Prince Philip will carry out a rare royal engagement this week when he officially hands over his role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles Regiment to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
The Duke of Edinburgh – who is the husband of the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – retired from royal engagements in 2017, but it has now been confirmed he will attend a socially distanced ceremony with his daughter-in-law Duchess Camilla later this week.
The ceremony will take place on Wednesday (22.07.20), and will mark the official appointing of Camilla as the new Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles Regiment.
As members of the royal family are currently staying in their own residences due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony will be split between two locations, beginning at Windsor Castle for Philip’s part before moving up to Highgrove for Camilla’s section.
Prince Philip, 99, has held the Colonel-in-Chief role since 2007, when The Rifles were formed, but he has served in a similar role for different regiments since 1953.
The news comes as part of a busy few days for the royal, as he attended the wedding of his granddaughter Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on Friday (17.07.20).
Alongside the Queen, Philip was part of a very small group who were invited to the ceremony on the York family’s estate.
Meanwhile, the Prince stepped down from royal duties in August 2017, though it was noted he "may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time".
A statement at the time read: "His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year.
"Prince Philip will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August, both individually and accompanying The Queen. Thereafter, The Duke will not be accepting new invitations for visits and engagements.
"Although he may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time."