Prince Philip's last engagement before his retirement has been announced by the palace. The Queen's husband, 96, will attend the Captain General's Parade on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 2 August. The parade will mark the finale of the 1664 Global Challenge and Philip will carry out his duties in his role as captain general of the Royal Marines, a position he has held for 64 years.
During the engagement, the Prince will take position on the dais for the royal salute and the national anthem. He will meet veterans and cadets as well as servicemen and women who have taken part in the 1664 Global Challenge. The challenge, which raises funds and awareness for the Royal Marines Charity, sees royal marines from around the country running 16.64 miles each day for 100 days, totalling a distance of 1664 miles. After the parade, Prince Philip will receive the 1664 Global Challenge baton. The event will conclude with a march past, a royal salute and three cheers for the captain general.
Prince Philip will attend a parade in Buckingham Palace next week
The palace noted that next week's engagement would be the Duke's last before he retires, although he may choose to attend certain events, alongside the Queen, from time to time. In May, Buckingham Palace announced that the Prince would be stepping down. They released a statement, saying: "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.
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"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."
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Since 1952, the Prince has carried out a total of 22,219 solo engagements and 637 solo overseas visits. He is patron of 785 organisations and will continue to be associated with them, although he will no longer play an active role by attending engagements.