The Duke of Cambridge and his cousin, Princess Beatrice will host an event at Buckingham Palace Gardens on Thursday, 24 May.
The reception will be held to acknowledge the efforts of the young people who have completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, named after the cousins’ grandfather, Prince Philip. The attendees have successfully completed 12 months of volunteer work and a four-day physical expedition. In 1956, the Duke founded the Duke of Edinburgh Award in order to give young people a sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities.
The Duke of Edinburgh usually attends the event himself but the last reception for gold award holders he attended was in July 2017 in Edinburgh, before he retired from royal duties. He now makes rare appearances at royal events. The pair will be joined by their uncle, Prince Edward, instead.
The Duchess of Cambridge herself completed the award 20 years ago, and so met the Duke of Edinburgh long before she met his grandson, her husband. In a 2016 documentary, the Duchess said: “I can remember trying to cook bacon in the soaking wet. Everything was just sopping and I was trying and trying to cook bacon.”
The Duke of Cambridge has just welcomed his third child, Louis, but was back to work just two days after his son was born. He has already attended the Anzac Day service and the opening of the Greenhouse Sports Centre in London with his brother, Prince Harry.
The Prince is not due to attend any events this week, making time to spend with his children on his daughter, Charlotte’s, third birthday. Prince William will return to work in a couple of weeks, in time for The Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony. The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine, will be taking a longer break from royal duties, and will next be seen attending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding on 19 May.
