Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Duke of Edinburgh: Rare new photo of Prince Philip and the Queen released to mark his 99th birthday

Prince Philip turns 99 on Wednesday and has not been seen in public since January.
A rare new photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh with the Queen has been released to mark his 99th birthday.

The picture was taken on 1 June and shows the couple standing side by side in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle.

With the duke turning 99 on Wednesday and the Queen now 94, they look remarkably well, both standing up unaided as the photograph is taken.

Her Majesty is wearing a yellow floral-patterned dress, designed by her stylist and dresser Angela Kelly, with the Cullinan V diamond brooch.

Prince Philip is wearing a blazer and his Household Division tie. Sky's royal commentator Alastair Bruce said the blazer is one of the duke's favourites for a special reason.

He said: "The Duke of Edinburgh has frequently chosen to wear his Grenadier Guards boating jacket, which is the name given to a blazer in the Household Division.

"This one is special because it was left to Prince Philip by his long-time friend Lieutenant Colonel Sir Eric Penn.

"Sir Eric had been to auctions to gather a button from every reign back to King William IV. The regiment's button changes with every reign, as it includes the monarch's cypher.

"When Sir Eric explained the buttons to Prince Philip, who was Colonel of the Grenadiers, His Royal Highness jokingly asked to be given it when he died.

"When Sir Eric did die, his widow took the garment and a diagram showing where every button should go.

"It was a few days before the Queen's birthday parade, much like today, and Lady Penn was received by Prince Philip who was wearing his bearskin cap and a vest.

"The prince tried it on and, apart from the sleeve length it was a perfect fit. He has worn it as a favourite ever since."

He added: "The prince also wears the Household Division tie because he served first as a colonel with the Welsh Guards, whose year to Troop their Colour this was to be.

"He went on to be colonel of the Grenadier Guards and was, for many years, senior colonel of the Household Division."

Trooping the colour was due to take place this weekend but was cancelled due to coronavirus.

Buckingham Palace isn't sharing any details of what the duke might be doing on his birthday, simply saying he is spending it privately at Windsor Castle.

The couple have been living there ever since the COVID-19 lockdown started and the current rules on social distancing will inevitably hamper any plans for family celebrations.

Last week, Prince Charles talked to Sky News about how he missed his father, saying that not seeing family was one of the hardest parts of the pandemic.

He said: "Well I haven't seen my father for a long time. He's going to be 99 next week, so yes, or my grandchildren or anything.

"I've been doing the Facetime, it's all very well but…." And asked how he's felt being disconnected from his family, he added: "Well it's terribly sad, let alone one's friends.

"But fortunately at least you can speak to them on telephones and occasionally do this sort of thing. But it isn't the same is it. You really want to give people a hug."

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are the only royal couple to celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary, marking 70 years of marriage in 2017.

As Britain's longest-serving consort he has carried out over 22,000 solo public engagements, but has often jokingly described himself as "the world's most experience plaque unveiler".

It has become increasingly rare to see Prince Philip in public, except for attending big family events, after he announced he was stepping back from public duties in 2017.

In recent years, he has spent most of his retirement living at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate.

The last time he was seen was in January being driven away from the estate on the day that the Queen held a family meeting about Prince Harry and Meghan's future.

In December, he spent four nights in hospital being treated for a pre-existing medical condition, before being allowed home on Christmas Eve.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×