At 95, it’s life in the slow lane for Philip
The gaffe- prone Prince has decided he’s done his dash when it comes to royal duties, writes Gregory Katz
or decades, he has stood loyally at the side of Queen Elizabeth II and made thousands of solo appearances as well. He calls himself the world’s most experienced unveiler of plaques.
He has been eligible for a government pension since June 10, 1986, yet still soldiered on.
Now, at age 95, Prince Philip is retiring from royal duties.
The Queen’s husband said on Thursday that he will carry out scheduled engagements for the next few months but won’t take on new ones after August.
His retirement announcement followed frenzied speculation caused by news reports about an “emergency” palace meeting on Thursday.
Buckingham Palace said the Prince, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, made the decision to retire with the full support of the Queen.
Tall, craggy- faced and always elegantly dressed, Prince Philip is as famous for his occasional off- colour gaffes and one- liners as he is for his devotion to the monarch, and he joked about his retirement at an Order of Merit reception at St James’s Palace.
“I’m sorry to hear you’re standing down,” said 88- year- old mathematician Michael Atiyah.
“Well, I can’t stand up much longer,” the Prince replied.
He walked with his head held high, despite his self- deprecating claim.
Harvey Oyer, a Florida attorney who was invited to a Buckingham Palace lunch reception, told the Associated Press that the Prince looked remarkably well.
“The big takeaway is there was no indication that this was a farewell,” Oyer said. “He did not look unhealthy in any way. He was as spry and humorous and engaging as he has always been.”
Prince Philip has made earlier concessions to age, announcing when he turned 90 in 2011 that he was “winding down” his official duties. He said at the time that he felt he had “done my bit”. Since then, he’s had some serious health issues, including a blocked heart artery, and has been hospitalised several times.
There were no indications that the Prince suffers from any new health problems.
The statement indicated he would carry out previously scheduled engagements between now and August.
Few would begrudge him a chance to take it easy after more than 22,000 solo royal engagements since Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952.
He quickly discovered he had no defined constitutional role and had to carve his own path, making it his top priority to support his wife in her considerable public endeavours.
While few were surprised that he is stepping back, tourists outside the imposing gates of Buckingham Palace expressed unhappiness about the news.
“He’s been an icon for so long, and I’ve really admired him, and it saddens me in a way,” said Grace Marie, who nonetheless said she understood his decision.
She said it was time for the younger royals to step into the spotlight.
There was praise for the Prince from other parts of the Commonwealth.
In Australia, officials praised his tenacity.
“It says something about an individual that they get to the age of 95 before they decide to officially retire,” Australian
She has, however, reduced her workload considerably in recent years as her children and grandchildren have moved to the fore. She has stopped making longhaul flights to other Commonwealth countries and cut back on travel to continental Europe.
Attention has been increasingly focused on her son Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and on her grandson Prince William and his wife, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Prince Harry has also commanded considerable attention, most recently by talking openly about emotional problems he dealt with for 20 years after his mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in Paris.
Prince Philip may feel the monarchy is in good hands, with the line of succession extending to William and Kate’s children, Prince George, 3, and Princess Charlotte, who just turned 2. The palace said Prince Philip would continue his role with more than 780 charitable organisations but would not regularly attend engagements. He is not expected to disappear completely from the public stage; the palace said he may still take part in some events from time to time.
The Queen is normally quite reserved about her private life, but she broke with tradition in a 1997 speech marking their 50 years of marriage.
“He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments,” she said. “He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know.”
A report on Thursday by Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper about an unusual meeting of royal household staff prior to the retirement announcement sparked a worldwide wave of internet speculation about the health of the Queen and Prince Philip, including incorrect reports that the flag atop Buckingham Palace had been lowered to half- staff.
The Sun reported on its website that Philip had died. The incorrect report was quickly dropped. A look at Prince Philip’s service by the numbers since his wife became Queen in 1952:
speaking to singer Tom Jones after the 1969 Royal Variety Performance on a visit to Canada in 1969 — during the 1981 recession at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting on seeing plans for the Duke and Duchess of York’s house at Sunninghill Park in 1988
shouted from the deck of Britannia in Belize in 1994 to the Queen who was chatting to her hosts on the quayside about World War II, commenting on modern stress counselling for servicemen in 1995
to a driving instructor in Oban, Scotland, during a 1995 walkabout