Prince Philip To Retire From Royal Duties With Queen Elizabeth II’s “Full Support”

All seems to be well at Buckingham Palace after rumors started swirling when several British outlets reported that an alleged emergency meeting was called by Queen Elizabeth II at 3 a.m. local time. An speculation about the health of a senior royal or possible abdication had sparked overnight, ET reports.

According to News.com.au, following the “highly unsual” all staff meeting at the Palace, the Duke of Edinburgh made an announcement about his retirement.

“His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year,” a statement read.

“The Duke has the full support of the Queen.”

The Duke will fulfil his prior commitments between now and August but will no longer accept new engagements.

He will continue to be associated with more than 780 organizations where he is a Patron, President or member, but will no longer play an active role in his engagements.

The Queen and Prince Philip are due to attend an Order of Merit service this morning at St James’s Palace and host a lunch afterwards.

The announcement came after a “highly unusual” meeting where senior staffs from across the UK were called to London to be addressed by Sir Christopher Geidt, Lord Chamberlain and the Queen’s private secretary.

News of the meeting prompted immediate speculation about the future of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

“Although meetings involving the entire Royal household are occasionally called, the way this has been done at the eleventh hour is highly unusual and suggests that there is something major to be disseminated,” The Daily Mail quoted a source.

Recently, both the Queen and Prince Philip have pulled back on their Royal duties.

The Queen stepped down as patron of 25 of the 600 national organisations she is a member of last December.

The two have suffered bad colds during the Christmas period. The Queen decided to delay travelling due to illness and missed a Christmas Day church service, but both have recovered well

On Wednesday, the Queen met British Prime Minister Theresa May to dissolve parliament before the election on June 8. Prince Philip officially opened a stand at Lord’s cricket ground, News.com.au reports.