Video coverage of the Buckingham Palace reception for the Royal Family's website relaunch Smiling and clearly in an upbeat mood, Prince Philip showed he'd got over his recent back injury this week as he carried out a series of public engagements in Cambridge. The Duke was in the town in his capacity as chancellor of the 800-year-old university.
Although walking slightly stiffly, Philip seemed in good health as over the course of the day he 'christened' a new rowing boat with champagne, named a train after the university, and unveiled a statue of Charles Darwin.
The commitments were the 87-year-old royal's first official duties since Christmas. He has had to cancel several appearances over the last few weeks - including a high profile state visit to Dubai and Jordan with the British monarch – after doctors advised him to rest following an injury sustained while carriage driving.
As Philip got back to work, rarely-seen photographs of the Queen recording her first public speech in 1940 were released by Buckingham Palace to mark the relaunch of the Royal Family's website. The three-minute address, which the 14-year-old then Princess made with her younger sister Margaret can also be heard on the site. It was intended to lift the spirits of evacuees during WWII.
"Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes and be separated from your fathers and mothers," she can be heard saying in the recording. "My sister Margaret Rose and I feel so much for you as we know from experience what it means to be away from those we love."
Photo: Rex
Photo: www.royal.gov.uk
