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Prince Philip has shown what a national treasure he is again during his and the Queen's state visit to Slovenia.

In these days of political correctness, it is good to have an ambassador for Britain who isn't afraid to say what he - and probably the majority of people - thinks.

This week, the Queen's husband told Dr Maja Uran that "Tourism is just national prostitution. We don’t need any more tourists. They ruin cities.’

Tourism? It's just national prostitution, says Prince Philip

By Christopher Leake
25th October 2008
Daily Mail

Prince Philip branded tourism 'national prostitution' while speaking to Dr Maja Uran in Slovenia last week

Prince Philip has branded tourism ‘national prostitution’ in his latest unfortunate gaffe.
He made the shocking comment to a professor during his State visit with the Queen to Slovenia last week.

Dr Maja Uran revealed that the 87-year-old Duke told her: ‘Tourism is just national prostitution.’

He went on: ‘We don’t need any more tourists. They ruin cities.’

His comments come despite royal aides regularly stressing the importance of tourists to Britain’s economy – with one million visiting Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle each year.

It follows other infamous faux pas by the Prince – including telling a British student in China he would get ‘slitty eyes’ and asking Aborigines in Australia: ‘Do you still throw spears at each other?’

Dr Uran, associate professor of tourism at the University of Primorska, was among four groups of experts who met Philip last Tuesday at the Hotel Union in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.

She told Philip she wanted to organise a network of people with local knowledge to help tourists. But she said: ‘He laughed and said, “Tourism is just national prostitution.”

‘I couldn’t quite believe he used that word and we all collapsed in embarrassment.’

She claimed afterwards that a lot of what Philip said ‘made sense’.

Attractive brunette Dr Uran, 38, added: ‘I think the Prince was charming and very funny. He had a twinkle in his eye and I thought he was very handsome. As a younger man, I’m sure he was very good-looking.

‘I think he is an amazing person to go round meeting people for more than 50 years.

Sometimes it must have been very boring, but he looks as though he makes a real effort to take an interest.’

Millions of visitors have flocked to Buckingham Palace since it first opened to the public in 1993

Philip’s wisecracks continued when he spoke to blonde Maja Oven. When the 36-year-old told him her group had proposed meeting points in cities for people to discuss ideas, he replied: ‘They call those supermarkets, don’t they?’

The Queen did not hear his remarks because she was carrying out duties elsewhere in the city.

Ashley Walton, co-author of the book Duke Of Hazard: The Wit And Wisdom Of Prince Philip, said last night: ‘I think it’s fantastic that the Duke is still cracking jokes and making people laugh at his age.

‘He is a national treasure and we ought to appreciate him more. Very occasionally he might upset someone but he doesn’t mean to offend and it’s refreshing to find a public figure who is not afraid to be politically incorrect.’

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘We would never discuss anything Prince Philip might have said.’

READERS' COMMENTS

I agree.............good for prince Philip,
- Roge Wheeler, Mexico

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Despite his occasional gaffs ,he is a good and funny ambassador for the UK .
- sansom, romania

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Actually he has a point !
Im fed up of his so called gaffes being always seen as negative points!
It really depends on how you inteperate it,
Its a form of social realism all thoses ex comunist countries are doing it in one for or another....They market an offer and you buy into it or not personally I prefer the costal curves of Croatia to the rather distant austere barroque of Slovenia!
- David Rees, Paris France

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He's a great character, I like him, any chance we could get him on his own TV show.
- Adrian Peirson, Luton

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That's my man Philip, have a laugh!
- CHARLES WILLIAMS, WOLVERHAMPTON, UK

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Don't you just love this guy? He's the Basil Faulty of the Royal Family!
- Graham K Smith, Tenerife

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He's one of the only people in public life who talks common sense. His "gaffes" are invariably funny, and are nothing more than what most people think. Not PC maybe, but 90%+ of the population aren't PC. It's just we're ruled by the other 10%.
- Steve Jacks, London

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I never ever thought I'd say this, but Prince Philip is actually right.
If you go to an area dependent on tourism (and I'm from the Lake District, so I should know) the way the locals treat tourists is often exactly the way I would imagine a prostitute feels when she sees a customer approaching. -Glad of the money, but resentful that you are dependent on it.
- Holly, LeicesteR

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I think he shoulod be employed to coach the prime Minister of Gloom, G Brown, to lighten his act up a bit. It's great that the Duke doesn't take himself and others too seriously.
- Norris Lockley, Settle UK

dailymail.co.uk

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Holebender · Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 7:10 pm Post subject:

And he said this while on tour to Slovenia?

I'm sure the irony is completely lost on the man.
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Aventinian · Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject:

In some ways, I can see what he's getting at. Despite being a monarchist, I've always found the tourist argument for retaining the monarchy quite distasteful for example.

HB: he is not a tourist in Slovenia, he is performing his duties as consort to the Queen and as a representative of the United Kingdom.

agentmancuso · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:40 pm Post subject:

If it wasn't for tourism he'd be out of a job.
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It's murder every week at Firhill.

Aventinian · Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject:

Runaway Weegie · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:52 am Post subject:

Blackadder · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject:

The Germano-Greek, Philip Mountebank is a senile old git ... as opposed to when he was a senile young git ... and needs to be knocked on the head after his carefully plotted murder of his former daughter-in-law and here boyfriend during a car-chase in Paris, France. Twisted Evil

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