>Take a little tip from the Milum- If you think there is any way in forty hells that your remarks can be misconstrued, don't say it, they will.

I think that as a person he has a problem that I share, an over enthusiasm for irony. All his life he has mixed with people from all over the world, he's been presented with every kind of local native gizmo, seen every national costume, national dance etc - in the past few years the kind of comments that he would have got a laugh from in private have spilled over into the wider world where he is regarded less tolerantly. As I said before people are more likely to be upset if he doesn't say anything "outrageous". Princess Anne used to be well known for fighting with journalists but she is now their darling because she works hard and keeps her mouth shut. Perhaps she should travel with the Queen and leave poor old Phil at home killing wild animals and annoying the mother in law.

By the way, does anyone outside the UK get the "Royle Family" and Alistair McGowan's even funnier "Royal Family", wonderfully irreverent. Perhaps he's just playing up to his caricature.