Prince Philip (left) with grandsons.

It’s a little odd that when most of us make a joke, it’s called a joke, but when Prince Philip does it, it’s branded a “gaffe”.

The Queen apparently relishes his “gaffes” and finds them funny; others shake their heads in humourless disapproval.

Now we have a new book on the market listing Philip’s efforts. Kindly, the authors refer to them as “wit and wisdom”. The book is Duke of Hazard: The Wit and Wisdom of Prince Philip by Phil Dampier and Ashley Walton.

Published just 10 days before the Prince’s 85th birthday, the tome has summoned a rejoinder from Philip’s private secretary, Sir Miles Hunt-Davis: “My predecessor worked here for 30 years and I have worked with the Duke of Edinburgh for 15 years. If he had been as ascerbic as presented, he wouldn’t have kept the staff that he has. These extracts are not indicative of the man as a whole.”

Examples of Prince Philip’s Wit

“And what exotic part of the world do you come from then?”
To Lord Taylor of Warwick, who’s black and comes from Birmingham.

“If it swims and it’s not a submarine the Chinese will eat it.”
At a World Wildlife Fund dinner.

“The bastards murdered half my family.”
About the Russians during a visit to the country.

“So who’s on drugs here?”
To members of a Bangladeshi youth club in central London.

Clearly our Prince of mirth is not one for political “correctness”.

Dracula’s Castle.

Queen Victoria’s great-great-grandson, New York architect Dominic Hapsburg, has regained ownership of Bran Castle in Romania.

The castle was the home of the king of blood-lust, Count Vlad the Impaler — known as Count Dracula — during the 15th century. It was donated to Queen Maria, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria in 1920. However, the castle was seized by the communist Government 60 years ago.

Hapsburg, who had to go to court in Romania to retrieve his family home, said: “I spent my entire childhood in Bran until we were forced to leave. I am not sure what we will do with the castle but our plans will show respect to my mother and grandmother.”

Let’s hope he has a good dentist in New York. If he grows fangs in Bran he may need an efficient filing system.

The Prince of Wales was in his element earlier this week when he addressed the World Health Assembly and claimed that integrated healthcare could help to create a “powerful healing force for our world.”

The Prince has worked for many years to encourage integrated healthcare in the UK – an approach which combines the best of complementary and modern medicine.

The Prince told delegates that ancient treatments like acupuncture understood the need to “maintain balance and harmony with our minds and bodies and the natural world”. He also stressed the importance of an “integrated and holistic” approach to modern medicine that also dealt with factors like housing, the environment and agriculture.

Prince Charles told the delegates which included foreign health ministers from across the globe: “I believe that the proper mix of proven complementary, traditional and modern remedies, which emphasise the active participation of the patient can help to create a powerful healing force for our world.”

He also defended the use of complementary therapies telling the audience that UK research had shown 55pc of GPs were referring their patients to complementary practitioners. He added: “For the past 24 years I have argued that patients should be able to gain the benefit of the ‘best of both worlds’ – complementary and orthodox as part of an integrated approach to healing.

“Many of today’s complementary therapies are rooted in ancient traditions that intuitively understand the need to maintain balance and harmony with our minds, bodies and the natural world.

“Much of this knowledge, often based on oral traditions, is sadly being lost yet orthodox medicine has so much to learn from it.”

The Prince spoke of examples of complementary treatments that have increasing evidence to show their effectiveness in improving well-being.

He said: “While scientists try to learn more about how acupuncture works, increasingly robust evidence, drawn from a number of international studies, indicates that it does work, particularly for the treatment of conditions such as osteoarthritis of the knee.

“It can, according to evidence, also alleviate the nausea and vomiting that can be so debilitating for those taking anti-cancer drugs.

“In the case of herbal applications such as St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), which has been used since the time of the ancient Greeks, about 30 clinical trials have shown some positive effects in treating non-severe depression with a remarkably low incidence of side-effects.”

The Prince also warned that the destruction of habitats around the world could result in the loss of “vital life support systems” for future generations.

Talk about steamy, Kate Moss and Jemima Khan aren’t in it.

When Prince William bumped into Atomic Kitten, Natasha Hamilton, it all kicked off — or kissed off, might be a better description.

Pop star Natasha Hamilton has denied trying to seduce Prince William despite an incriminating photograph of them kissing. “I wasn’t trying it on. He has a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend. It’s just an unfortunate picture. I’m so embarrassed by it. It looks like I’m going in for the snog, but really I was not. I don’t think his girlfriend Kate Middleton will believe it so easily. He’s probably had some explaining to do.”

Whatever Kate thought of it, I doubt we’ll hear much about it. Maybe the Royal equivalent of a rolling pin will be employed.