More Reputation Management For Prince Phillip

Prince Phillip seems to be in need of yet more reputation management. His latest “foot in the mouth” moment came as he asked a female Navy cadet whether she worked in a strip club. The publicity agents behind the Royals are surely tearing their hair out as the Duke of Edinburgh opened his mouth again. Thankfully for his PR agency the Navy cadet was not offended and thought Prince Phillip was just trying to put people at ease.

Unfortunately for the Duke of Edinburgh this has not always been the case. During a visit to China in 1986 Prince Phillip remarked, “If you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed”. This sort of comment is certainly not one which should be made by anyone and definitely not by a member of the British Royal Family when visiting their country.

Another memorable and cringe worthy moment followed when Prince Phillip appeared to be mocking a boy blinded in an IRA bomb attack. In this case it is reported the Queen was highly unimpressed at the comment and stared at her husband open mouthed. Again crisis management was averted as the boy disregarded the comment saying “I don’t think there’s any malice in what he says”.

However, it is not just the Royal PR consultants who are left wondering, “What on earth were they thinking”. Sports PR representatives were left flabbergasted when former NBA star Tim Hardaway stated live on Miami radio “I hate gay people” in 2007. Then there was Mel Gibson and his anti Semitic comments, Paris Hilton and some racist allegations and of course BNP leader Nick Griffin’s denial of the Holocaust.

Those that say actions speak louder than words were probably not referring to the actions of R.Kelly or Rob Lowe who reportedly had relations with underage girls. They are probably not referring to the moment Michael Jackson dangled his baby over the edge of a balcony or when Hugh grant approached a prostitute.

The reality is that all celebrities are human and humans make mistakes but in the case of celebrities it is testing the ability of effective public relations and probably some people’s patience!