Philip's common market gaff

Prince Philip said he was "profusely" sorry

The Duke of Edinburgh had to apologise for making allegedly anti-Common Market comments at the height of the negotiations to take Britain into Europe.

Prince Philip wrote to Prime Minister Edward Heath saying how "profusely" sorry he was after his comments were seized on by the press.

The gaff has been revealed by the opening up of government letters to the public under the 30-year rule.

The Duke said he was "appalled" at the furore caused by his remarks made at a conference in Edinburgh in June 1971.

I am afraid the mere words `Common Market' have the same effect on the press as the bells had on Pavlov's dogs

Duke of Edinburgh

In a letter to Mr Heath, he said: "At the time my mind was running on a completely different tack and I never dreamed that my comments could be construed as being either pro- or anti- Common Market.

"I am afraid the mere words `Common Market' have the same effect on the press as the bells had on Pavlov's dogs."

What the prince had told members of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth was that some "long-standing agricultural patterns have been completely up-ended" as a result of the Common Market.

'Storm in a teacup'

His comments, understood as a stark warning for agriculture if Britain went into Europe, were considered all the more astonishing because British delegates were attending key Common Market talks at the time.

What he meant, Buckingham Palace said at the time, was "the danger of treating agriculture as if it was simply a manufacturing industry".

In his reply, also just released, Mr Heath admitted the ensuing headlines gave him "a bad moment or two", but said that it "all proved to be a storm in a teacup and the record is now straight again".