Prince Philip in trouble again over tie remark

London: He's notorious for his ability to put his foot in his mouth at the drop of a brick.

And now another tale of Prince Philip's astonishing gaffability has emerged.

Meeting a teenage army cadet who lost nearly all his sight in an IRA bomb attack, the prince managed to poke fun at his dress sense.

Stephen Menary had just been asked by Queen Elizabeth how much he could still see. To which Prince Philip quickly interjected: "Not a lot, judging by that tie."

Stephen was in fact wearing the uniform of the Middlesex and North-West London Army Cadet Force, which includes a red, blue and yellow tie.

The blunder happened at a tree-planting ceremony in Hyde Park in London when Stephen was only 15.

Last night his mother Carol described the moment the remark slipped out — to the apparent horror of the Queen.

"I was gobsmacked," said Mrs Menary. "The Queen looked like she wanted to plant Philip next to Stephen's tree. Maybe it was a joke to put us at ease, but it was the wrong sort of joke."

Strange humour

Menary added that she did not think Philip's remark had been malicious.

"It's just how he is," she said. "His brain is not in gear. I always had respect for the Royal Family and I have not lost respect but he's a strange man with a strange sense of humour."