Duke of Edinburgh won’t be disappearing, says son

THE Duke of Edinburgh will not be “disappearing into the background” despite his decision to step down from public duties, according to his son the Earl of Wessex.

Philip, 95, will retire from royal engagements in the autumn after more than 65 years supporting the Queen in her role as head of state and attending events for his own charities and organisations.

Their youngest son Edward hinted other members of the Royal Family will step up in support of the monarch, and said the family support each other “constantly” in what is a “team effort”.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: “I think that although he’s said that he’s probably going to step back, I don’t believe he’s going to stop for a minute, so there will still be lots of things that he’ll be interested in and doing.”

Asked if it had been a difficult deci- sion, Edward said: “I’m sure it is.

“But at the end of the day you still have to do what’s sensible and practical, and as we all know from my father he’s extremely sensible and extremely practical.

“So he’s taken that decision and we respect that. But as I said, we’re not going to see him disappearing into the background.”

Edward said: “It is always a team effort and that’s what we do, and the show goes on.

“And if an actor retires from a show, guess what? The show goes on and...we all fill in the spaces and keep it all going, and that’s what we all do.

Asked to sum up what his father’s contribution to national life has been, Edward said it has been “years of staggering service”, and he has always been “jolly” along the way.

He added: “Wherever he’s been, people remember him.

“You can’t really get a better accolade than that.”

Asked what the Duke was going to do with his time now, Edward said: “I don’t believe he’s going to be putting his feet up completely and disappearing into the background ... He’ll pick and choose what he wants to do and what’s practical.”

He added: “I’m sure he probably will be doing a bit of carriage driving.”