After the announcement came in that Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth would be stepping down from his Royal duties this autumn; he carried on his planned day.
Leaving Buckingham Palace for St James’ Palace, to attend an Order of Merit service with The Queen just hours after his choice was publicised. The Duke of Edinburgh was photographed in his chauffeured car with tears in his eyes and again later at the ceremony. The weight of the decision clearly taking a toll of on him.
The Duke of Edinburgh has the “full support” of Her Majesty; the two will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in November.
This morning it was finally confirmed after speculations what the “emergency” meeting called at Buckingham Palace was about that The Duke of Edinburgh is stepping down from public duties this autumn. The announcement was made after all members of the Queen’s household were gathered at Buckingham Palace for a highly unusual staff meeting. The Duke of Edinburgh is not accepting any new invitations for visits and engagements, although he may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time. The Duke of Edinburgh has the full support of Her Majesty The Queen at this time. Her Majesty will continue will her full program of official engagements with the support of other members of the Royal Family
The Duke of Edinburgh is associated with over 780 organisations, but he will no longer play an active role in attending their engagements. The Duke of Edinburgh will celebrate his 96th birthday in June.
He follows in the footsteps of Prince Henrik of Denmark, the husband of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who retired from public duties on 1 January 2016 at the age of 80.
Queen Elizabeth, who just turned 91-years-old last month, will continue to carry out Royal duties as before with growing assistance of the younger senior family members.
Additional reporting from Moniek Bloks.
Not to be too cynical but could it be the Duke simply has allergies? His eyes look as if they may. In any event, he’s certainly given the nation value for dukedom. And he’s given the nation a lot of laughs. He’s his own man with a unique sense of humor. He’s definitely not P.C.. Denmark’s prince consort retired when merely a boy compared to Edinburgh. The staff meeting was a bit much.
I agree on the staff meeting. I understand wanting to tell everyone at the same time but couldn’t the have used Skype? The rampant speculation would have been avoided.
And the immediacy of it: “Hey everyone, get down here to Buck House post-haste. I really thought HRH had left us. And I was truly sad. I very much enjoy his banter even if he does go a bit over sometimes. I know HM loves him. Like many, I’m afraid if he goes, she won’t tarry. She’ll likely get terribly depressed and decline. It’s not uncommon. Seventy-years together is a long journey. And she was nuts about him from the moment she laid eyes on him. Endearing is the picture of him rowing his skiff chasing after the Royal Yacht as it departed the Royal Naval College with Philip’s new found love. Now that’s romance. That’s a love story. The old fashioned kind.
We can’t thank him enough for all he has done over such a long time. To retire at the age of (almost) 96 is astounding. Wishing him a happy and fulfilling retirement. Thank you Sir!
I can only imagine him crying in despair at reading this article! Like many elderly people he seems to have watery eyes and he’d been roaring with laughter just before this picture was taken. This is one man we can safely say is unlikely to be seen crying in public.
He’s man’s man. Very tough. Not given to crying. Certainly not over this. Not now. He must be relieved. Let Charles & her pick up the slack. Wills & his pretty consort are getting taken care of well. Let them pull their weight. Harry has his Invictus which is a big boon to the UK everywhere he goes. Edward fairly runs the Duke of Edinburg scheme now & Sofie is really hard at it now too. Of course, the Princess Royal has been bearing her load for quite a while. I’d say 70 years of continuous service to Queen (wife and mother) and country is enough. I hope he enjoys his retirement. He’s earned it. And I hope he lives a long time more and HM right along with him. If Charles remains in good shape like his dad he should be able to make it down the West aisle of Westminster to plop down on St Edward’s throne to finally be monarch. He should be just about slipping into his 80s. So the Archbishop will have to speak loudly
Dear Royal Central, You really ought to apologize for posting last night that Prince Phillip died.
These people are disgusting… they are both peadophiles and occultists… and have actually stolen children from third world countries.. no doubt for child sacrifices.. do your own research… when they die they will be joining satan in hell.. the two sons of Diana are also occultists.. Diana was a ritual sacrifice and she knew it was coming her way… do your own research.. youtube has all the answers…. this family’s bloodlines go all the way back to Babylon and beyond.. they are the selected seed of satan… incest is also a big part of their family history….