After the Royal Family made an on Thursday morning that Prince Philip would be retiring from public life this fall, many were left wondering what this would mean for the Queen and the rest of his family.
CTV鈥檚 Royal Commentator Richard Berthelsen said that Philip, who is also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, has been talking about stepping back and letting others take the reins for the past five or six years. He said both the Queen and the Duke have been reducing their number of public engagements over the last decade.
Berthelsen said the Duke鈥檚 age (he will be 96 in June) most likely played a big role in his decision to retire from his royal duties.
鈥淥nce you get into your 90s obviously there鈥檚 a just a limit to how late you can stay up, how many events you can do in a day, how much travel you can do,鈥� Berthelsen told CTVNews.ca on Thursday.
Philip鈥檚 health
Although there has been widespread speculation about the Prince鈥檚 health, Berthelsen said the Duke hasn鈥檛 had any known issues for the past 18 months. He also said Philip鈥檚 intention to keep his prior commitments before the fall suggests that he鈥檚 not suffering from any immediate health concerns.
Philip will still attend events that are particularly important to him and any special family or state occasions, but his appearance at these engagements might be different, according to Berthelsen.
He said the Duke may choose to limit his participation at the events he does attend. Berthelsen suggested, for example, that Philip might decide to only appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace during the Queen鈥檚 birthday celebration instead of riding in the carriage with her for the big parade.
The announcement鈥檚 timing
Now that the Royal Family has celebrated the Queen鈥檚 90th birthday, Berthelsen said the absence of major upcoming milestones may explain the timing for the Duke鈥檚 retirement.
Berthelsen said the timing is also significant in that his retirement in the fall coincides with Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge鈥檚 from their country home in Norfolk. He suspects Prince William and Kate will be attending more public events with the Queen in Philip鈥檚 absence.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no question that they are going to have to play a much larger role,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his announcement kind of seems like it was in the works for a while.鈥�
Thursday鈥檚 announcement said the Queen would keep carrying out her royal engagements with the 鈥渟upport of members of the Royal Family.鈥� Berthelsen said the public is expected to see a lot more of the Queen鈥檚 son, Prince Charles, as well as the younger royals next fall.
鈥淭he Queen tends not to really like to do things on her own,鈥� Berthelsen said. 鈥淪he does a lot with the Duke and has more and more as time has gone on.鈥�
Royal retirement
Although there鈥檚 no traditional method of retirement for the royals, Berthelsen said it鈥檚 normal for members of the Royal Family to gradually reduce the number of public events they attend as they grow older.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e still doing an enormous amount. More than most people would do,鈥� he said.
Christopher Warwick, a royal historian, told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Thursday that he thinks Philip will still be busy pursuing his personal interests, such as driving carriages and tending to the property at the House of Windsor, where he maintains the role of ranger.
鈥淭his is a man who will never be at a loss for things to do,鈥� Warwick said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time that he step down and have a bit more time for himself really.鈥�
