Prince Philip asks women “who do you sponge off?”

And the 94-year-old Duke showed no sign of losing dry sense of humour today when he teased members of a London community group about the country’s benefits system.

The Duke chatted with other guests at the volunteer-run centre, which opened in September.

One of them, Martin Shaw, said Philip poked fun at his job.

Prince Philip, the 94-year-old husband of the U.K’s Queen Elizabeth II, 89, last week made headlines when it was revealed he had uttered an expletive at a photographer at a Royal Air Force photocall in London with grandson Prince William, 33.

“It was quite amusing because when I told the Duke I was a professional fundraiser he said ‘Do you have any friends left?”

Despite the Duke’s gaffes, centre chairman Ann Estlea said she was delighted with how the relaxed visit went. It felt comfortable, it felt easy, it felt right.

She said: “The Duke told me off for using the word “community” so many times and I asked him what I was supposed to say”.

‘And as they left and I was shaking his hand I told him I was going to find a thesaurus to find a different word for community and he just laughed.’. A royal aide chimed in: “There’s a context here, they were talking about a sponge cake, no offense was intended or taken”.

Later the Queen and the Duke visited Sydney Russell School in Dagenham, where the Queen chatted in French to 13-year-old Suvika Kumaravelu in a Year 8 language class.

However, Buckingham Palace was unable to clarify to what extent Mr Samuel was acquainted with the Queen. “I don’t care what kind it is, just get me a beer”.

Disabled people, too, have been a target for his blunt wit.

The prince is accompanying Her Majesty on an official tour of Barking and Dagenham today to mark the 50th anniversary of the local council.

And he also “told off” the centre’s chairwoman.