The Duke of Edinburgh has stepped in to represent his brother, King Charles, at an important Scottish event. Prince Edward served as Lord High Commissioner this week at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh took part in the Ceremony of the Keys where they received the keys of the city from the Lord Provost to open the week .
The Duke gave an opening speech where he thanked the Chapel Royal chaplains and other Scottish clergy members for their support during his mother’s passing in September 2022.
He shared: ”I know it’s part of the job description, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, yet it is not necessarily what they did, it’s how they did it… Here were centuries of tradition, of rituals long practised, of prayer, of care and of comfort.”
Prince Edward also gave the closing remarks where he joked about what letter he could find himself under in a list- P for Prince, E for Edward or Edinburgh, but finally not W as he is no longer the Earl of Wessex. He also shared that he and Sophie “came properly prepared” for the lengthy debates with sweets to get them through.
The Duke and Duchess were busy with public engagements for the week in Edinburgh and further afield. They visited Dance Base, an independent charity that works to bring the joy of dance to everyone, and Capability Scotland, an organisation that helps support children and adults with disabilities in a number of ways. They also travelled north to Sutherland where they spent time in the community learning about erosion and climate change.
This is the second time that Prince Edward has served as Lord High Commissioner; the first time was in 2014 on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
