Prince Philip had perfect response in bitter argument with fellow sailor

Prince Philip once furiously put down a fellow sailor by name-dropping his wife, the Queen, according to one anecdote.

The Duke of Edinburgh, having spent 13 years in the Royal Navy, was a keen sailor. He liked to go down to Cowes Week, which is the oldest and largest annual sailing regatta in the world and is held on the Isle of Wight.

While sailing on the Isle of Wight once, he reportedly had a disagreement with another sailor about who should give way, the Express reports.

There are numerous complicated rules over who should give way in what scenario on public waterways and in this case, both sides felt they should have the right of way.

As the argument escalated, the other sailor asked over the radio whether Philip “owns this bit of the sea”, presumably meant as a rhetorical question.

Little did he know he was speaking to the monarch’s husband who quipped: “Well, I don’t, but my wife…!”

Pod Save the Queen is hosted by Ann Gripper and features Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers.

Ms Gripper recalled the story after reading it in a diary column, although she acknowledged that it may be “apocryphal” ‒ a story widely believed to be true but may not be.

She said: “There was some sailor out sailing around the Isle of Wight ‒ I don’t know whether it was around Cowes Week or just in general ‒ anyway, so he’s sailing and there’s a bit of a debate about who should give way.

“There are all kinds of complicated rules which I can never understand like the motor has to give way to sail but then if you’re sailing and the other person is sailing it depends which way the wind is going and ‒ I don’t know ‒ which kind of a tack you’re on?

“Anyway, so there was a bit of disagreement over the radio about who should be giving way.

“It’s like, ‘Give way please,’ ‘Why should I give way?’ ‘Please give way,’ ‘No, give way,’ ‘Who do you think you are? Do you own this bit of the sea?’

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“You can guess what’s coming next: ‘Well, I don’t, but my wife…’ – which I just think you can totally imagine happening.”

Mr Myers guffawed at the story, saying: “It’s like a Fawlty Towers/Monty Python sketch!”

Ms Gripper said she felt it was “too good not to share”.

Stories and anecdotes about the Duke have poured in since his death on April 9.