Brusque, avuncular, and with a reputation for being overly plain-speaking, Prince Philip has over seven decades been a formidable presence at the side of Queen Elizabeth II as she made the countless round of dinners, ceremonies and other engagements expected of the British monarch.

A product of the “stiff upper lip” era, the prince, 95 — who Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday was stepping back from his public duties — has over the years produced a remarkable collection of politically incorrect, tone deaf and, on occasion, outrageous one-liners that have been gleefully recorded by generations of British journalists.

We have compiled some notable examples here.

“I declare this thing open, whatever it is.”

— 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

“It looks as if it was put in by an Indian.”

— Pointing to an old-fashioned fuse box in a factory near Edinburgh in 1999

“Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf.”

— To young deaf people in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999, referring to a school’s steel band