Tam's Tall Tales
- Dennis the Menace Compared to Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Graphic © Carfax2 via Wikimedia Commons
Dennis the Menace Compared to Prince Philip
Quel cheek! DC Thomson, the publisher of the The Beano has published a cartoon of the monarch reading a comic and saying: "That Dennis causes trouble everywhere he goes . . . reminds me of my Philip!"
The edition was put out on the day when Her Majesty became the UK's longest-reigning monarch
The Dundee-based comic published a cartoon of the Queen and compared her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, to Dennis the Menace. The Duke of Edinburgh, also known as Prince Philip, is consort to Queen Elizabeth II.
You can see the send-up here:Beano/Queeno
During his sixty years as royal consort, Philip has become famous for making remarks that were often regarded as offensive or gaffes. Apologists for the Duke have described them as merely odd, off-colour, but often funny. Historian David Starkey has described him as a kind of "HRH Victor Meldrew" (a cantankerous TV character). During a state visit to the People's Republic of China in 1986, in a private conversation with British students Philip joked, "If you stay here much longer, you'll go slit-eyed." Chinese authorities were reportedly unconcerned. Chinese students studying in the UK, an official explained, were often told in jest not to stay away too long, lest they go "round-eyed"!
Mike Stirling, the editor-in-chief of The Beano, said: "We had heard that [the Queen] didn't want to make too much of a fuss about becoming our longest-reigning monarch.
"However, The Beano is very anti-establishment, so we decided to go against the Queen's wishes, in the nicest possible way.
"We've been cheeky, but not too cheeky, and think we've captured her very well. We don't want to end up in the Tower over this."
Mr Stirling revealed that the comic had gained royal approval in the past. He said: "Both William and Harry were members of the Dennis the Menace fan club back in the days of their youth.
"I met the Duke of Edinburgh a couple of years ago, and he admitted that he had been a Beano reader in the past."
Dennis is no stranger to royalty, having appeared on a commemorative postage stamp with the Queen who appears on all Royal Mail postage stamps.
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Tam O'Ranter
May 2014Return to Tam O'Ranter Index
