Prince Philip has joked he is on his "last legs".
The 95-year-old royal is set to retire from public events later this year, and has joked he doesn’t have many years left in him as he made his final Buckingham Palace presentation for the recipients of the Duke of Edinburgh Award on Thursday (25.05.17).
Prince Philip – who set up the youth awards scheme in 1956 – invited hundreds of gold award winners to the palace gardens, where they were joined by a host of celebrities including television chef and soon-to-be ‘Great British Bake Off’ judge Prue Leith, actor Ross Kemp, Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford, and comedians Bill Bailey and Ed Byrne.
When Prue – who was handing the youngsters their awards – told the crowd it would be the royal’s "last year" attending the ceremony, Prince Philip replied: "I’m discovering what it’s like to be on your last legs."
And speaking about the comment afterwards, Prue said: "That was just like him and he always likes to have the last word."
One recipient of the award was Mohammad Leily, who escaped with his family from the civil war in Syria in 2013 and has now settled in Portsmouth.
He said at the ceremony: "This is amazing, one of the best moments of my life. I never thought I would be here. When I left Syria I just wanted to get to safety, I never thought I would end up at the palace receiving my gold award."
Meanwhile, Prince Philip announced earlier this month that he would no longer be carrying out public engagements from the autumn, in a statement released by the Palace.
It 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. In taking this decision, The Duke has the full support of The Queen.
"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.
"The Duke of Edinburgh is Patron, President or a member of over 780 organisations, with which he will continue to be associated, although he will no longer play an active role by attending engagements. Her Majesty will continue to carry out a full programme of official engagements with the support of members of the Royal Family."
Prince Philip: I’m on my last legs
