Prince Philip’s Final Public Engagement Will Let Him End on a High Note

We’ve known for a few months that Prince Philip would be ending his public duties as a royal in 2017, but now we have an official end date. According to E News, Buckingham Palace has announced that Prince Philip’s final public engagement will be on Aug. 2.

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It will hopefully not be the last time we see Prince Philip out in public (he’s still quite spry at age 96), but it will be the last time that he appears in public in an official royal capacity. The occasion of his final public engagement will be to attend the Royal Marines’ charity parade. The event is set to take place outside the queen’s London residence, as E News reports.

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A Buckingham Palace official gave a little insight into the parade’s history and function as they made the announcement about this event being Prince Philip’s final public engagement: “[T]he parade, which marks the end of the 1664 Global Challenge to raise money for The Royal Marines Charity, would ‘bring His Royal Highness’s individual programme to a conclusion, although he may choose to attend certain events, alongside the Queen, from time to time.'” The event will be even more meaningful for Prince Philip because he is the Royal Marines’ Captain General; it’s quite likely this event is near and dear to his heart if only because of this fact.

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While the queen will continue to make public appearances for the foreseeable future, Prince Philip has been winding down slowly in 2017, with only 52 public appearances on record. As he goes into official retirement, the queen will be assisted by her new royal equerry, a person who typically serves as an assistant to a member of the royal family.

All in all, it would seem that the royal household is in a good place with this transition. Hopefully, Prince Philip enjoys his final public engagement and is able to further enjoy his official retirement.