Prince Philip was in good spirits as he presented medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on Monday.It was the 92-year-old's first public appearance since his operation in June.The Duke of Edinburgh has been an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh since 1951.
The independent educational charity, which was established in 1783 for the advancement of "learning and useful knowledge", is one of his oldest patronages.
Britain's longest serving royal consort was there to present medals to Professor Sir John Cadogan, the former head of research at BP, Professor Mike Ferguson, dean of Research in Life Sciences at Dundee University, and Sir Ian Wood, who is the former chairman of the oil and gas services company Wood Group.After his Edinburgh visit, he was due to join the Queen for their summer holiday at the Balmoral Estate, around 100 miles further north. The monarch has been there since 26 July, shortly after the birth of her first great-grandson Prince George.
While he is at Balmoral, Philip is expected to meet the third in line to the throne for the first time, when William and Kate visit the royal family .The Queen's husband had travelled to Edinburgh from the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where he has been recuperating.He was admitted to the private London Clinic on 6 June after attending a Buckingham Palace garden party.
The Duke underwent an exploratory abdomen operation and spent 11 nights at the clinic. "He is continuing to make good progress and is in very good spirits," said a royal source. "He is doing this engagement because it is something he has been committed to for a very long time, as well as it being something he takes extremely seriously."
As a result of his surgery the Duke of Edinburgh was forced to miss the Queen's official birthday celebrations at Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot and the Garter Service at Windsor, but the royal family were quick to rally around him with many of them visiting him while he was in hospital and at the royal residences.
Prince Philip's only other confirmed future public engagement is a visit to the Dersingham Bog Natural Nature Reserve, on the Sandringham estate, on 30 September, according to the BBC.