Weekend Herald editorial: Prince Philip calls it a day

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh raises his hat in his role as Captain General, Royal Marines, makes his final individual public engagement. Photo / Getty Images

At 96, Prince Philip has called it a day. Being Britain, it rained on his final parade but it didn't appear to dampen his spirits.

In raincoat and bowler hat, the Duke of Edinburgh even cracked a joke as he inspected an honour guard assembled to mark the end of a series of endurance feats by the Royal Marines.

Prince Philip, Captain General of the elite commando force, met two extremely fit young troops who ran 2645km in 100 days to raise funds for charity.

"You should all be locked up, " the duke quipped, which by his standards was an extremely restrained remark. His highlights reel includes plenty of both off-colour and witty asides which made him the most gaffe-prone - and interesting - member of the Royal Family.

Britain had mileage out of the duke. Buckingham Palace calculated that his last official event was his 22,219th solo engagement since his wife became Queen in 1952. Up till his retirement he had spent 52 days on public duty.

He visited New Zealand 14 times, on four occasions by himself, and lent his name to the Duke of Edinburgh Hillary awards which encourage young people to push themselves to tough goals.

To mark Philip's retirement the Royal Mint issued a new £5 coin with the duke on one side and the Queen on the other. The Latin words surrounding the duke's face mean "not for self, but country."

It is a fitting phrase for a loyal man who always walked a step or two behind his wife - and who knew when to say enough's enough.