Prince Philip caused outrage after claiming royal coffers were emptying

Prince Philip has always been a bit of a controversial figure in the British royal family due to his outspoken nature.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s unfiltered personality once landed him in a great deal of trouble with Queen Elizabeth II who was left humiliated after her husband said they were going broke.

Back in 1969, Prince Philip travelled to the United States during the period when the royal family was bent on appearing approachable and visible.

Royal author Ben Pimlott wrote in his book, The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II: “Cynics detected [a] motive behind Buckingham Palace’s sudden interest in raising the monarch’s public profile: money.”

The duke in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, admitted that the monarchy’s coffers were emptying up.

“We go into the red next year, now, inevitably if nothing happens we shall have to – I don’t know, we may have to move into smaller premises. For instance, we had a small yacht which we had to sell, and I shall have to give up polo fairly soon…” he had said.

Royal author Sarah Bradford wrote in her book, Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Our Times, how the public had reacted to the careless statement by Philip.

“Prince Philip’s remarks ensured bombshell headlines: complaints from a rich man about having to give up luxuries like yachts and polo made the worst possible public impression,” she wrote.