf Association standing next to a Caribbean steel band. The then 74-year-old said, "If you're near that music it's no wonder you're deaf," according to according to The Telegraph.

The infamous royal also apologized later that year after remarking that a fusebox bursting with wires looked "as if it was put in by an Indian," which sparked an overwhelming backlash from the public, prompting immediate condemnation, according to The Guardian.

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Prince Philip made yet another ill-judged remark in 2009 when he allegedly mocked the sight of a blind boy.

He and Queen Elizabeth II met a 15-year-old army cadet that was blinded in an IRA bombing, Stephen Menary. And after the queen asked the boy how much sight he had remaining, her husband said, "Not a lot, judging by the tie he's wearing," The Telegraph reported.

Aware of the black eye his gaffes have served to his bad reputation, Philip has once described his actions as symptoms of "Dontopedalogy...the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it, a science which I have practiced for a good many years," according to the The Daily Mail.

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