
BNPS_PincePhilipPotshotsAustralia_02.jpg


BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)
Pic: InternationalAutographAuction/BNPS
Pictured: In the letter, Philip unflatteringly describes the Australian public servant Sir Henry Bland, who he met during the trip, as a 'small, dark balding man with large eyes and a rubbery face'.
A hard-hitting letter from Prince Philip taking several pot-shots at Australia has come to light.
The famously forthright Royal said in the 1965 correspondence to British businessman Sir Howard Hartley that its nationalists were unfairly hostile towards Britain yet showed 'almost excessive gratitude' towards the United States.
This, he theorised, was because the US had come to Australia's aid in World War Two, sending its military might to defend them from Japan. However, Philip felt they were overlooking that Britain was 'fighting for its life in Europe'.
In the same letter, which is being sold with International Autograph Auction, he says if Australia did things half as well as Britain or Canada they could 'be pleased with themselves'.
It is not the first time Philip has offended Australians, as when asked to stroke a Koala bear during a visit in 1992, he allegedly said: "Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease." And in 2002, he reportedly told Aboriginal businessman William Brin: "Do you still throw spears at each other?"
Pic: InternationalAutographAuction/BNPS
Pictured: In the letter, Philip unflatteringly describes the Australian public servant Sir Henry Bland, who he met during the trip, as a 'small, dark balding man with large eyes and a rubbery face'.
A hard-hitting letter from Prince Philip taking several pot-shots at Australia has come to light.
The famously forthright Royal said in the 1965 correspondence to British businessman Sir Howard Hartley that its nationalists were unfairly hostile towards Britain yet showed 'almost excessive gratitude' towards the United States.
This, he theorised, was because the US had come to Australia's aid in World War Two, sending its military might to defend them from Japan. However, Philip felt they were overlooking that Britain was 'fighting for its life in Europe'.
In the same letter, which is being sold with International Autograph Auction, he says if Australia did things half as well as Britain or Canada they could 'be pleased with themselves'.
It is not the first time Philip has offended Australians, as when asked to stroke a Koala bear during a visit in 1992, he allegedly said: "Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease." And in 2002, he reportedly told Aboriginal businessman William Brin: "Do you still throw spears at each other?"
©InternationalAutograph/BNPS 5 Jul 2020 2501x3145 / 4.6MB