Prince Philip Anecdotes: Cutlery Advice & Escaping a Boring Slide Show

The first anecdote involving Prince Philip is well-known in Canada. I’ve seen versions where the incident was supposed to have occurred “in a lumber camp in the wilds of northern Ontario” and on “a Royal Visit to Saskatchewan.” The second one is new to me.

https://www.timescolonist.com/letters-april-13-tales-about-a-prince-why-building-bicycle-lanes-makes-sense-1.24306543

Times Colonist [Victoria, BC], 13 April 2021

Letters

A Yukon highlight for the Duke of Edinburgh

I am saddened to learn of the passing of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

May I recount one of the stories of his 1954 visit to “the wilds of colonial Canada.” He is reputed to love to tell this anecdote to visiting Canadian dignitaries over a cocktail.

Philip was scheduled to visit the Yukon during his 1954 visit. At the time, the Royal Canadian Air Force had a small station in Whitehorse. The commanding officer thought he had best put on a mess dinner in honour of the duke’s visit.

The officer’s mess did not have sufficient serving staff, so they recruited several waitresses from the local cafes to work the dinner.

The staff were trained in all the proper etiquette; serve from the right, pick up from the left, only speak when spoken to and then always address him as “Your Highness.”

All went well at the dinner. The wine was poured, toasts were made, dinner served. Having finished his meal, Prince Philip set his knife and fork at the proper 4 o’clock position on the plate.

The waitress bent in from the left to pick up the plate and exclaimed:

“Hold on to your fork Dukie, there’s pie coming!”

Bob Kanngiesser

Port Alberni

Prince Philip knew what had to be done

My parents were good friends with Gar and Lorna Dixon, who ran Government House for many years.

They met all the royals. Here is a quick story about Prince Philip:

“They” were staying at Government House.

After dinner there was a slide show about something that went on perhaps a bit too long.

After a few too many slides, Commander Gar decided to sneak out for a breather. He realized he might be seen, so he crawled on his hands and knees in the darkness and nearly knocked heads with the Duke, doing the same thing.

Rick Stevens

Victoria

"Queen, you said a mouthful!"

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59962

George H. Ham, Reminiscences of a Raconteur. Toronto: The Musson Book Company, 1921.

Mayor Hylan and the Queen

That reminds me of something altogether different—the mention of Mayor Hylan’s name—which has nothing whatever to do with the case, but as I am writing these reminiscences higgledy piggledy, just as they occur to me, the reader needn’t mind.

When the King and Queen of Belgium visited New York, His Honor was greatly in evidence. He is very democratic, you know, whatever that may be. He introduced His Majesty to one of his friends in this way: “King, this is Mister Jack Walsh, one of our very best officials.” That was the democratic way, all right enough, but he went one better in the afternoon, when there was a grand parade of school children, which was reviewed by Belgium’s royalty. The grouped children to the number of ten or fifteen thousand sang the national anthems of America and Belgium to the intense delight of their Majesties.

After the function was ended, Her Majesty gratefully acknowledged to His Honor her great pleasure at witnessing such a sublime spectacle.

“Your Honor,” she said sweetly, “I can scarcely express my feeling at seeing so many well dressed, highly cultured young people and hearing their sweet voices in perfect unison singing the beloved native song of my country. You should be proud of them. America should be, for in them are those who will grow up to be the future fathers and mothers of a race that will make the United States a wonderfully great and grand country—perhaps the greatest in the world.”

And His Honor democratically replied:

“Queen, you said a mouthful that time.”

Then, even Her Majesty smiled, and the others merely laughed.

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The New Yorker

20 March 1926, p. 12.

THE TALK OF THE TOWN

Queens

We are among those who often wondered if the story so often told on a certain lady recently prominent in the life of New York City were really true. We refer to her conversation with the Queen of the Belgians, in which, it was averred, the latter having expressed admiration for the splendid specimens of soldiers in a Fifth Avenue parade, the local hostess replied, "Queen, you spoke a mouthful." The story, has, in fact, become so much a part of tradition that the genial Richard Barthelmess, in his latest picture depicting the dashing Crown Prince of the imaginary Kingdom of Koronia arriving in New York, is met by a politician who promptly says, "Prince, you spoke a mouthful."

And now we are able to throw some light on the subject. We have met a young Egyptologist who represented a leading museum in the recent archeological excavations in the Valley of Kings, and who was introduced to Queen Elizabeth of Belgium at an official tomb opening. A short conversation ensued, during which the American inquired casually about the famous bon mot.

"I too have heard that story," the gracious queen replied. "But I do not recall the incident. You see, the good lady said so many things I did not understand that I really cannot say."

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The New Yorker

29 July 1933, p. 18.

PROFILES

EGYPTOLOGIST

Geoffrey T. Hellman

[...] When the Queen of Belgium was at Luxor a few years ago, [Herbert Winlock, director of New York's Metropolitan Museum and curator of its Egyptian Department] sat next to her at lunch, trying to screw up enough courage to ask her whether Mrs. Hylan ever really said, "Queen, you said a mouthful." Unsuccessful, he approached an aide-de-camp after the meal and told him his trouble. A few weeks later he got a letter from the aide-de-camp. "Her Majesty," it read, "does not recall the incident, but says she heard so many incomprehensible things when she was in America that this was quite probably one of them." [...]

Yosan Bubblegum Contest (Indonesia) – Brad Steiger Debates Carl Sagan, Wins –Guard Misplaces Gun (India) –

https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/05/10/yosan-bubblegums-missing-letter-n-found-busting-decades-long-myth.html

The Jakarta Post

10 May 2019

Yosan bubblegum's missing letter ‘N’ found, busting decades-long myth

Those who grew up in Indonesia in the 90s may remember Yosan, a local bubblegum brand. Popular among children, the chewing gum was also known for its collect-and-win game. Offering interesting prizes, the game was simple, as one only needed to collect five different candy wrappers that each bore the letters Y-O-S-A-N. For decades, many tried their luck, unwrapping the paper covers and trying to collect all the letters. However, finding the letter “N” was like looking for a needle in a haystack, leading people to believe that the company had never actually printed the letter “N” and that it was only a marketing tactic. […]

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https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/05/brad-steiger-trickster-phenomena-carl-sagan-and-more/

Mysterious Universe

11 May 2018

Brad Steiger: Trickster Phenomena, Carl Sagan and More

[…] [Brad Steiger:] “In a most bizarre twist, dozens of men and women have approached me at various lectures and seminars, congratulating me about the manner in which I bested Dr. Carl Sagan in debate. The event allegedly occurred after a lecture when I happened to bump into the great scientist in a restaurant.  The eatery, according to the witnesses, was crowded with those who had attended the seminar, and they egged on a debate between myself and Dr. Sagan.  I mopped up the floor with him, countering his every argument against the reality of UFOs. The truth is that I never met Dr. Sagan, therefore, neither had I ever debated him. But from coast to coast, there are those who claim to have witnessed my triumphal bout.” […]

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https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/musings/the-right-kind-of-chowkidars/773556.html

The Tribune [India]

16 May 2019

The right kind of chowkidars

V Viswanathan

[…] I have heard of a monumental goof-up story in a high security setup. I am not certain if it is apocryphal. The establishment had invited a senior official from another organisation as a delegate for an important meeting. The delegate drove in his car. As part of routine check, his car was stopped at the main gate. A gun-toting guard asked him to open the boot and after clearance, he was allowed to proceed. But there was another gate the delegate had to cross. At the next gate, the executive was stopped again and was asked to open the car’s boot. He did so. This time, the guard who inspected the boot became furious and started grilling him, suspecting him to be a terrorist! Did he notice anything in the boot? Yes. A machine gun! The visiting executive was clueless how the weapon shot itself into the boot. Within minutes, the guard got a call from his colleague stationed at the main gate. ‘My machine gun is missing. Looks like I placed it in a car’s boot while checking and forgot to take it out. Did you by any chance spot it?’ […]

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https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/qv7jmp/heroin-overdose-parties-are-a-dehumanizing-myth

VICE

16 May 2019

Heroin Overdose Parties Are a Dehumanizing Myth

[…] “Narcan parties” hit the news cycle in 2017 when media outlets like the Atlanta Journal-Constitution began reporting them as the newest scourge on their communities […]. The idea is that opioid users gather together, stocked up on Narcan (the main brand name of naloxone) and take turns intentionally overdosing and reviving one another. Believers of this myth theorize that people at these parties can “use the opioids to whatever degree [they] want,” attaining an optimal high with the safety net of being revived. […]

Muhammad Ali Throws 20 Punches in One (Slow) Second

Barry Barkan, “ ‘The Greatest’ – Still!” Fifth Estate (Detroit), vol. 5, no. 5, July 9-22, 1970, p. 4.