The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh attended a service for members of the Order of Merit at the Chapel Royal, St. James' Palace and afterwards gave a reception.
Lucky they had this engagement scheduled for today, because the world - the hysteria-prone social media world, specifically - apparently required evidence that Prince Philip is still kicking. What I wouldn't give for his take on the panic that followed leaked news of a staff meeting at Buckingham Palace this morning, including people speculating that news of The Duke's death was imminent (despite all this occurring just hours after he'd been in fine form on an engagement yesterday).
So yes, the big news today is that the 95-year-old Duke of Edinburgh will retire from public duties in the autumn. I'd say that's a well-deserved rest for a man that's logged 22,191 solo engagements since 1952, according to the palace. In the mean time, he's still got it:
Guest at today's reception: "I'm sorry to hear that you're standing down."
Prince Philip: "Well I can't stand up much longer!"
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| Royal Family |
Guest at today's reception: "I'm sorry to hear that you're standing down."
Prince Philip: "Well I can't stand up much longer!"
