Buckingham Palace has released four new images of the Duke of Edinburgh to celebrate his 60th birthday.
Edward is pictured wearing a red jumper underneath a dark buttoned waistcoat and smiling with his three dogs, Labrador Teal, cocker spaniel Mole and Labrador puppy Teasel. The King's brother, the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II, will celebrate the milestone on Sunday.
The duke carried out a series of engagements with the Duchess of Edinburgh earlier this week, ahead of his birthday. He was presented with a Leeds Rhinos rugby shirt with “HRH 60” on the back to mark the date, during a visit to Headingley Stadium in Leeds on Friday.
The Duke of Edinburgh was photographed with his dogs (Chris Jelf)Edward noticed the detail on the back and said to his wife: “Yours is more subtle than mine.” He told the young players: “Thanks a bunch. I really need to be reminded.”
Sophie then paid a tearful tribute to Edward at the end of the Community Sport and Recreation Awards, saying he was “the best of fathers, the most loving of husbands and he is still my best friend” and she was “so proud of the man he is”. On Tuesday, the duke and duchess visited an amateur boxing club and community church in Stafford.
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In a rare television interview, Edward told gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh on ITV's Love Your Weekend programme: "I'm incredibly lucky that I found Sophie and that she found me". He and Sophie, 59, have been married since 1999 having met at a promotion shoot for the Prince Edward Summer Challenge two years earlier.
Prince Edward with his dogs Teal (Labrador), Mole (Cocker Spaniel), and Teasel (Labrador puppy) (Chris Jelf)During the interview, Edward also praised his father Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, for being "brilliant with people" even if it sometimes "didn't necessarily come across that way", saying: "He was always, always encouraging everybody. You sort of needed to get to know him.
"He was just an extraordinary man. He was the Prince Albert of our age. He had an extraordinary mind. He loved design, he loved innovation." Edward revealed some of his lasting memories of his father, including teaching his daughter Lady Louise to drive a carriage.
He said: "It was entirely off her own bat... he took her out with the team and I think it was only the second time, he was driving along and he said, 'Do you want to have a go?' and she didn't have time to even answer the question, he just handed the reins across." He added: "We're very lucky, we've got two, of what we would think are particularly brilliant children, who are forging such different paths for themselves. I think that's also equally fascinating."
Buckingham Palace released four new photos of Prince Edward (Chris Jelf)Asked about adjusting to his new title, Edward said it had been a "huge privilege" but had also bestowed "quite a lot of weight of expectation as well". "I mean, there's an awful lot of legacy that came with that title and everything that my father had done," he continued.
"Especially when you're not inheriting it, this is a choice... that comes with all the expectations that people have. It's just the weirdest and strangest feeling. You walk into a room and, particularly still today, there are name places on a card and I still look around going 'Yes, but where am I sitting?'."
The Duke of Edinburgh appearing with host Alan Titchmarsh on ITV's Love Your Weekend programme (PA)In a newspaper interview, Edward said the monarchy is "as important as ever" in "trying to bring people together". He told the Daily Mail: "Our role - being part of the monarchy - in trying to bring people together is as important as ever, if not more so today."
The slimmed-down working monarchy has been under increasing pressure, with some leading members of the royal family ruled out of public-facing duties. Charles, 75, is undergoing treatment for cancer and the Princess of Wales is recuperating from abdominal surgery.
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