The Yorkshire Post says: Prince Philip's boots will be impossible to fill
HOW fitting that Prince Philip's final solo engagement was to greet those intrepid members of the Royal Marines, of whom he has been Captain General since Coronation year, who had just completed a 1,664-mile trek to celebrate their inception in 1664.
As ‘three cheers’ reverberated around Buckingham Palace’s rain-sodden courtyard, they, too, stood in awe and admiration of the indefatigable nonagenarian as the Duke of Edinburgh completed his final official duty before retiring from public life.
The numbers speak for themselves – 22,219 solo engagements, 5,496 speeches, 785 patronages and 637 overseas visits on his own in addition to providing unstinting support to the Queen since his marriage to a young Princess Elizabeth 70 years ago. It’s an exhausting workload, entirely emblematic of the Royal Family’s enduring devotion to duty, that truly humbles mere mortals. They will be impossible boots to fill.