Britain’s Prince Philip threw a garden party at Buckingham Palace to mark 60 years of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
The 94-year-old royal was joined by 60 celebrities – including Ronan Keating and Ben Cohen – on Monday (16.05.16) at the London residence of the reigning monarch when he dished out badges and certificates to the Gold winners as part of the programme’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
Anna Friel, who met the duke at the party, said: "I never did the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award when I was younger, but my best friends did. I was in the drama room while they were in the mountains. It’s a great scheme because it encourages young people to push themselves, it teaches them life skills.
"I was talking to someone the other day about why they did it, and they said, ‘Because it will help me to get a job, it shows that you are up for a challenge.’ "
And the 39-year-old actress has been so inspired by the programme, which recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises, that she’s decided to take on her own Diamond Challenge.
She told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "I am going to Borneo next week to help release some orang-utans into the wild, so maybe that could be my Diamond Challenge!"
Prince Philip throws Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards party
