Outrage Is Spreading Over Australian Prime Minister Giving Knighthood to Prince Philip

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has faced calls for his closest adviser to resign, while his own ministers are distancing themselves from him after he awarded a knighthood to Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Abbott awarded the prince a knighthood — a title he recently reintroduced to Australia himself — without consulting his own chief of staff or anyone in his party.

"In the future, the consultation will be wider," Abbott said of future knighthoods at a press conference on Wednesday. "I accept that this has been a distraction for the government over the last couple of days. I do not want it further to distract."

Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has become notorious for off color and often offensive comments. Abbott's decision to knight him turned Monday's Australia Day celebrations, typically an a-political event, into a debacle that is now threatening to further destabilize his leadership.

Australia removed knighthoods in 1986, two years after the country adopted its own national anthem to replace "God Save The Queen." Abbott controversially reintroduced both knighthoods and dameships in 2014 as the nation's highest honors.

The decision to knight Prince Philip drew widespread outrage. Among the critics was Rupert Murdoch, who called on Abbott's chief of staff, Peta Credlin, to resign over the situation.

Abbott again. Tough to write, but if he won't replace top aide Peta Credlin she must do her patriotic duty and resign. More

— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch)January 28, 2015

— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch)January 27, 2015

Murdoch, who is generally seen as a supporter of Abbott's government, has been so forthright in his attack that government ministers were forced to defend Credlin.

"I have the highest regard for Rupert Murdoch. I think he's one of the greatest Australians," Minister for Education Christopher Pyne said on Wednesday. "I support the chief of staff, Peta Credlin… I don't think there is any prospect of [Murdoch's] suggestion being pursued by the government."

In private, ministers were far more damning. Several reportedly told ABC Australia that if they were consulted, they would have fought the idea.

"There is an old saying that when you are in a hole you should stop digging," one minister is quoted as saying. "Well, we've just punched through the Earth's crust."

Publicly ministers tried to distance themselves from the decision. Treasurer Joe Hockey, during a radio interview with radio station 2GB, said "I'm not prime minister" when asked if he supported the knighthood.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce publicly broke with the PM on the issue. He said he believes all Australia Day honors should recognize Australians.

"I woke up this morning and read the wires and thought it was April Fools' Day," said Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles, who is a member of the Country Liberal Party, and affiliated to Abbott's party. "I mean it's Australia Day, we're not a bunch of tossers, let's get it right."

Fairfax newspapers have reported that Abbott was forced into calling backbenchers to shore up support for his leadership after the incident. The knighthood comes after months of poor polling and internal disputes for the government.

Prince Philip's new title is likely to only add to the government's woes. Polling conducted by ReachTEL and released on Wednesday showed that 71.5 percent of Australians oppose the knighthood.

Prince Philip has been known for a number of culturally insensitive gaffes. When visiting Queensland in 2002, he asked aboriginal businessman William Brim, "Do you still throw spears at each other?" And in 1998, he reportedly jokingly asked a British trekker in Papa New Guinea, "You managed not to get eaten then?"

At the original announcement during the Australia Day ceremony on Monday, Abbot told reporters that the knighthood is reserved for "lives of preeminent and extraordinary service," and that the prince was "an eminently suitable recipient" of this order.

"Prince Philip has been a great servant of Australia, he's been a great servant of all the countries of the Commonwealth," Abbot told reporters.

Prince Philip has dozens of titles and honorary appointments around the world, including titles such as: Collar of the Order of the Aztec Eagle, in Mexico, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Phoenix, in Greece, and Knight Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Queen of Sheba, in Ethiopia.

He is also reportedly worshipped as a God on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu as a part of a religious cult. His birthday is marked every year and children are taught that the Prince is divine being who will one day return. His first and only visit was 1974.

When a reporter asked Abbott at the initial announcement if Philip had phoned to thank him for the honor, Abbott confirmed that he had not.

"I don't expect gratitude, he said. "I'm just very happy that someone who has given long and dutiful service to this country has received this award at our hands."