Duke of Edinburgh asks Tory leader if she had tartan knickers

London, Sept 17 (ANI): The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, sparked a controversy when he asked Scotland's most senior Conservative politician if she had a pair of tartan knickers.

Philip, 89, had noticed that many MSPs were wearing ties bearing a new tartan commissioned to mark Pope Benedict XVI's tour of Edinburgh's Palace of Holyroodhouse.

When he came across Annabel Goldie, 60, the Scottish Tory leader, he noticed that she was not wearing the tie.

"Have you got a pair of knickers made out of this?" the Telegraph quoted him as asking her.

The astonished spinster performed a double take then quickly recovered her poise.

"I cannot possibly comment and even if I had I could not possibly exhibit them," she replied.

Those who travelled with the Scottish Tory leader, who is renowned for her witty ripostes and double entendres in the Scottish Parliament chamber, said she was in "fits of laughter" during the car journey.

"It's marvellous that humour is alive and well in the Royal Family," she said about the encounter. (ANI)