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Prince Philip Poses for New Portrait Following His Retirement — See the Pic!
After 637 solo overseas trips, 5,493 speeches, and authoring 14 books, Prince Philip had had enough. The 96-year-old Duke of Edinburgh officially retired from royal duties (or in his words “ribbon cutting”) in August 2017. Now, Queen Elizabeth‘s beloved husband has been featured in a handsome new portrait released by the royal family on Monday, Dec. 11.
“A new portrait of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, painted in the year of his retirement from public engagements, has been released today. The portrait, by Australian born artist Ralph Heimans, has been produced for display at the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark,” the photo’s caption read on Instagram. “The Museum is holding a retrospective exhibition of Mr Heimans’ work in 2018, part of which aims to explore the historical and cultural connections between the Royal Families of Great Britain and Denmark.”
“In the portrait, set in The Grand Corridor at Windsor Castle, The Duke of Edinburgh is depicted wearing the sash of the Order of the Elephant, Denmark’s highest-ranking honour,” the caption continued. Royal fans coudn’t help but comment on and like the new picture. I mean, for 96 years old, Philip looks great!
A previous report suggested that Philip is putting his feet up and truly enjoying what life has to offer since retiring over the summer. The Duke is living at Wood Farm on the royal family’s Sandringham estate, but his new life of leisure is coming at a cost — sadly he is seeing less of his wife than ever before.
A friend of the royal couple recently told the Daily Mail, “He is enjoying reading things he’s always wanted to read and gets up to what he wants without an equerry telling him he has to be elsewhere, or a camera following him.” The father-of-four is certainly fond of his relatively normal life, now that he is living in a cottage. The house, which had a new kitchen installed, is a place where Her Majesty and her prince can behave like a normal couple. According to the Daily Mail, “He loves it there and has made it his retirement base, reading, painting watercolors, writing letters, and having friends to stay.” And it is all with “his wife’s blessing.”
“The Queen feels the Duke has earned a proper retirement. She knows him too well — if he was still at the center of royal life he’d feel he had to be involved. Being at Wood Farm means he’s not too far away, but far enough to be able to relax,” the insider continued. While she understands that Philip needs his own space, the 91-year-old monarch does miss her husband. The publication explained that the couple always had breakfast together, without fail, whereas “now, she sits alone and is rarely seen before the daily 11 a.m. meeting with her private secretary.”
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
Her daughter, Princess Anne, and daughter-in-law Sophie, the Countess of Wessex have allegedly amped up their time with the Queen so that she doesn’t feel alone. Apparently, there’s also a “granny rota” where Her Majesty’s grandkids “make sure they are around more, especially at teatime.” Together, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip have achieved so much. The couple rang in their 70th wedding anniversary on Nov. 20. Here’s hoping Philip’s retirement doesn’t negatively affect their marriage too much.
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Parts of this post were written by Chloe Lal. It originally appeared on our sister site, NowToLove.com.
