As Prince Philip Retires, the Show Goes on for the Royal Family

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visiting the NASA in 2007. Image: Wikimedia

It is business as usual for the British Royal Family, following the announcement of Prince Philip’s retirement. However, things will never be same again for the other members of the House of Windsor as they take on his roles.

But Prince Philip will not be totally "disappearing into the background," the prince’s youngest son, Prince Edward remarked on an interview with BBC.  The Prince was the first member of the Royal Family to comment regarding his father’s decision to step down from royal duties.

"It was a surprise, but not really a surprise," he said.  

The duke, who turns 96 in June, will officially cease from carrying on royal duties in the autumn after almost seven decades of steadfastly standing by the Queen.

As announced, he will continue to attend upcoming engagements until August but after that, he will not accept new invitations.

"Although having for many years said it is a job from which you can't retire, he's just proved that it might be possible to retire, which is quite good for the rest of us,” Prince Edward said.

"But at the end of the day you still have to do what is sensible and practical and as we all know from my father, he's extremely sensible and extremely practical.”

When asked if other members of the Royal Family would now take more roles to support the Queen, Prince Edward mentioned that to be in the Royal Family has been “always a team effort,” likening their act to a show that should go on, even if one key player had retired.   

"If an actor retires from a show, guess what? The show goes on and everybody shuffles around and we all fill in the spaces and keep it all going. That's what we will do... We support each other," he said.

In 2016, Prince Philip worked for 110 days of engagements, placing him fifth among the busiest members of the royal family.