Prince Philip is, reportedly, stepping out of retirement, briefly, to transfer one of his roles to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. The 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh will participate in a special handover ceremony on Wednesday, July 22, to bestow his daughter-in-law the role of Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles.
According to reports, the ceremony will take place in Windsor Castle where Prince Philip has been isolating against the coronavirus with Queen Elizabeth since the mid-March. The duke will be outside of the Windsor quadrangle for five minutes only, while Camilla will be simultaneously outside of Highgrove House, Prince Charles' country home in Gloucestershire.
As the transfer of power transpires in two different locations, four buglers will play the signal as the Duke of Edinburgh arrives at the quadrangle. He will be greeted by the Assistant Colonel Commandant, Major General Tom Copinger-Symes, with a salute to thank him for his service as The Rifles' Colonel-in-Chief for over 67 years.
Shortly after this, the Duchess of Cornwall will also be welcomed by four buglers in Highgrove House as Colonel Commandant General Sir Patrick Sanders will have an audience with her. This will mark her new role as the Colonel-in-Chief but Camilla will also continue her other role as the Royal Colonel.
The Rifles was actually established in 2007 but Prince Philip's connection dates back to 1953, when he was the colonel-in-chief of different regiments. The Duchess of Cornwall, on the other hand, was given the role of the Royal Colonel of The Riffles upon its formation more than 13 years ago.
Incidentally, The Rifles will also commemorate Regimental Day on July 22 in honor of the Battle of Salamanca in 1812. During this time in history, four Regiments of The Rifle fought and won against the French army of Napoleon.
Meanwhile, Prince Philip, officially, retired from his public duties in August 2017 at 96 years old. He completed over 22,219 royal engagements in his entire career as the Duke of Edinburgh.
Since, then, Prince Philip has only been present at a handful of public and royal family events, including the wedding of his grandchildren, Prince Harry to Meghan Markle, Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank and, more recently, Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The Duke of Edinburgh mostly stays at the Woodfarm in Sandringham but, since the pandemic crisis, he has stayed by the side of his Queen. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth will soon be moving to Balmoral from Windsor Castle, where they will be staying in isolation until October.
