26 March 2009 5:15 AM, PDT | WENN | See recent WENN news »
Music mogul Simon Cowell is at the centre of a row with the British royal family - after accusing Prince Phillip of labelling him a "sponger".
The American Idol judge told U.S. TV host Jay Leno that the husband of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II had insulted him following the Royal Variety Show in London in 2007 and also claimed that the Queen had snubbed him.
He said: "At the end, if you are involved in it, you have to stand around for hours and then say hello. She (the Queen) ignored me and her husband called me a sponger. That means somebody who makes their money by sponging off other people. It was a bit embarrassing. It was a bit awkward."
But Prince Phillip has hit back at the allegations - insisting Cowell must have misheard him.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace says, "The Duke of Edinburgh categorically did not call Mr Cowell a sponger. He has no reason to. He has said he does no know enough about Mr Cowell to make any sort of comment about him. Mr Cowell may have misheard the Duke, he has a very soft voice."
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