Prince Philip makes royal waves on three Queen ship tours
FORMER naval officer the Duke of Edinburgh was the ideal guest of honour for a celebration of three queens in Southampton yesterday.
He was marking the 10th birthday of Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 after she sailed into port with sister ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria playing Happy Birthday on their whistles.
Prince Philip, 92, was on good form, raising a laugh when he arrived in the bar to joke: “So here are all the alcoholics.”
Then he showed his unpredictable side refusing a request by the captain to sign a picture of the crew. “But I’m not in it,” he said and continued with his tour.
After the royal visit the Queen Mary 2 hosted a firework display last night before leaving once more for another trip to New York
He was also due to sound the ship’s whistle but again was not to be taken for granted.
An officer asked if “he would like to scare the local bird life?” But Philip responded “no” and again returned to the tour.
His sense of humour was on hand meeting some younger officers from different parts of the UK including Scotland, Ireland and Tyneside.
Prince Philip joked: “You can all understand each other, can you?” which was received with laughter.
After the royal visit the Queen Mary 2 hosted a firework display last night before leaving once more for another trip to New York.