Why the Queen was told not to marry Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wave at the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace. Photo / Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II was told not to marry Prince Philip because he was too funny.

That's according to biographer A.N. Wilson who told a crowd at the Cheltenham Literary Festival that the Queen was warned Philip was "the wrong person".

"When she made it quite clear from the age of about 14 that she was in love with Prince Philip, who was a beautiful German Prince with blond hair, all the courtiers said he was entirely the wrong person to choose," he said, according to The Telegraph.

"They said it for lots of reasons, but the fact is he was wrong. The Queen is very reserved, diligent person. He isn't. He was a naval officer and he was also quite funny."

The couple were married in 1947 when Elizabeth II was just 21 years old and she ascended to the throne five years later after the death of her father, King George VI.

The biographer described Prince Philip's jokes as "extremely funny" and gave an example by revealing what he said to the Queen right after her coronation.

He allegedly said, "where did you get that hat?"

"The fact that he makes all these so-called gaffes, well I don't think they are gaffes," Wilson said.

"They are the kind of jokes a naval officer of a certain age might make. I think [they are] made rather wonderfully."

Here are some lines that Prince Philip has uttered in the past:

In 1967 Prince Philip was asked if he'd like to visit the Soviet Union. He replied with, "I would like to go to Russia very much, although the bastards murdered half my family."

In 1981 during the recession he said: "Everybody was saying we must have more leisure. Now they are complaining they are unemployed".

In 1986 he told some British exchange students living in China: "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed."

In 1999 he told a group of kids from the British Deaf Association who were standing next to a Caribbean steel band: "If you're near that music it's no wonder you're deaf".

In 2009 he told a young male fashion designer: "You didn't design your beard too well, did you? You really must try better with your beard."

When he met the President of Nigeria, who was dressed in traditional robes, Prince Philip said: "You look like you're ready for bed."