Here are some photos of the Duke of Kent on Sunday. The 88-year-old duke attended the Scots Guards’ Black Sunday parade. The Duke of Kent has been the honorary royal patron and colonel of the regiment for fifty years. Remember, the duke is one of the few “working royals” in King Charles’s slimmed-down monarchy. Only the duke is 88 years old and they’re slowly taking away all of his patronages and setting him up in some kind of semi-retirement. He clearly has mobility issues, but he continues to represent the Firm and do his work. After fifty years, they’re taking the Scots Guards away from him and giving the honorary colonel position to… Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh. A man who dropped out of the Royal Marines.
Prince Edward, who famously quit the Royal Marines after just four months, is set to head an elite infantry regiment that fought in the Battle of Waterloo. He will become the Colonel of the Scots Guards in a ceremony in London today after being chosen by King Charles.
The Duke of Edinburgh, 60, is taking over from the Duke of Kent, 88, who was appointed in 1974 following a 21-year military career.
Edward said he was accepting the post ‘with a degree of trepidation’ about being compared to his predecessor.
For years, the Prince was kept away from military patronages after leaving his Royal Marines training course in 1987. The Queen was reportedly livid when he swapped military service for the performing arts.
Although defence sources say Edward is qualified for this promotion, some observers believe it is a result of the increasingly slimmed-down monarchy. He has been taking on a growing number of senior roles, especially after Prince Andrew was stripped of his military titles in 2022.
“For years, the Prince was kept away from military patronages after leaving his Royal Marines training course in 1987.” Is that true? Because Edward makes sure to wear his unearned military dress uniforms for every occasion, especially occasions involving the military or veterans. Anyway, I agree that the poor Duke of Kent needs to be allowed to retire after working for the Firm for sixty years or longer. They also took Wimbledon away from him – he used to do the trophy presentations and attend a lot of matches, but now the Princess of Wales does that (except she rarely goes to matches anymore). But putting Edward in this role is kind of insulting, right?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.