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Prince Philip has offered the clearest explanation yet as to the motives behind his decision to stand down, dryly telling a well-wisher he "can't stand up much longer".
The Duke of Edinburgh has spent seven decades working in support of his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, and at 95 years of age has decided to forgo public engagements as of August.
Mass panic engulfed international media as word of "an emergency meeting" trickled out of Buckingham Palace in the wee hours of Thursday morning (local time), but fears were allayed by Prince Philip's announcement.
And it was business as usual once the fanfare died down, with a meeting of the members of the Order of Merit at St James's Palace proving his trademark wit had not deteriorated.
When mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah told him he was sorry he was standing down, Prince Philip replied:
"Well, I can't stand up much longer."
Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard was one of a number of dignitaries to be with Prince Philip in the hours after he revealed he will no longer be available for public engagements.
Among those in the Duke's company was Sir David Attenborough and Sir James Dyson, while Mr Howard professed to be a "great fan".
"He's done an absolutely fantastic job," Mr Howard told News Corp.
"I'm a great fan of his and I think everybody appreciates what a wonderful consort he is and it'll continue in that way. Good luck to him."
The day before the announcement, Prince Philip had been at Lord's Cricket Ground to attend the opening of a new stand and talk cricket with MCC members.
Such public outings will soon become a thing of the past, though the Duke will continue to be associated with over 780 organisations and charities.
Topics: royal-and-imperial-matters, howard-john-winston, england, united-kingdom
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