LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Philip, the 95-year-old husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, joked on Thursday about no longer being able to “stand up much” as Buckingham Palace announced he would retire later this year from active public life. 
 
 Philip, who is also known as the Duke of Edinburgh and has sometimes drawn attention with headline-grabbing gaffes, has been by the queen’s side throughout her 65 years on the throne and she has described him as “my strength and stay”. 
 
 “Prince Philip will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August, both individually and accompanying The Queen,” the palace said in a statement. 
 
 “Thereafter, The Duke will not be accepting new invitations for visits and engagements, although he may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time.” 
 
 The queen, the world’s longest-reigning living monarch who celebrated her 91st birthday in April, will continue to carry out a full program of official engagements, the statement added. Polls show Elizabeth, who ascended to the throne in 1952, remains hugely popular among Britons. 
 
 At an engagement at St James’s Palace in central London with his wife on Thursday, a guest told Philip he was sorry to hear he was standing down. 
 
 “I can’t stand up much,” quipped the prince, whose off-the-cuff remarks have sometimes landed him in hot water. 
 
 The announcement of Philip’s retirement was made following a meeting of all senior royal staff at Buckingham Palace, news of which prompted media speculation about the health of the royals. 
 
 However a well-placed source said there was no cause for concern about the health of the queen or Philip, who turns 96 next month. The couple, who married at Westminster Abbey in 1947, are due to celebrate their platinum, or 70th, wedding anniversary in November. 
 
 They have both been cutting their workload in recent years, passing on many responsibilities to son and heir Prince Charles, and grandsons, Princes William and Harry. 
 
 Philip conducted 184 official appearances in the year to March 2016 and has racked up a total 22,191 solo engagements since 1952, official figures show. 
 
 Prime Minister Theresa May offered the country’s “deepest gratitude and good wishes” to Philip on his retirement. 
 
 GAFFES 
 
 Outspoken, irascible and intensely private, Philip, a Greek-born former naval officer, developed a reputation for brusque comments and occasional gaffes at some of the thousands of ceremonial events he has attended. 
 
 Britain's Prince Philip leaves Buckingham Palace in London, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall 
 
 A stray remark about “slitty eyes” during a visit to China in the 1980s became symbolic of his gruff and often unguarded manner. Even into his 90s, his off-the-cuff remarks could still get him into trouble, such as when he exasperatedly swore at a photographer at an event in 2015. 
 
 However, the queen and other royals say he has been a crucial figure during her long reign. 
 
 “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years,” Elizabeth said in a very rare personal tribute to Philip during a speech to mark their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997. 
 
 Despite being at the forefront of the royal family for almost 70 years and also patron, president or a member of more than 780 organizations, he has no clear-cut constitutional role and has admitted struggling to carve out a role for himself as the queen’s consort. 
 
 “There was no precedent. If I asked somebody ‘what do you expect me to do?’ they all looked blank - they had no idea, nobody had much idea,” he told the BBC in an interview to mark his 90th birthday. 
 
 Both the queen and Philip have suffered some health issues in recent years. The queen missed a traditional Christmas church service last year for the first time in decades due to a heavy cold and was hospitalized in March 2013 with symptoms of gastroenteritis. 
 
 Philip underwent “an exploratory operation following abdominal investigations” in 2013. 
 
 He was also hospitalized for a bladder infection during the queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations the year before, and spent Christmas 2011 in hospital where he underwent an operation to clear a blocked heart artery after suffering chest pains. 
 
 Slideshow (32 Images) 
 
 Such setbacks did not deter Philip from his royal duties. He even drove former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife around the grounds of the royals’ Windsor Castle residence during a visit last year. 
 
 “I have to say I have never been driven by a Duke of Edinburgh before, but I can report it was very smooth riding,” Obama said. ||||| This article is over 1 year old 
 
 Duke of Edinburgh’s reputation for plain speaking has often led to controversy, but he has also been called a national treasure 
 
 The Duke of Edinburgh has shocked and sometimes delighted the public with his outspoken comments and clangers. 
 
 His reputation for plain speaking has often led to controversy, but he was once called a “national treasure” by the press for his inability to curb his off-the-cuff remarks. 
 
 Prince Philip to retire from public engagements, says palace Read more 
 
 He claimed he was misunderstood. In fact, the duke has been “misunderstood” almost everywhere he has been. 
 
 Here are some of Philip’s famous phrases: 
 
 “What do you gargle with, pebbles?” (speaking to the singer Tom Jones after the 1969 Royal Variety Performance) 
 
 
 
 (speaking to the singer Tom Jones after the 1969 Royal Variety Performance) “I declare this thing open, whatever it is.” (on a visit to Canada in 1969) 
 
 
 
 (on a visit to Canada in 1969) “Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed.” (during the 1981 recession) 
 
 
 
 (during the 1981 recession) “If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.” (at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting) 
 
 
 
 “It looks like a tart’s bedroom.” (on seeing plans for the Duke and Duchess of York’s house at Sunninghill Park in 1988) 
 
 
 
 (on seeing plans for the Duke and Duchess of York’s house at Sunninghill Park in 1988) “Yak, yak, yak; come on, get a move on.” (shouted from the deck of Britannia in Belize in 1994 to the Queen, who was chatting to her hosts on the quayside) 
 
 
 
 “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?” (to a driving instructor in Oban, Scotland, during a 1995 walkabout) 
 
 “Bloody silly fool!” (in 1997, referring to a Cambridge University car park attendant who did not recognise him) 
 
 “It looks as if it was put in by an Indian.” (pointing at an old-fashioned fusebox in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999) 
 
 (pointing at an old-fashioned fusebox in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999) “Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf.” (to young deaf people in Cardiff, in 1999, referring to a school’s steel band) 
 
 
 
 (to young deaf people in Cardiff, in 1999, referring to a school’s steel band) “They must be out of their minds.” (in the Solomon Islands, in 1982, when he was told that the annual population growth was 5%) 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest (Prince Philip supposedly asked the Queen at her coronation: ‘Where did you get that hat?’ Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock 
 
 “If you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.” (to British students in China, during the 1986 state visit) 
 
 
 
 “You can’t have been here that long – you haven’t got a pot belly.” (to a Briton in Budapest, Hungary, in 1993) 
 
 
 
 “I wish he’d turn the microphone off.” (muttered at the Royal Variety Performance as he watched Sir Elton John perform in 2001) 
 
 
 
 (muttered at the Royal Variety Performance as he watched Sir Elton John perform in 2001) “Do you still throw spears at each other?” (in Australia in 2002, talking to a successful Indigenous Australian entrepreneur) 
 
 
 
 (in Australia in 2002, talking to a successful Indigenous Australian entrepreneur) “You look like a suicide bomber.” (to a young female officer wearing a bullet-proof vest on Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in 2002) 
 
 
 
 “There’s a lot of your family in tonight.” (after looking at the name badge of the businessman Atul Patel at a palace reception for British Indians in 2009) 
 
 
 
 “Do you have a pair of knickers made out of this?” (pointing to some tartan, to the Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie at a papal reception in Edinburgh in 2010) 
 
 
 
 “I hope he breaks his bloody neck.” (when a photographer covering a royal visit to India fell out of a tree) 
 
 
 
 (when a photographer covering a royal visit to India fell out of a tree) “If it doesn’t fart or eat hay, she’s not interested.” (on the Princess Royal) 
 
 
 
 (on the Princess Royal) “When a man opens a car door for his wife, it’s either a new car or a new wife.” (on marriage) 
 
 ||||| Image copyright Getty Images 
 
 The Duke of Edinburgh's public engagements often produce memorable one-liners that can make some people chuckle and others cringe. 
 
 Prince Philip is renowned for speaking his mind - often explained as his attempt to lighten the mood - and that outspoken nature has at times led to controversy with some of those remarks teetering on the edge of being offensive. 
 
 Here are some of his most famous quips. 
 
 1966: "British women can't cook". 
 
 1969: "What do you gargle with, pebbles?" To Sir Tom Jones after a Royal Variety Performance. 
 
 1981: "Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed." During the 1981 recession. 
 
 1984: "You are a woman, aren't you?" In Kenya after accepting a small gift from a local woman. 
 
 1986: "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed." To a group of British students during a royal visit to China. 
 
 Image copyright PA Image caption The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited China in 1986 
 
 1988: "It looks like a tart's bedroom." On seeing plans for the Duke and Duchess of York's house at Sunninghill Park. 
 
 1992: "Oh no, I might catch some ghastly disease." In Australia when asked to stroke a koala. 
 
 1993: "You can't have been here that long, you haven't got a pot belly". To a Briton he met in Hungary. 
 
 1994: "Aren't most of you descended from pirates?" To a wealthy islander in the Cayman Islands. 
 
 1995: "How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to pass the test." To a Scottish driving instructor. 
 
 1996: "If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?" In response to calls to ban firearms after the Dunblane shooting. 
 
 1997: "Bloody silly fool!" Referring to a Cambridge University car park attendant who did not recognise him. 
 
 1999: "Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf." Speaking to a group of young deaf people in Cardiff who were standing near a steel band. 
 
 1999: "It looks as if it was put in by an Indian." Referring to an old-fashioned fuse box in a factory near Edinburgh. 
 
 2001: "You're too fat to be an astronaut." To 13-year-old Andrew Adams who told Prince Philip he wanted to go into space. 
 
 2002: "Still throwing spears?" Question put to an Australian Aborigine during a visit. 
 
 Image copyright PA 
 
 2002: "You look like a suicide bomber." To a young policewoman wearing a bullet-proof vest on Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. 
 
 2009: "There's a lot of your family in tonight." After looking at the name badge of businessman Atul Patel at a Palace reception for British Indians. 
 
 2009: "Well, you didn't design your beard too well, did you?" To designer Stephen Judge about his tiny goatee beard. 
 
 2010: "Do you have a pair of knickers made out of this?" To Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie Pointing while pointing to some tartan in Edinburgh. 
 
 2010: "Do you work in a strip club?" To 24-year-old Barnstaple Sea Cadet Elizabeth Rendle when she told him she also worked in a nightclub. 
 
 2012: "I would get arrested if I unzipped that dress." To 25-year-old council worker Hannah Jackson, who was wearing a dress with a zip running the length of its front, on a Jubilee visit to Bromley, Kent. 
 
 2013: "The Philippines must be half empty as you're all here running the NHS." On meeting a Filipino nurse at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. 
 
 2013: "[Children] go to school because their parents don't want them in the house." To Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban and now campaigns for the right of girls to go to school without fear. 
 
 2017: "You look starved." To a pensioner on a visit to the Charterhouse almshouse for elderly men. ||||| A Labour shadow minister has been branded "shameful" for using the Duke of Edinburgh's decision to retire to promote a campaign about pension inequality. 
 
 Chi Onwurah was forced to defend her decision to tweet about Prince Philip's announcement after Conservative candidate Nadhim Zahawi called on her to apologise for the remarks. 
 
 Ms Onwurah tweeted: "Congratulations to Prince Philip on retiring in financial security at time of his choosing from a job he enjoys #forthemanynotthefew #waspi." ||||| That, in my experience, is what usually happens and it is always most impressive because by that time the seal is usually missing and the writing is both illegible and unintelligible anyway.’ 
 
 He strongly advised them to look after the charter ‘because, throughout history, a document of some sort had always been looked upon as a sort of passport to respectability and, without it, you will never be able to prove – whatever it is you want to prove.’ 
 
 On modernising Buckingham Palace 
 
 He also tackled the age-old custom of the bottle of whisky that appeared by the Queen’s bedside every night, even though she had not ordered it. He discovered that Queen Victoria had once had a cold and had asked for a Scotch before bedtime. As the order had never been rescinded, the servants continued to bring whisky every night some eighty years later. 
 
 On popularity 
 
 Prince Philip was never much taken in by his opulent surroundings. ‘In the first years of the Queen’s reign, the level of adulation – you wouldn’t believe it,’ he said. ‘You really wouldn’t. It could have been corroding. It would have been very easy to play to the gallery, but I took a conscious decision not to do that. Safer not to be too popular. You can’t fall too far.’ ||||| While Elizabeth mourned her father, Philip mourned the end of his free life and the year ahead was to be a bruising one as he struggled to find a new sense of purpose. “There were plenty of people telling me what not to do,” he recalled. “I had to try to support the Queen as best I could without getting in the way. The difficulty was to find things that might be useful.” 
 
 He determined to act as Elizabeth’s “eyes and ears”, getting around the country, visiting factories and coal mines, broadening her experience by proxy and keeping her informed about public opinion. But at every turn, there seemed to be an attempt to undermine him. He felt deeply wounded by a decision that the family name of Windsor should be retained and his children would therefore not bear his surname. 
 
 They were obliged to move from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace, where he found he was no longer master of his own house. His modernising instincts did not go down well with some of the starchier courtiers - though a veteran of three reigns later admitted that the questions Philip asked were “exactly those which lots of us had wanted to ask for years.” Edward Ford, a young courtier, thought his arrival was “like a breath of fresh air.” 
 
 Philip broke new ground by carrying his own luggage and refusing to ring a bell to order food. When electric frying pans came onto the market, he took to cooking his own eggs and bacon in their private dining room – until Elizabeth complained that the smell lingered until lunchtime.
– Prince Philip was making jokes at a public appearance after his upcoming retirement was announced Thursday. During an event at St. James's Palace, when a guest told the Duke of Edinburgh he was sorry to hear he would be standing down, the 95-year-old replied, "I can't stand up much," Reuters reports. Philip's off-the-cuff quips and remarks—often seen as gaffes—have been the subject of much media attention in the wake of the announcement. That, and other coverage: The BBC has a timeline of some of Philip's biggest gaffes. In 1986, for example, he told a group of British students visiting China, "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed." The Guardian has its own list of Philip's "clangers," including the time he asked an indigenous Australian entrepreneur, "Do you still throw spears at each other? But Philip was also known for being humorous—the Telegraph calls him "by far the funniest" royal, and takes a look at Philip in his own words via nuggets from a book about him. The Telegraph also looks back at how Philip wooed Queen Elizabeth. One adorable detail? During their courtship, Elizabeth often listened to "People Will Say We're in Love" from the musical Oklahoma! Speaking of the queen, the Times of London says that many have long wondered how she'll fare without him by her side at royal engagements. Its take on the matter here. One UK politician is being criticized for using Philip's resignation to promote a campaign about pension inequality. The Independent has the story. Brits are responding with quips of their own; one Twitter user joked that the queen "trolled the entire world" by calling an emergency meeting of the royal household staff, making the situation seem more dire than it turned out to be. The Washington Post has a roundup of reactions. One Brit, though, is calling for an end to the monarchy. Despite his often xenophobic gaffes, "this man has continued to be allowed to at least partly represent Britain for more than 50 years. If there were ever a moment to question our own complacency as a nation, this is it," writes Sirena Bergman in the Independent.